Chapter 2 : The Price Of Access.

POV: Elena

"Let go of me, Chairman Vance."

I kept my voice cold, even though his fingers were crushing my wrist.

Alexander's grip didn't loosen.

His dark eyes stayed fixed on mine, hard and unreadable, but I could feel the fury underneath them.

He knew I was afraid.

He just didn't care.

"Mom?"

Leo's small voice cut through the tension.

Before I could turn, his little robotic car slammed against the back of Alexander's expensive leather shoe.

"Let go of my mom."

Alexander's eyes dropped to him.

For the first time since he'd grabbed me, his expression changed.

Not anger.

Shock.

Leo stood directly in front of me, his tiny body shielding my legs as if he could actually protect me from the most powerful man in the country.

"You are hurting her," he said.

Alexander stared at him.

Something in his face went completely still.

"What's your name?"

"Leo Lin."

Leo didn't look away.

"You are hurting her."

"Let her go, sir, or I'm triggering the airport security alarm right now!"

Sarah's voice snapped through the silence.

Her finger hovered over her phone.

Two of my hired guards stepped forward, their hands near their waistbands.

Alexander finally released me.

I immediately pulled my wrist against my chest.

He barely seemed to notice.

His attention was still on Leo.

Slowly, Alexander lowered himself onto one knee.

The billionaire who had once controlled every room he entered was now kneeling on dirty airport asphalt in front of my son.

"What is your name?" he asked again.

"Leo Lin."

Alexander swallowed.

His eyes moved over Leo's face.

His hair.

His eyes.

His jaw.

I saw the exact moment suspicion became certainty in his mind.

"No," I whispered.

Alexander looked up at me.

"He has my eyes."

My heart dropped.

"He has my jaw," he continued. "And the way he adjusted his glasses..."

His voice became quieter.

"My father used to do that."

I stepped between them.

"Leo, get in the car."

"Mom—"

"Now."

Sarah immediately moved forward, lifted Leo into her arms, and carried him toward the waiting sedan.

Leo protested, twisting to look back at me.

"Mom!"

"I'm coming."

I waited until the tinted door slammed shut.

Then I faced Alexander again.

His expression had hardened.

"You took my son."

I crossed my arms over my chest to hide my trembling hands.

"He is my son."

"Our son."

"You signed the divorce papers five years ago."

His jaw clenched.

"You were pregnant when you signed them."

The accusation hit harder than I expected.

"You didn't know."

"I should have."

"You didn't want to."

His eyes flashed.

"You walked away without telling me."

"I walked away because you threw me out for Vivian."

My voice cracked.

Five years.

Five years of forcing myself not to remember that night.

Five years of raising Leo without him.

Five years of pretending Alexander Vance meant nothing to me.

"You wanted your childhood sweetheart," I whispered. "I gave you exactly what you wanted."

Alexander stepped closer.

"I never gave you permission to take my child."

I laughed bitterly.

"Permission?"

His face darkened.

"You think this is funny?"

"No. I think it's five years too late."

He reached for me.

I stepped back.

"We are going to the hospital," he said. "Now."

"No."

"I want a DNA test."

"You'll get one."

"Today."

I held his gaze.

"But not before the Biotech Consortium meeting."

His expression changed.

"What?"

"In exactly thirty minutes, the consortium is reviewing your acquisition bid."

I picked up my handbag.

"If you force me into a hospital car right now, I'll pull the stem-cell sequencing data from the merger table."

Silence.

"Your fifty-billion-dollar expansion will collapse before it begins."

Alexander stared at me.

I could almost see him reassessing everything he thought he knew about me.

The quiet woman he'd married was gone.

"You're a scientist now."

"Yes."

"You became a scientist just to come back and fight me?"

I opened the driver's door.

"I became a scientist because I wanted to save what matters to me."

His eyes narrowed.

"What matters to you?"

I looked toward the back seat where Leo was waiting.

"My son."

Then I got into the car.

"See you in the boardroom, Chairman Vance."

I shut the door.

"Don't be late."

---

POV: Alexander

"Sir, should we block their vehicle at the exit?"

Mark stepped beside me as Elena's sedan disappeared into traffic.

"No."

I watched the car until it vanished.

