CHAPTER 5

Liam’s POV

Dinner was quiet at first. Diana pushed her fork around the plate, not really eating. I tried to lighten the mood, asking about school, her drawings, her favorite book. She gave small answers, distracted.

Finally, she put the fork down and looked at me.

“Daddy,” she said softly. “Can I ask you something?”

I already knew where this was going. I braced myself and nodded.

“Yes, sweetheart. Go ahead.”

Her big eyes searched mine. “Where is my mommy?”

The question hit me the same way it always did, sharp and heavy. I forced a smile, the same one I’d worn every time.

“She’s… not here, Diana. But you have me. I’ll always be here.”

Her lips trembled. “That’s the same answer every time. You never tell me more.”

“Because that’s all I can tell you,” I said gently.

Her chair scraped as she slid down and hugged her knees. Tears spilled over. “It’s not fair. Everyone in my class has a mommy. Why don’t I?”

The sight of her crying pulled at something deep in me. I reached for her, lifting her onto my lap. She buried her face in my chest.

“I know it hurts,” I whispered, stroking her hair. “If I could change it, I would.”

“Then find her,” she cried. “Please, Daddy. I just want to see her.”

My throat tightened. I had no answer that could heal this wound. For years, I’d told myself I was protecting her, protecting us both, by leaving the past buried. But her small voice, full of pain, made my excuses feel like lies.

I kissed the top of her head.

“Alright,” I said, more to myself than to her. “I’ll find her. I promise.”

She pulled back, sniffled, and studied my face. “You promise for real this time?”

“Yes. For real.”

She clung to me a little longer. Her tears slowed, and soon she was yawning, exhaustion overtaking her frustration. I carried her upstairs and tucked her into bed. She held my hand until her eyes closed.

When I left her room, the silence of the house felt heavier than usual.

I poured myself a drink, but the promise I’d made echoed louder than the clink of ice in the glass. I couldn’t break her trust. I couldn’t fail her again.

I pulled out my phone and called Ivan. He answered on the first ring.

“Yes, sir?”

“I need you to dig,” I said. “Find the surrogate. The one from five years ago.”

There was a pause. “You mean Ava Morales?”

The name stirred something in me, faint but sharp. “Yes. Her. I need to know where she is, what she’s been doing. Everything.”

Ivan hesitated. “That might take time. She disappeared after the birth.”

“Then start now,” I said firmly. “I don’t care how long it takes. Just find her.”

“Yes, sir.”

I hung up, leaning back against the chair. My mind drifted to earlier in the week, when I’d stepped into the elevator at headquarters.

A woman had been there. She’d kept her head down, but for a second, our eyes met. Something about her struck me as familiar, though I couldn’t place it. Her face stayed with me, blurring at the edges but refusing to fade.

Could it have been her? I mean I only saw her twice during the surrogacy.

Still, the memory stayed, crawling back no matter how I tried to brush it aside.

I poured the rest of the drink down the sink and stared at the empty glass.

If it was her… then maybe fate was already answering Diana’s cries.

The following morning, I sat in my office, staring at the file in front of me without reading a single line. The words blurred together, useless. My thoughts kept circling back to Diana’s face at dinner last night, her eyes wet with tears, her little fists clenched in frustration as she asked the same question she’d asked a hundred times before. Where is my mother?

“Liam.”

I looked up. Adrian my best friend, CFO of Cole conglomerate. He leaned against the doorway, jacket off, tie loosened like he owned the place. He always had that confident ease, like nothing ever rattled him.

“You’ve been sitting there for an hour and haven’t touched a thing,” he said, stepping in. “What’s going on?”

I rubbed my forehead. “It’s Diana.”

Adrian lowered himself into the chair across from me. “It’s always Diana. What happened this time?”

“She asked again. About her mother. She cried. I promised her I’d find her.”

He leaned back, eyebrows raised. “You’ve been giving her the same line for years. What’s different now?”

“This time…” I paused, pressing my palms together. “This time it broke her. I could see it. She doesn’t believe me anymore. She thinks I’m hiding something.”

Adrian tilted his head. “And are you?”

I glared at him. “I’ve told you everything I know. The surrogate signed the contract, gave birth, and left. End of story.”

“Except it isn’t.” He tapped a finger on the desk. “You’ve been distracted lately though.”

“Drop it,” I muttered.

He leaned forward, his tone softening. “Liam, you’ve built this company from the ground up. You’ve controlled every deal, every risk. But when it comes to Diana, you’re floundering. You can’t keep promising her something you can’t deliver. If you’re serious about finding this woman, then actually do it.”

“I already called Ivan. He’s digging.”

Adrian’s smirk returned. “Good. Then stop torturing yourself and focus. Either you find her, or you let it go.”

“I can’t let it go.” My voice came out rougher than I meant. “Diana deserves the truth. She deserves… her mother.”

Adrian studied me quietly for a moment, then nodded. “Then prepare yourself. Truths have a way of burning everything in their path.”

I leaned back, staring past him at the city skyline. That face in the elevator wouldn’t leave me. And the feeling in my gut told me I was closer to the truth than I realized. I just know it.