Midnight Intruder

Chloe had just put Leo to sleep.

Her penthouse in the Imperial Tower — the most expensive building in the city — was quiet. Leo's little chest rose and fell, his dark hair — Ethan's hair — stuck to his forehead with sweat.

The man from the Maybach, Ryan Cole, stood in her living room, pouring two glasses of wine.

"You shouldn't have brought Leo to the party," Ryan said softly. He was her best friend, her business partner, and the only man Leo called "Uncle Ryan". "Ethan Knight is not stupid. He will do the math."

"He already did," Chloe said, taking the wine. She looked tired for the first time tonight. "Let him. Let him suffer."

Ryan stared at her. "Chloe, you know the truth. Leo _is_ his. Why are you letting him think—"

"Because," Chloe cut him off, her eyes hardening, "if he knows for sure Leo is his, he will take him. He has the money, the lawyers, the power. A judge will give the child to a billionaire father over a single mother designer. I can't risk it."

"So you will let him think Leo is mine?" Ryan asked.

Chloe didn't answer. She just looked at the photo on her wall — Leo's first birthday, just the two of them, alone.

Before Ryan could speak again —

*DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG.*

Violent, impatient knocking on her penthouse door at 11:47 PM. Only three people had the code to this floor.

Leo whimpered in his sleep.

Chloe's blood ran cold. She knew that knock. Possessive. Arrogant. Like the whole world had to answer him.

Ethan.

"Don't open it," Ryan whispered.

The knocking turned to pounding. "CHLOE SCOTT! OPEN THIS DOOR! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"

Leo woke up crying. "Mommy..."

Chloe rushed to the bedroom, picked Leo up. "Shhh baby, it's okay."

But the doorbell wouldn't stop. The neighbors would complain. Security would come.

She handed Leo to Ryan. "Take him to the inner room. Don't come out no matter what."

Ryan nodded and carried Leo away.

Chloe fixed her silk pajamas — short, black, revealing her long legs that used to be hidden under frumpy housewife clothes — and opened the door.

Ethan Knight stood there, soaked from the rain again. His white shirt clung to his body, his eyes red. He looked insane. He had clearly been drinking.

He pushed past her into her house without being invited, just like three years ago he pushed her out of his.

"You lied to me," he said, his voice raw. He threw the pregnancy report on her coffee table. "You were pregnant when I divorced you. You let me divorce you while carrying MY child!"

Chloe crossed her arms, trying to look calm though her heart was beating like a drum. "Lower your voice. My son is sleeping. And it's not your child."

"LIAR!" He grabbed her shoulders, pinning her against the wall. His face was inches from hers, his breath smelled of whiskey and desperation. "Three years and two months! You found out the day I divorced you! Do you think I'm a fool?"

"Yes," Chloe spat back, tears finally falling. "You are a fool! Because you called me barren! You called me defective! You threw money at me and brought your whore into your office while I was standing there pregnant! So yes, I lied! I had to protect my baby from a monster like you!"

The word _monster_ made Ethan flinch.

He stared at her crying face, at her trembling lips. The Chloe he knew never shouted. She always lowered her head and said "Sorry, Ethan." This Chloe fought.

And it was driving him crazy.

His grip softened. His thumb accidentally brushed away a tear on her cheek.

"I didn't know," he whispered. "If I knew..."

"If you knew you would have forced me to abort because Vanessa was back," Chloe laughed bitterly. "Don't act noble now."

Just then — a small voice.

"Mommy?"

Both of them froze.

Leo had escaped from Ryan. He stood in the hallway in his little dinosaur pajamas, rubbing his eyes.

He saw Ethan holding his mother against the wall.

Little Leo's face turned red with anger. He ran over and started hitting Ethan's leg with his tiny fists.

"Let go of my Mommy! Bad man! You make Mommy cry! Uncle Ryan said you are bad!"

Ethan slowly let go of Chloe and looked down at the little boy hitting him.

The boy who had his eyes, his nose, his temper.

Ethan knelt down, his giant frame shaking. He had never knelt for anyone in his life.

"Hey..." his voice broke. "What's your name?"

Leo hid behind Chloe's legs. "Leo! And I hate you!"

Ethan felt his chest crack open. Leo. Leo Knight? Leo Scott?

Chloe picked up Leo, her hands shaking. "Ethan, leave. Now. You are scaring my son."

Ethan stood up. He looked at Chloe holding Leo, and for the first time in 32 years, the cold CEO felt fear. Fear of losing something he never knew he had.

"I'm not leaving," he said quietly, but with a possessiveness that made Chloe's skin crawl. "I will do a DNA test tomorrow. If he is my son, Chloe Scott, I will take you both back. Even if I have to lock you in my house."

Chloe's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare—"

A phone rang loudly, cutting her off. Ethan's phone. The caller ID glowed: *VANESSA*.

But it was Chloe's phone that showed a more terrifying text at the same time, from an unknown number:

*"Nice family reunion. But does Ethan know your son has a rare blood disease? And only a Knight family bone marrow can save him? Let's see how long you can keep your secret. - V"*

Chloe's face turned white as paper. Her hands went cold. The phone slipped from her fingers.

Ethan caught it. He read the text over her shoulder.

His expression changed from possessive to murderous.

"Who is V? And what blood disease?" he growled.