CHAPTER 5 ~ DAUGHTER

CHERYL'S POV

My heart hammered against my ribs, and my hands went numb. He stood two feet away from me. I had prepared myself for this exact moment for four years, yet hearing him claim my child still sent a sharp spike of fear through my veins. 

I forced myself to take a slow breath. I refused to let him see my panic. I locked my knees to stop them from shaking and met his angry gaze. 

"I do not know what you are talking about," I replied, keeping my tone flat and bored. "And you need to lower your voice before you embarrass yourself in front of these people."

Brian stepped closer. He ignored the crowded lobby and the soft classical music playing in the background. His eyes darted past my shoulder toward the bank of elevators where the nanny had just disappeared with Mira. 

"Do not play games with me, Cheryl," Brian warned in a harsh whisper. "I saw her face, and I saw her eyes. She looks exactly like me. You left my house four years ago, and you took my child with you."

I let out a short, mocking laugh. I tilted my head and looked at him like he was a stranger on the street. 

"Your ego is staggering," I said. "You honestly believe you are the only man in the world who can father a child with dark hair and dark eyes. You need professional help, Brian."

His jaw clenched tight. He reached his hand forward as if he wanted to grab my arm, but Carson moved before Brian could even brush against the silk fabric of my dress. 

Carson stepped between us. He used his tall frame to block Brian’s path, and he did not look intimidated by the famous billionaire CEO. 

"You need to step back, Mr. Wilson," Carson said. His voice was calm but held a very clear warning. "You are standing too close to my fiancée."

Brian stopped moving. He looked at Carson from head to toe, and his expression filled with fresh disgust. 

"Your fiancée?" Brian repeated the words like they tasted bitter on his tongue. He shifted his attention back to me. "Is this the man you ran away with? Did you betray our marriage while you were living under my roof?"

"I did not betray anyone," I answered. "You are the one who spent our marriage taking your stepsister on expensive dates. You brought Helen into my home and bought her jewelry while you treated me like a prisoner. You do not get to question my loyalty when you gave yours to a liar."

Brian gritted his teeth. "I am not talking about Helen right now. I am talking about the little girl who just walked into that elevator. If he is your fiancé, then who is the father of that child?"

"I am her father," Carson stated before I could open my mouth. 

Brian shifted his glare back to Carson. He shook his head in stubborn denial. 

"You are lying," Brian told him. "The timeline does not add up. Cheryl left me four years ago. That child is at least four years old. She belongs to me, and you are just covering for her."

"The timeline makes logical sense if you actually use your brain," Carson countered with ease. "Cheryl filed for divorce because she realized she deserved a real man. We met shortly after she arrived in Europe. We fell in love, and we built a family together. Mira is my daughter, and you have no right to ask questions about her."

Brian looked back and forth between us. He was searching for a crack in our story, but Carson and I had practiced this specific lie a hundred times. We knew Brian would eventually try to claim Mira, so we built a solid legal wall around her identity. 

"She has my eyes," Brian insisted. He sounded desperate now, and his chest heaved with heavy breaths. "I saw her face, Cheryl. You cannot stand here and tell me I do not know my own blood."

"She has my eyes," I corrected him. "She has my facial structure, and she shares Carson’s stubborn personality. You are seeing things that do not exist because you are drowning in your own guilt. You ruined our marriage, and now you want to steal my happiness."

"I do not want to steal anything," Brian argued. "I just want the truth."

"I just gave you the truth," I said. "Carson Robinson is the Chief Legal Officer of my company. He is my future husband, and he is the father of my child. Your delusion is pathetic, Brian. You are nothing but a terrible memory from my past."

Brian stared at me. He looked like I had physically slapped him across the face. For a brief second, I saw genuine pain in his eyes. He looked broken, and a small part of me remembered the young boy who saved me from the dark storage room so many years ago. 

But then I remembered the three years of emotional abuse. I remembered how he left me alone on our wedding night to comfort Helen. My sympathy vanished into thin air. 

"If you try to approach my daughter again," I warned him, leaning around Carson’s shoulder to make sure Brian heard every word, "I will have Carson file a restraining order against you so fast it will make your head spin. Stay away from my family."

Brian opened his mouth to argue, but a loud voice interrupted our tense standoff. 

"Miss Caldwell!"

I turned my head toward the ballroom doors. Mr. Sterling, the head of the hospital executive board, was walking across the marble floor with a wide smile on his face. He was flanked by three other wealthy investors. They were the key decision-makers for the biotech contract I needed to win tonight. 

I took a deep breath and forced a warm, professional smile onto my face. I let go of my anger and stepped around Brian as if he did not matter at all. 

"Mr. Sterling," I greeted the older man. I extended my hand, and he shook it firmly. "It is wonderful to finally meet you in person. Thank you so much for the invitation to this beautiful gala."

"The pleasure is all mine," Mr. Sterling replied. He looked at Carson and then glanced at Brian. "I see you have already met one of our primary financial backers. Has Mr. Wilson been keeping you entertained?"

"Mr. Wilson was just leaving," I said. I did not look at Brian when I spoke. "We had a very brief conversation about the past, but I prefer to focus on the future of our business."

Mr. Sterling laughed, assuming I was making a clever corporate joke. "That is the spirit, Miss Caldwell. We have a private meeting room prepared for your presentation. The rest of the board is waiting for us inside."

"Excellent," I said. I turned to Carson and held my arm out. 

Carson smiled and linked his arm through mine. He played the role of the devoted partner with effortless charm. We started walking toward the private meeting room alongside the investors. 

I could feel Brian’s eyes burning into my back. I knew he was watching me walk away, and I knew his pride was bleeding. He was used to women bowing to his demands, yet I had just dismissed him in front of the most powerful men in the city. 

We walked through the heavy wooden doors of the conference room. The noise of the main lobby faded away as the doors clicked shut behind us. 

The other executives were busy taking their seats at the large glass table. They were opening their folders and pouring glasses of water, so no one was paying attention to Carson and me near the entrance. 

Carson leaned his head down toward my ear. He kept the pleasant smile on his face, but his voice was tight with concern. 

"You handled that very well," Carson murmured. "But he is not going to let this go. You saw his face out there. He does not believe a single word we said."

I looked at the empty chairs waiting for us at the front of the table. My hands were still cold, and my heart was still beating too fast. Brian was much more observant than I anticipated, and his determination was dangerous. 

"I know," I whispered back to Carson without losing my own smile. "He suspects the truth. We have to move faster."