I could still feel her wrist beneath my fingers.

She had been shaking.

She'd tried to hide it, but I had felt it.

Five years ago, Elena had been soft-spoken and almost painfully careful around me.

The woman who had just threatened to destroy a fifty-billion-dollar acquisition was someone else entirely.

"Let them go to headquarters," I said.

Mark nodded.

"Line up corporate security on the executive floor. No one enters or leaves that boardroom without my permission."

"And the boy?"

My chest tightened.

Leo.

My son.

"He has my blood."

Mark hesitated.

"He looks exactly like you did in the old estate portraits."

I turned away.

"Find out everything you can about him."

"Yes, sir."

"And Mark?"

He stopped.

"Don't let Elena know we're investigating."

Twenty minutes later, I entered the top-floor executive suite of Vance Towers.

The glass walls offered a perfect view of the cloudy city below.

Inside, the atmosphere was colder than the rain outside.

Elena was already sitting at the long mahogany conference table.

Her laptop was open.

Her fingers moved across the keyboard with calm precision.

No trembling.

No fear.

As if she hadn't just walked away from me with a secret that could change my entire life.

Her assistant was setting up the projector.

The door opened behind me.

Vivian walked in.

She wore a white designer dress and carried a folder against her chest.

"Alex, thank goodness you're here."

She approached and pressed her cheek against mine.

"The European investors are getting anxious about the biotech patents."

Then she noticed Elena.

Her smile disappeared.

"Elena?"

Elena didn't look up.

Vivian's face went pale.

"What are you doing here?"

She looked at me.

"You told me she was gone."

Elena finally raised her eyes.

"I am Dr. Elena Lin, chief scientific advisor to the Biotech Consortium."

Her tone was professional.

Detached.

"I am here to determine whether Vance Enterprises is competent enough to handle our cellular replication blueprints."

Vivian's expression hardened.

"Alex, this is ridiculous."

She turned toward me.

"She's a security risk. She was your wife. She left five years ago. You can't let her anywhere near our confidential data."

Elena closed her laptop.

"I didn't come here to discuss my marriage."

Vivian scoffed.

"Of course not. You already got paid."

Elena's eyes finally moved toward her.

"I didn't come here for money."

She pressed a button on the remote.

A massive cellular diagram appeared on the screen.

"I came because your company wants our stem-cell replication patent."

Her voice became colder.

"And we're going to discuss the price."

I took my seat at the opposite end of the table.

"Name it."

"I want unrestricted administrative access to the Vance Premium Medical Vault."

The room went silent.

Elena continued.

"I want the master encryption key to your frozen genetic storage banks."

Several executives exchanged nervous glances.

The Premium Vault wasn't an ordinary database.

It contained genetic sequences belonging to some of the wealthiest families in the world.

"No," one of my vice presidents said immediately.

I raised a hand.

He fell silent.

I looked at Elena.

"Why do you need access to the vault?"

"That's our price."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting."

Her eyes never left mine.

"Take the deal or walk away."

Vivian leaned forward.

"Alex, don't do this."

Elena ignored her.

She glanced at her watch.

"You have ten seconds."

I watched her carefully.

She didn't want my money.

She didn't want my company.

And despite everything that had happened between us, she didn't appear to want me.

So why the vault?

What was she hiding?

"Ten."

She said it calmly.

"Nine."

I leaned back.

"Eight."

Vivian grabbed my arm.

"Alex."

"Seven."

I looked at Elena.

"Six."

Something flickered in her eyes.

Fear.

Not for herself.

"Five."

I understood then.

Whatever she needed from that vault, it mattered more to her than anything else.

"Four."

I made my decision.

"I'll sign it."

Vivian's head snapped toward me.

"Alex!"

Elena's expression didn't change.

But her fingers tightened around her pen.

"On one condition," I added.

Her eyes met mine.

"The encryption key stays in my personal possession."

I leaned forward.

"You want access to my vault?"

I paused.

"Then you'll have to come to my private estate every night and use it under my supervision."

The pen stopped in Elena's hand.

For the first time since she walked into the room, I saw genuine panic in her eyes.

And suddenly, I knew I'd found something.

---

POV: Elena

My heart slammed against my ribs.

