Share

Chapter 5

Author: Nana A
last update Last Updated: 2025-05-13 19:13:55

Lucien’s POV

The moment Isla walked out of my office, I saw red.

Not rage.

Something colder. Sharper. The kind of fury that doesn’t scream or throw fists—but plans.

It had taken me years to find her. Years of false leads, encrypted files, and dead ends. She’d been a ghost. No digital footprint, no social media. Like she never existed. I thought maybe I imagined her—that Tuscany, those nights, the way she said my name in the dark—that it was all some dream I chased into madness.

Then I saw the photo.

It was buried in a client database I was scanning for security breaches. A new hire. Isla Monroe. Paralegal. Lower Manhattan. And beside her?

A child.

A four-year-old boy with dark curls, sharp cheekbones, and the same storm-grey eyes that stared back at me in the mirror every morning.

I didn’t sleep that night. I barely breathed.

The next morning, I called my investigator and said four words I never thought I’d say.

“Find my son. Now.”

And now here I was.

Standing on the edge of a decision that would change my life—and his—forever.

Leo Monroe.

He didn’t even have my name.

I should’ve been furious. Should’ve demanded custody. Should’ve called every lawyer in my contact list.

But all I could think about was that boy’s face. How small his shoulders looked in that daycare photo. How he clutched a toy dinosaur in one hand and looked dead into the camera like he was daring the world to come closer.

He had no idea who I was.

He didn’t know his father had spent four years chasing shadows.

That I’d burned through relationships, dollars, and sleepless nights trying to fill the ache that only made sense the moment I saw him.

He was mine.

And Isla had kept him from me.

I didn’t go to work the next morning. I didn’t need to. The company could run itself for a day. I owned half of New York’s skyline and had controlling shares in seven global tech firms. But none of it mattered.

Today, I had one goal.

Meet my son.

I waited across the street from the daycare, sunglasses on, hands clenched into fists in the pockets of my coat. It felt wrong. Creepy. Like I was stalking them.

But I couldn’t show up without warning. Not yet. Not until I saw them together.

At 8:02 a.m., Isla appeared.

She held his hand tightly, laughing as he told her something animated. I couldn’t hear them from this far, but I didn’t need to. Her eyes crinkled the same way they used to in Tuscany. That soft, unguarded joy I thought I’d never see again.

Then I looked at him—Leo—and everything tilted.

He was wearing a red hoodie and light-up sneakers. His curls bounced with every step. He looked up at Isla like she was the entire world.

And I wasn’t in it.

It was a punch to the gut I hadn’t expected.

When they disappeared into the building, I leaned back against a lamppost and closed my eyes. For a long time, I didn’t move. Didn’t think. Didn’t breathe.

Then I called her.

She picked up on the second ring, her voice sharp.

“You said we weren’t done,” she said.

“We’re not,” I replied. “I want to see him.”

Her silence was a blade.

“Lucien,” she finally said, voice tight, “you don’t just show up at a daycare. You don’t know what he likes. What he’s scared of. You don’t even know if he—”

“He’s mine,” I cut in. “And I will not spend another day watching my son from across a damn street.”

“You think you can just… show up and demand to be in his life?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Because you’re a billionaire? Because you’re used to getting what you want?”

“No,” I said coldly. “Because I lost my father when I was seven. Because no one showed up for me. And I swore if I ever had a child, I’d be the kind of man who did.”

The silence that followed felt different this time. Heavier.

“I need time,” she whispered.

I softened. Just a little.

“Take the day. Let’s meet tonight. Just us. We’ll talk.”

She sighed. “Where?”

“My penthouse. Top floor. Wolfe Tower.”

“Of course it’s a damn tower,” she muttered.

I cracked a smile. “Seven o’clock?”

“Fine,” she said, then paused. “Don’t watch us again. It’s not fair to him.”

I nodded, though she couldn’t see it. “I won’t.”

When the call ended, I exhaled and stared up at the skyline I owned.

I had all the power in the world. But for the first time in my life, it felt like I was standing on the edge of something I couldn’t buy or control.

A chance.

To be a father.

And maybe—just maybe—to have her back.

At 6:55 p.m., I stood in my penthouse, trying to remember how to breathe.

I’d faced corporate takeovers, Senate inquiries, and three assassination attempts from rivals overseas.

But none of it compared to this.

I wasn’t prepared to see her again like this.

Not with four years of silence and a son between us.

At exactly seven, the elevator dinged.

I opened the door myself.

She stood there in jeans, a coat, and that same fire in her eyes I remembered from Tuscany. But there was more now. Strength. Guilt. Grit.

She walked in like the place didn’t impress her. That irritated me more than it should’ve.

“You look the same,” I said.

“You don’t,” she replied.

I offered her a drink. She refused.

Straight to business.

“I’m not going to fight you, Lucien,” she said, standing in front of the window overlooking the city. “If you want to meet him, you can. But it has to be slow. It has to be on his terms.”

“That’s fine.”

She turned. “No lawyers. No court orders. No press.”

“I don’t want a media circus either.”

“I mean it,” she said, fierce now. “You so much as leak his name and—”

“Isla.” I stepped closer. “I would never hurt him. Or you.”

She looked at me for a long time. Like she was trying to decide if that was still true.

Then she reached into her purse and handed me something.

A photograph.

Leo, covered in paint, grinning with missing baby teeth.

“I thought you should have this.”

My throat closed.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

She moved toward the elevator. “I’ll tell him about you. If you still want this.”

I looked at her, that photograph burning into my palm.

“I’ve wanted this since the day I realized he existed.”

She nodded once. “I’ll call you.”

And then she was gone.

