Chapter five

“Gabriel!”

Adrian’s voice cut across the quiet street. Gabriel stiffened as he turned, his son’s small hand in his.

They had left the courthouse late, hoping the crowd of reporters had scattered. But Adrian had waited. He always waited when something mattered.

“Not here,” Gabriel said, his tone loud.

“Yes. Here.” Adrian’s chest rose and fell. “No more running, no more excuses. I need to know the truth.”

Elias frowned, confused. “Papa?”

“Inside,” Gabriel murmured, crouching to Elias’s level. “Go inside, Eli. Wait for me.”

“But……”

“No arguments.” His voice cracked just enough to make Elias obey. The boy slipped into the brownstone and shut the door, though his small shadow lingered behind the curtains.

Gabriel straightened, facing Adrian fully. His jaw was tight, his fists clenched. “What do you want from me?”

Adrian’s voice broke before he could stop it. “The truth. Tell me he’s not mine. Tell me I’m wrong.”

Gabriel looked away, his silence heavier than words.

“God, Gabe…” Adrian’s hands ran through his hair, the control he was known for slipping fast. “Seven years. Seven years I thought I’d buried everything. But then I saw him, my eyes, my face, and you expect me to believe it’s a coincidence?”

Gabriel snapped his gaze back to him. “You don’t get to claim him! You don’t get to walk back into our lives after disappearing, after breaking me, and suddenly act like you care.”

“I do care!” Adrian’s voice thundered. “You think I haven’t suffered? You think I haven’t replayed that night a thousand times, wondering what I lost?”

“You lost me,” Gabriel said coldly. “And you lost the right to know him.”

Adrian stepped closer, his voice raw now. “He’s mine, isn’t he?”

The silence stretched. Gabriel’s lips pressed together, but his eyes betrayed him.

That was enough.

Adrian’s chest caved with a shaky breath, his whole body trembling. “Christ. He’s mine.”

Before Gabriel could reply, another voice cut in.

“You should leave.”

Daniel appeared at the top of the stoop, his expression hard. He stepped down slowly, placing himself between them. “Gabriel doesn’t owe you anything, Knight. Walk away.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “Stay out of this.”

Daniel’s jaw flexed. “I won’t. Because unlike you, I’ve actually been here. I’ve watched him raise Elias. I’ve watched him struggle. I’ve stood beside him while you……”

“While I what?” Adrian snapped. “Built an empire so he and that boy could have the luxury of hating me from a distance?”

“Built an empire on lies,” Daniel shot back.

“Don’t you dare lecture me,” Adrian growled. “You think standing at Gabriel’s side gives you the right to erase me?”

“I don’t need to erase you,” Daniel said evenly. “You did that yourself when you walked away.”

Gabriel raised his hands, his voice breaking. “Enough! Both of you! This isn’t a fight about pride. It’s about Elias.”

Adrian’s chest heaved. “Then let me see him. Let me talk to him. He deserves to know who I am.”

Gabriel’s eyes flared with panic. “He deserves peace! He deserves safety! And you bring neither.”

Adrian’s voice softened suddenly, almost pleading. “Don’t shut me out. Not again. Gabriel… he’s my son.”

Daniel turned his head toward Gabriel, his voice low but firm. “You don’t owe him anything, Gabe. Not after what he did to you.”

Adrian shot Daniel a sharp look. “What did I did to him? You know nothing.”

“I know you left him,” Daniel said. “And I know he had to pick up the pieces alone. While you were building your towers, Gabriel was here, rocking Elias to sleep, working double shifts just to keep the lights on. Where were you then?”

Adrian’s lips parted, but no sound came. His face twisted with something like guilt. “I didn’t know.”

“Exactly,” Daniel snapped. “You didn’t know because you didn’t care enough to stay.”

“Stop,” Gabriel said, his voice low but shaking. He turned to Adrian, his eyes burning. “You don’t get to act like this is some tragedy for you. I lived it, Adrian. Every day. Every night and I swore he would never feel the kind of abandonment I did.”

Adrian’s throat worked as he swallowed. “I can’t change the past. But I can be here now.”

Gabriel shook his head, laughter bitter. “Now? Now that it’s convenient? Now that your empire is cracking and suddenly you remember what love is?”

Adrian flinched as though struck. “That’s not fair.”

“Fair?” Gabriel’s voice rose. “Was it fair when you left me without a word? Was it fair when I had to explain to a child why he didn’t have a father?”

“He has a father,” Adrian said fiercely, his voice trembling. “He has me.”

Daniel stepped forward, jaw tight. “He has Gabriel. That’s enough.”

For a moment, something flickered in Gabriel’s eyes. Pain. Regret. But it hardened quickly. “You left me. You don’t get to rewrite history.”

Behind the window curtain, Elias’s shadow shifted. His small face pressed against the glass, ears straining.

Adrian took one last step forward. His hand nearly reached Gabriel’s shoulder, then fell. “This isn’t over. You can fight me, but I won’t disappear again. Not from him.”

Gabriel’s breath hitched. “If you push this, Adrian, you’ll destroy us both.”

“I’d rather be destroyed,” Adrian whispered, “than live another day knowing my son doesn’t even know my name.”

*************************

Later that night, Adrian sat alone in his penthouse office, the city stretching endlessly beneath him. His reflection in the glass was sharp and unrelenting.

The door opened.

“Waiting in the dark again?”

The voice was silky, bitter. Isabella stepped inside, every line of her dress perfect, every curl of her hair intentional. She dropped a glossy magazine onto his desk, the same one Gabriel had seen earlier.

“Did you like my little story?” she asked sweetly. “The press certainly did.”

Adrian’s eyes didn’t leave the skyline. “What do you want, Isabella?”

Her laugh was cold. “Revenge. But I’ll settle for watching your empire burn and from what I hear, you’re doing a fine job of that yourself.”

Adrian finally looked at her, his expression unreadable. “Stay out of my way.”

She leaned closer, her perfume cloying. “Oh, darling, I’ve only just begun.”