Adorable puppy

"Leo, please. At least eat something."

Lucas Blackwood—the most unyielding, cold presence in the entire country, a man feared by corporate boards and military factions alike—was currently down on one knee by the bedside. The nation's most elusive, powerful bachelor was reduced to softly pleading with a stubborn five-year-old.

 

Leo didn't even look at his father. His small face remained set in a defiant pout as he pulled his blanket higher. Instead of touching the food tray, the boy reached for his tablet, his small fingers typing with rapid, furious urgency. He turned the screen toward his father, the bright digital letters displaying a single question:

Where is the pretty lady?

Lucas let out a heavy, defeated sigh, running a hand through his hair. Standing just a few feet away, his best friend and trusted ally, Roman, was grinning like an absolute idiot, thoroughly enjoying the rare sight of the great Lucas Blackwood losing a negotiation to a toddler.

 

"She's in another room, Leo," Lucas answered gently, his voice carrying a patience he reserved strictly for his son.

Roman's grin widened, his arms crossed as he watched the boy aggressively tap the screen again. Everyone in the Blackwood family, from the highest executive to the distant relatives, knew the truth about Leo. The boy lived in his own quiet world. He rarely noticed anyone, never sought out strangers, and wouldn't even attempt to lift his tablet to write a single word to answer them. He treated the high-society vultures who tried to charm him with absolute, freezing indifference.

 

Yet here he was. Ever since Leo had opened his eyes in this private medical wing, the boy hadn't asked for his toys, his house, or his father. Every single sentence he had frantically typed on that screen was about going back to the lady who had saved him.

"See, Lucas?" Roman chuckled softly, stepping closer to the bed. "The kid knows what he wants. You can command an army, but you can't command a five-year-old who's completely smitten by his savior."

 

Lucas ignored Roman's teasing, his piercing gaze dropping back to the screen as Leo typed a new, unyielding demand. The boy wasn't backing down, and Lucas knew that whatever invisible thread had connected his son to that mysterious woman in the dark storage room, it was already changing every rule in his playbook.

 

Take me to her, Leo demanded, his small fingers pressing the screen so hard it almost cracked.

After a moment of tense restraint, Lucas realized he had entirely lost this battle. Defeated, he reached down and scooped his small son from the hospital bed. Leo immediately kicked his feet out, sliding his tiny feet into his slippers before standing on the cold floor, staring up at his father with an unyielding, expectant glare.

 

Lucas didn't wait around for his son's silent insults. Knowing exactly how stubborn the boy could be, he turned on his heel and led the way out of the suite, down the quiet, secure corridor toward the adjacent room.

When they stepped inside, a private nurse was standing over Victoria's bed, methodically administering medicine into her IV line. The soft, rhythmic beep of the heart monitor filled the air. Seeing the intrusion, the nurse looked up, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of the intimidating billionaire tycoon.

 

"What is it?" Lucas asked her, his military-trained voice dropping into a low, quiet command so he wouldn't disturb the room.

Before the nurse could answer, Leo frantically tapped his tablet again and shoved it right into his father's line of sight.

Why is she still sleeping? Wake her up.

Lucas shifted his gaze from the screen to Roman, who had quietly followed them into the room. Roman was biting his lip, trying desperately to suffocate a laugh at his friend's expense. Lucas flared a lethal glare at him, prompting Roman to instantly raise both hands in mock surrender.

 

Wake the pretty lady, Leo typed out this time, physically jumping on his feet in absolute frustration at his father's delay. The boy's eyes were locked completely on Victoria's pale, peaceful face, his tiny heart entirely invested in the woman who had pulled him from the dark.

 

The soft rustle of movement and the quiet digital chiming of the tablet coaxed Victoria back toward the surface of consciousness. She blinked against the ambient light of the private wing, her vision gradually focusing on a tiny silhouette standing right beside her mattress.

The very first thing she saw was the boy. He was no longer covered in sweat and grime; instead, he was dressed in bright, flowery pajamas and wore a pair of ridiculously fluffy slippers. Seeing him standing on his own two feet, safe, healthy, and breathing easily, caused all of Victoria’s carefully constructed mercenary guards to instantly evaporate.

A genuine, radiant smile broke across her pale face.

 

"Baby, you are here," she said softly, her voice still a little breathless and raspy from exhaustion as she instinctively tried to push herself up against the pillows.

Hearing her call him baby, Leo let out a delighted, silent giggle, swaying his little legs back and forth happily as he edged closer to the guardrail of her bed. Watching that tiny, innocent giggle split across his face made Victoria's heart swell with a profound, aching warmth—a maternal instinct so fierce it completely overwhelmed the cold phantom she had been for five years.

 

But the warm bubble shattered a second later. As her eyes drifted upward, she finally realized she was not alone with the child.

Standing right behind the boy, towering over the bedside like two unyielding walls of elite authority, were two men. On the left stood the formidable, suffocating presence of Lucas Blackwood , analyzing her every breath with piercing, military precision. And standing right beside him was Roman Williams, observing the scene with a sharp, calculating gaze.

 

Before the heavy silence could break her, Leo tugged gently on the edge of her blanket. The adorable little puppy tapped furiously on his screen and turned it toward her.

Pretty lady, how are you feeling?

"I am feeling okay, baby," Victoria said softly, her voice carrying a genuine warmth that she only ever allowed herself to show when looking at his sweet face.

 

Lucas stepped forward, his massive frame casting a long shadow over the bed. The cold discipline in his eyes didn't waver, but his voice carried a rare, heavy sincerity. "Thank you for saving my son," he said clearly. He adjusted the cuff of his tailored suit, his tone turning businesslike and absolute. "Name your price."

It was Victoria's turn to be utterly surprised. She blinked, staring up at the billionaire tycoon in sheer disbelief. "What... price?" she asked, her gaze darting around the sterile luxury of the room as if she had misunderstood his words.

 

Before Lucas could clarify his transactional offer, Leo aggressively stomped his fluffy slipper onto the floor. He typed an angry sentence onto his tablet and shoved it directly into his father's face, his little brows furrowing in deep defense of his savior.

Don't scare my pretty lady, or we will have problems.

Roman burst out into a loud, uncontrollable laugh from the back of the room, thoroughly amused by the little boy threatening the most feared billionaire in the country. Lucas simply stared down at his son's screen, completely thrown off balance by the toddler's fierce protection over this mysterious woman.

 

 

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