The door clicked shut, and I stood there with the city at my feet… and my future finally within reach.

Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App

Latest chapter

  • His Heir, Her Secret   Chapter 56

    Lucien The city never really slept, but from the 47th floor of Wolfe Holdings, it at least seemed like it did. Manhattan’s lights glittered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my private office—cold, clean, distant. The kind of view meant to inspire power. Tonight, it felt like a war map. I stood with my back to the room, fingers clutched around a glass of bourbon I hadn’t touched. My mind wasn’t on the deal closing in Tokyo or the last-minute shakeup on the board after my announcement about Isla and Leo. It was on the message she forwarded. Damon’s threat. It hadn’t been vague. It hadn’t been cautious. It had been direct and deliberate. “You think he can protect you now? He’s just a distraction. I’m coming for what’s mine.” Mine. The audacity of it made my jaw tighten, my fingers curl around the glass until the cut crystal left an imprint in my palm. I hadn’t wanted to go nuclear. I’d hoped that by stepping into the light with Isla and Leo, Damon would back off—understandi

  • His Heir, Her Secret   Chapter 55

    Isla The scent of Lucien’s cologne lingered long after he left—a blend of spice and midnight, comfort and danger. I stood by the window in my apartment, arms wrapped around myself, watching the city lights shimmer in the darkness like a million secrets just waiting to be exposed. Behind me, Leo was asleep, his small frame cocooned in the covers, Lucien’s tiger plushie clutched tightly in his arms. I should have felt safe. I should have felt comforted. But all I felt was the low thrum of dread under my skin. Damon had been at Leo’s school. Not even subtle about it. Just… present. Watching. Reminding me that he still could. I exhaled slowly, gripping the edge of the windowsill. I hadn’t expected Lucien to come tonight. Not after the day we’d had. The press storm, the boardroom meetings I wasn’t part of but could feel the ripple effects of, the eyes everywhere now watching me—not just because I was once the billionaire’s mistress, but because I was the woman he’d chosen to claim pu

  • His Heir, Her Secret   Chapter 54

    Lucien The boardroom of Wolfe International was the height of glass and steel elegance, perched atop the sixty-first floor like a throne room built for war. I stood at the head of the long obsidian table, staring out at the skyline of Paris bathed in the glow of a late afternoon sun. My reflection in the glass was sharp, composed, impenetrable. But beneath the tailored suit and cufflinks, tension simmered. “Your press conference changed the game, Lucien,” Soraya said from her seat beside me, tapping a crimson fingernail against a tablet. “The public is on your side now. You’ve rebranded yourself overnight—from ruthless billionaire to protective father. Women are swooning. Men are backing off. The sympathy factor? Off the charts.” “It wasn’t for the public,” I muttered, though I knew it played both ways. “It was for Leo. For Isla.” I turned from the window and took my seat, steepling my fingers as the rest of the team filed in. Attorneys. PR strategists. My private investigator. Ev

  • His Heir, Her Secret   Chapter 53

    Isla The echo of Lucien’s press conference still rippled through every facet of my world. I hadn’t left the penthouse since the broadcast aired, afraid of what the outside world might look like now that my most guarded truth had become a headline. Lucien had claimed us—me and Leo—with a billionaire’s flair and a father’s raw conviction. The entire world now knew I was the woman he’d lost once and wouldn’t lose again. And Leo? Leo was no longer a secret. He was Lucien Wolfe’s heir. But with exposure came fear. I sat on the edge of the chaise lounge in the sun-drenched sitting room, clutching my phone like it was a lifeline. My inbox was flooded. Journalists, talk show producers, stylists, PR agents—even distant relatives I hadn’t spoken to in years. They all wanted a piece of the story. A piece of us. Leo was blissfully unaware of the chaos unfolding. He was down the hallway with Sophia, his favorite nanny, giggling as she read him a picture book for the fifth time. The purity of h

  • His Heir, Her Secret   Chapter 52

    Isla The first thing I noticed when I stepped out of the town car was the flash of cameras. Even before the media found me, I felt their presence like the pressure of a storm rolling in—hot, stifling, inevitable. Lucien had warned me. “There’s no going back,” he’d said last night, his voice velvet-soft as he brushed a strand of hair from my face. “When I go public with Leo, everything changes.” He wasn’t wrong. Now I stood at the courthouse steps, my fingers curled around the leather strap of my handbag like it could anchor me through the whirlwind ahead. Lucien stood beside me, immaculately dressed in a tailored charcoal suit, his expression calm but unreadable. His hand brushed the small of my back—reassuring, possessive, and entirely too grounding. Across the street, a few paparazzi shouted our names. “Lucien! Isla! Is that your child?” “Is this the real reason behind the Renwick acquisition?” “Isla, how long have you been hiding the baby?” I didn’t flinch, but my spine s

  • His Heir, Her Secret   Chapter 51

    Isla I watched the sunlight dance on the polished marble floors of Lucien’s penthouse, my reflection faintly staring back at me through the massive windows overlooking Manhattan. It should have felt luxurious, comforting even—but all I could feel was the tight knot in my stomach. The world had shifted. Again. First, Lucien’s bold press conference. Then Damon’s move for custody. And now… the waiting. The silence before the next storm. Leo was in the playroom down the hall, laughing softly with Marie, the nanny Lucien trusted with his life. I could hear the faint tinkling of toy blocks, the soft cadence of his little voice forming stories only he could understand. But I wasn’t there with him. I was in the kitchen, clutching a porcelain mug filled with a tea I hadn’t touched. My mind was racing, retracing every step that had led us here—every secret, every truth, every moment I thought I was doing what was best for my son. Now I wasn’t so sure anymore. The door behind me creaked s

More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status