Chapter 4: Secrets in the Shadows

Jessica’s POV

The next morning, the sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the estate, casting a brilliant glow over the plush furniture.

I felt significantly stronger, the medical treatments and IV fluids having restored some of the stamina my single kidney usually deprived me of.

But the moment my feet touched the heated floor, a wave of sheer, unadulterated panic crashed over me.

Catherine.

My daughter was still in our damp studio apartment, burning with a fever, waiting for the medicine I was supposed to buy with my waitress wages. I had been away the entire night.

I rushed toward the heavy oak doors of the bedroom, tearing the medical wires from my arm. Just as I threw the door open, I nearly ran straight into Marcus’s broad, velvet-clad chest. He stood there, an iPad in his hand, looking perfectly immaculate.

"Where do you think you're going in such a rush?" Marcus asked, an observant eyebrow raised.

"My daughter!" I cried out, my voice cracking with maternal desperation. "Catherine... she's alone in my apartment. She's sick, she has a severe fever, and I need to go to her right now! Please, let me leave!"

Marcus didn't react with surprise. Instead, he calmly tapped the screen of his iPad and stepped into the room, forcing me to back up. "Calm down, Jessica. Do you honestly think I would leave the daughter of my guest unattended?"

He turned the screen toward me. My breath hitched.

Displayed on the screen was a live video feed of a luxury pediatric suite. Catherine was tucked into a massive, cloud-like bed, her skin no longer flushed with fever. She was happily eating a bowl of fresh fruit, laughing as a private nurse showed her a colorful picture book.

"She was brought to my private clinic hours ago," Marcus explained, his voice smooth and reassuring. "The finest specialists in the city have already treated her infection. Her fever is gone, and she is currently being spoiled by my staff."

A sob of profound relief escaped my lips, and I collapsed back into a chair, covering my face with my hands. "Thank you... oh my god, thank you. You don't know what she means to me. She’s all I have."

Marcus walked over, setting a warm cup of tea on the table beside me. He leaned against the edge of the desk, crossing his long legs. "I ran the blood tests, Jessica. And I also had my private investigators look into your history over the last five years."

The room went dead silent. I dropped my hands, looking up at him fearfully.

"Your blood work shows a severely low kidney function consistency, perfectly matching an advanced surgical extraction scar on your left side," Marcus said, his green eyes flashing with a terrifying, dark fury. "And five years ago, Davis Vance received an anonymous organ donation at the city general hospital, funded by a woman who took out three separate high-interest loans on the exact same date."

Marcus leaned forward, his face inches from mine.

"He knows, doesn't he? He knows you gave him your kidney. And yet, he stood there last night and watched his fiancée break glass over your head."

I squeezed the teacup tightly, a cold, cynical smile running from one ear to the other, curling my scarlet lips. "Yes. He knows. He felt my organ inside his body while he ordered the guards to drag me out because my blood was ruining his marble floors."

Marcus let out a low, dangerous growl, his chest rising and falling sharply. "Then he is a dead man walking. But there's more, Jessica. Davis’s family has been intercepting your calls for years. They knew about Catherine. They kept her a secret from Davis to ensure he married Valerie and secured the shipping merger."

My eyes widened. Davis didn't know about Catherine. His toxic mother had hidden our daughter from him entirely, throwing us onto the streets while keeping him in the dark.

"Let's see how his perfect family manages now," I seethed, my voice coated in absolute ice. I looked up at Marcus, my gaze sharp and tactical. "Mr. Luther, five years ago, you offered me a position as your private secretary at a charity gala. I rejected you because I thought my fulfillment was being a loyal housewife to a man who didn't exist."

I stood up, squaring my shoulders. "I want to be where I'm appreciated now. Give me the job. Let me work by your side, and I will give you every piece of inside data on Davis's investors to burn his empire to the ground."

Marcus’s lips ticked upward into a dark, satisfied smirk. "Welcome to the Luther Corporation, Miss Moore. Let's pull the curtains on Davis Vance’s short-lived reign."