Chapter Five

​COLD ENCOUNTERS.

​Emma's POV.

The heavy glass doors of the private clinic flew open with a loud bang, and the sudden noise made me jump as a towering figure stormed into the hallway with several large bodyguards dressed in black suits trailing right behind him. The medical staff immediately scattered out of the way, their faces pale with absolute terror as the man walked with an air of absolute authority that made the entire corridor feel instantly smaller.

​My mouth went completely dry, and my heart hammered against my ribs as I looked up to see his sharp, chiseled features, his short black hair, and those piercing blue eyes that seemed to freeze everything they landed on. Memory flooded my brain, and the hospital hallway from seven years ago flashed vividly in my mind because this was the exact same man I saw pacing back and forth on the night I went into labor, the very same night my biological baby was allegedly declared dead.

​"Where is she? Where is my daughter?" His deep, booming voice echoed off the white walls, and he didn't even wait for the receptionist to answer before his sharp gaze locked directly onto me standing right outside the private ward. He marched over with long, aggressive strides, his jaw tight and his fists clenched at his sides as he stopped right in front of me, looking down like he wanted to snap my neck. "Who the hell are you, and what were you doing with Pearl on the road?"

​"I was driving when she suddenly ran out in front of my car, and she fainted right there on the concrete, so I brought her here to make sure she was safe," I explained quickly, my hands shaking as I held my ground because I refused to let him intimidate me after everything I had already been through today.

​"You expect me to believe a reckless driver who almost killed my daughter is just a good Samaritan?" Nathan sneered, stepping closer until his shadow completely covered me, his blue eyes flashing with a dangerous spark that made the security guards shift closer. "If this is some twisted scheme to get to the Zander family through my little girl, I will make sure you spend the rest of your miserable life behind bars."

​"First of all, I am not a reckless driver, and I saved your daughter's life while you were nowhere to be found, so you should be thanking me instead of hurling baseless accusations at me," I snapped back, my anger flaring up as I pointed a finger toward the glass window of the ward where the little girl lay resting. "Look at her hair, it is completely white, and it matches mine perfectly, and the doctor even told me she has severe asthma, which is a condition I know all too well."

​Nathan stiffened, his eyes narrowing to tiny slits as he glanced through the window at Pearl and then looked back at my long white hair, but his expression hardened into an even colder mask of distrust. "Lots of people have medical conditions, and rare hair colors do not mean anything to me, so stop trying to create some sick connection with a child you do not even know."

​"You don't understand, because seven years ago, I was at the city central hospital giving birth on the exact same night you were there," I stepped closer, my voice dropping to an urgent whisper because I needed him to listen to me, and I needed to know the truth about what happened that night. "I remember your face perfectly, and I remember seeing you in the hallway while the doctors were rushing around, so please just tell me where you adopted Pearl from because she might actually be—"

​"Shut your mouth right now," Nathan cut me off instantly, his voice dropping to a low, lethal growl that sent an actual shiver down my spine as he grabbed my wrist, his grip like iron but not tight enough to leave a bruise. "I do not care what fairy tale you are trying to invent, and I do not care where you think you saw me seven years ago, because Pearl is my daughter, and my family's business is none of your concern."

​"Let go of me," I demanded, pulling my arm back forcefully, and he actually released me, though his gaze remained fixed on my face like he was trying to read my mind. "You are hiding something, because you wouldn't be this defensive if you didn't know there was a possibility that the hospital made a mistake back then."

​"The only mistake here is that I am wasting my time talking to a crazy woman who is clearly obsessed with my family," Nathan turned to his head bodyguard, waving his hand dismissedly as he stepped back toward the door of Pearl's room. "Get this woman out of my sight immediately, and ensure she never gets within ten miles of my daughter or the Zander Cooperation building again, and if she tries to contact any staff member, have her arrested on sight."

​"You can't just throw me out when I have a right to know the truth about that little girl," I yelled as two massive guards stepped in front of me, blocking my view of Nathan and Pearl entirely.

​"Watch me," Nathan replied without even looking back at me as he opened the door to the ward and stepped inside, shutting it firmly behind him and leaving me at the mercy of his security team.

​The guards grabbed my upper arms firmly but without unnecessary roughness, guiding me toward the exit while the medical staff watched in absolute silence, and as they pushed me through the clinic doors into the cool New York air, my mind raced with a terrifying realization about Derek's past actions. If Nathan was this terrified of me looking into Pearl's background, then the secret behind my daughter's birth was much bigger than a simple hospital switch, and I knew right then that I would have to destroy everyone involved to get her back.