Chapter 2
The beep of the heart monitor was the only sound in the sterile ICU room, a cruel contrast to the roaring gala Daniel had left behind just hours ago. He sat in his wheelchair, his hand gripping Emma’s pale, fragile fingers. She looked so small against the white hospital sheets, a ghost of the fiery, stubborn woman who had once demanded he push through his pain. Her illness—a rare, aggressive autoimmune condition—had ravaged her, but she had fought it alone, just to protect their son.
Little Leo was asleep on a leather sofa in the corner, clutching the worn jacket he had worn to the gala. Daniel stared at the boy. His son. The realization hit him again, a tidal wave of grief and fierce, protective rage.
The heavy wooden door to the private suite swung open, shattering the quiet.
Arthur Mercer stepped into the room. Daniel’s father was a man who wore his wealth like armor. His custom Italian suit was immaculate, his silver hair perfectly styled. He didn’t look at the sleeping child. He didn't look at the dying woman. He looked at Daniel with cold, calculating eyes.
"I spent a fortune keeping her away from you, Daniel," Arthur said, his voice a low, venomous hiss. "And you let a street rat walk into my charity gala and humiliate our family name."
Daniel’s blood ran cold. The missing letters. The sudden firing of his favorite therapist. The total silence for eight years. "It was you," Daniel whispered, his voice trembling not with fear, but with a rage so profound it made his chest ache. "You paid them to intercept her letters. You left my child in poverty."
"I protected the Mercer empire," Arthur replied smoothly, stepping closer. "A crippled CEO is a liability. A crippled CEO with a bastard child and a gold-digging therapist is a disaster. The board is already talking. If she doesn't die from this little illness, I will make sure social services takes the boy by morning. An unfit, dying mother and a paralyzed father? No judge will give you custody."
Daniel’s jaw tightened. He looked down at his foot—the foot that had twitched just hours ago. The foot Emma and Leo had reawakened.
"Get out," Daniel said, his voice dangerously calm.
Arthur sneered. "You have no power here, Daniel. You're half a man. Tomorrow, I'm calling a board meeting to have you removed as CEO for medical incompetence. Enjoy your reunion. It will be brief."
May you like
As Arthur turned and walked out, Leo stirred on the couch, rubbing his big hazel eyes. He looked at Daniel, sensing the tension. "Is the bad man gone?"
Daniel wheeled his chair closer to his son, reaching out to stroke the boy's messy hair. "He's gone, Leo. And he’s never going to hurt you or your mother again. I promise."
