03

~Lucien~

This is the hundredth time I have called Aurelia since hearing the news about the baby, and the call dies against my ear again before I get anything except the same endless ringing that has been testing my patience for hours, so I lower the phone and stare at her name on the screen while the doctor’s words continue running through my head.

The child is yours. Elara Carter is the biological mother.

I press the call button again, listening as it rings while I walk out of the labor ward, and when nobody answers, I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at the screen with my jaw clenched.

“Aurelia, pick up your damn phone.”

A nurse coming down the corridor glances at me before quickly looking away, and I slide the phone into my pocket as I continue walking, only to hear footsteps approaching behind me.

“Mr. Veyne?”

I turn and find the doctor from the delivery room following me, his hands still holding the file containing the results that have managed to turn the entire night upside down.

“How is she?”

“Elara is asleep now, and her condition is stable, but she needs to rest after the delivery.”

I glance toward the labor ward, my eyes settling on the closed door.

“And the baby?”

“He’s doing well, and the nurses have taken him to the baby ward for observation.”

I nod once before looking down at my phone again, because none of this changes the fact that Aurelia is missing, and the woman who has spent years pestering me about having children is nowhere near the child she supposedly wants so badly.

“I’m going to see him.”

The doctor steps aside, allowing me to pass, and I walk toward the baby ward with my phone still in my hand, the hospital lights reflecting against the polished floor while nurses move between the rooms.

When I reach the nursery, I stop in front of the glass and find him immediately.

My son is sleeping peacefully inside the tiny crib, wrapped in a white blanket with one little hand resting beside his cheek, completely unaware that his birth has already turned everything around him into chaos.

I step closer to the glass, my eyes moving toward the small card beside his crib.

Lucien Veyne.

My name.

I stare at him for several seconds before the nurse inside notices me and walks over, checking the chart before looking through the glass at me.

“Mr. Veyne, he’s doing very well.”

I nod without taking my eyes off him.

“He looks peaceful.”

“He’s been sleeping since we brought him in.”

My phone begins ringing again, and for half a second I think it might finally be Aurelia, but when I look down, her name is still nowhere on the screen, so I silence the call and slide the phone back into my pocket.

The nurse glances at me.

“Is everything all right, sir?”

I look back at my son before answering.

“No.”

She says nothing.

I stare at my son’s sleeping face through the glass for another moment, my jaw tightening as I think about everything that has happened tonight, before finally pressing my PA’s number and lifting the phone to my ear.

“Sir?”

“Where are you?”

“At home, sir.”

“I need you at the hospital.”

There is a brief pause before he answers.

“Is everything all right?”

“No, and I don’t have time to explain everything over the phone.”

“I need you to find Aurelia.”

“Mrs. Veyne?”

“Yes, my wife, and I want to know where she has been since I last saw her, because I have called her more times than I can count and she hasn’t answered a single call.”

My PA’s voice becomes more serious.

“Should I contact her security?”

“Contact everyone you need to contact, but find her.”

I turn away from the nursery and lean against the wall, lowering my voice as I continue speaking.

“And I want everything connected to the fertility clinic where the embryo transfer was done, including the doctors, the records, the procedure, and every person who handled the case.”

There is another pause.

“Sir, are you saying there is a problem with the procedure?”

I look through the glass at my son again, then down at the phone in my hand as the doctor’s words return to me.

The child is yours.

“There is a very big problem.”

“What happened?”

I say nothing for a moment, because even now, saying it aloud feels impossible.

“The baby is mine.”

My PA exhales quietly.

“That sounds like good news, sir.”

I look back at the nursery, my eyes fixed on the tiny child sleeping peacefully while the image of Elara’s confused face returns to my mind.

“It would be, if my wife were his biological mother.”

Silence fills the line.

“She isn’t,” I continue, my voice hardening as I watch my son sleep. “The surrogate is.”

My PA doesn’t respond immediately, and I tighten my grip around the phone.

“So find my wife, and find out what happened at that clinic.”

I end the call and remain standing there, staring through the glass at my son while the hospital continues moving around me, nurses passing, doors opening and closing, machines beeping softly somewhere down the corridor, and yet none of it reaches me because one question keeps repeating in my head.

Where is Aurelia?