Chương 5 - the record from St. Jude's
By midnight, the penthouse was quiet. A soft fire crackled in the stone hearth, casting warm golden light across the marble living room floor.
In the master guest suite, six-year-old Mia lay fast asleep in a plush king-sized bed, her yellow dress replaced by soft floral pajamas, her stuffed elephant tucked securely under her arm.
In the private study adjoining the living room, Adrian sat behind his dark mahogany desk. Spread out before him were the archived medical records that his security chief, Marcus, had just delivered via encrypted courier from St. Jude's Hospital in Boston.
Adrian opened the yellowed paper file under the desk lamp. His heart hammered against his ribs as his gray-blue eyes scanned the clinical text:
Patient: Claire Bennett.
Date of Admission: November 14, 2019.
Procedure: Emergency Obstetric Delivery.
Child: Female — Mia Bennett.
Paternal Name: Undisclosed.
Attached to the back of the medical file was a certified DNA paternity profile that Marcus had executed using the hospital's archived blood sample from six years ago.
Adrian traced his broad thumb over the bold red print at the bottom of the lab page:
Paternity Probability: 99.99% — Adrian Kane.
Adrian closed his eyes, his broad chest rising in heavy, ragged hitches of emotion. The breath locked in his lungs. Six years. Six years of his daughter's life missed—her first steps, her first words, her laughter in the yellow lace dress—all stolen by his father's ruthless manipulation.
The study door opened softly. Claire stepped into the room, wearing a soft cream cashmere sweater over dark trousers, her long brown hair flowing over her shoulders.
She saw the open medical folder on the desk and froze in the doorway, her fair skin going pale.
"Adrian..." Claire whispered, her voice trembling.
Adrian stood up slowly from his desk, carrying the DNA profile in his hand. He walked across the room, stopping right in front of her.
"Why didn't you tell me, Claire?" Adrian asked, his deep voice thick with raw, overwhelming emotion. "Why didn't you tell me I had a daughter?"
Claire looked up into his eyes, tears finally spilling down her fair cheeks. "Because the night I gave birth to Mia in Boston, your father's private security team was standing outside my hospital room! They told me if I ever contacted you or brought Mia back to Manhattan, they would use corporate court injunctions to declare me an unfit mother and take my baby away forever!"
May you like
Adrian reached out, pulling Claire tightly into his broad, muscular chest, holding her as she wept tears of six years of buried terror and heartbreak.
"No one takes our daughter from us, Claire," Adrian growled softly into her hair, his arms wrapping around her with absolute, unshakeable protection. "Never again."