The estate.

That was exactly where I couldn't go.

Not every night.

Not with Leo's condition.

If Alexander's security team started watching my movements, it wouldn't take long for them to discover Leo's medical records.

And then everything would be over.

His latest blood tests had already been getting worse.

His bone marrow activity was dropping.

I needed the master key within forty-eight hours.

If I failed, his condition could deteriorate rapidly.

I couldn't risk losing him.

"Fine."

The word felt like poison in my mouth.

"Have your legal team prepare the addendum."

Alexander's eyes remained fixed on me.

"I'll be at the estate tonight."

His mouth curved slightly.

"Nine o'clock."

"Nine."

The meeting ended.

The executives hurried out.

Vivian remained by the door.

She stared at me with pure hatred.

"You think you've won."

I packed my laptop.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She stepped closer.

"You came back for revenge."

I looked at her.

"No."

Her smile disappeared.

"I came back for my son."

I walked past her.

The door slammed behind me.

I had barely reached the hallway when Alexander's voice stopped me.

"Where is he staying?"

I turned.

"That's none of your business."

"He is my son."

"He is safe."

"Where?"

"At a secure hotel under my company's name."

His expression hardened.

"Don't bother sending your men there. The security detail is international."

I turned toward the elevators.

Then his voice changed.

"He has a medical bracelet."

I stopped.

My blood ran cold.

Alexander stepped closer.

"I saw it when he hit my shoe."

I slowly turned around.

His eyes were fixed on mine.

"Red alert bracelet."

He took another step.

"Why is my son wearing a medical alert band?"

"It's precautionary."

"For what?"

"Allergies."

His eyes narrowed.

"You're lying."

I said nothing.

He moved closer.

"What's wrong with him, Elena?"

"Nothing."

The word came out too quickly.

His face changed.

He knew.

"Elena."

"Leave us alone."

I pushed past him.

My heels struck the marble floor as I hurried toward the elevators.

I needed to get back to Leo.

I needed his medicine.

I needed to prepare for tonight.

And I needed to get inside that vault before Alexander discovered the truth.

The elevator doors opened.

I stepped inside.

Just before they closed, I saw Alexander standing in the hallway.

Watching me.

---

POV: Alexander

I remained in the empty hallway long after Elena disappeared.

She was lying.

I knew it.

The question was why.

My phone vibrated.

A restricted number.

I answered.

"Speak."

"Chairman Vance."

The chief medical officer sounded unusually tense.

"We received the preliminary background screening you requested on Dr. Elena Lin."

"What did you find?"

"Her European medical records are heavily encrypted."

"Can you break through them?"

"Not yet."

My grip tightened around the phone.

"Then find another way."

There was a pause.

"Sir, there's something else."

"What?"

"We intercepted an automatic order placed by Elena's company with one of our medical suppliers three hours ago."

I turned toward the glass wall.

"Tell me."

"A large shipment of rare bone marrow preservation fluid."

My expression hardened.

"What else?"

"A restricted synthetic blood formula."

My chest tightened.

"Those compounds aren't used for ordinary treatment."

"No, sir."

The doctor's voice dropped.

"They're used in severe gene-therapy complications and certain terminal blood disorders."

I stared through the glass.

Elena had lied about the bracelet.

She had lied about the allergies.

And now she was buying specialized medical supplies.

"For whom?"

"We cross-checked the patient information attached to the order."

"Leo?"

"No, sir."

I frowned.

"Then whose name?"

There was a long silence.

"Sir..."

"Say it."

"We found an emergency medical transport order attached to the shipment."

My fingers tightened around the phone.

"What name?"

The doctor's voice dropped to a whisper.

"Alexander Vance."

I stopped breathing.

"That's impossible."

"We thought so too."

I stared at the city below.

"Send me everything."

"Yes, sir."

The call ended.

I slowly lowered the phone.

Why would Elena's company be ordering medical supplies under my name?

And why would those supplies be connected to my son?

Unless...

My blood ran cold.

Elena wasn't trying to get into my vault for herself.

She was looking for something.

Something inside my genetic storage banks.

Something connected to Leo.

And suddenly, the question wasn't whether Elena had been hiding my son from me.

It was what she was trying to save him from.