Chapter Five The Confrontation

Sienna had felt uneasy all day, a gnawing sensation in her gut that refused to fade. She convinced herself it was nothing—just the stress of the upcoming work trip, the pressure of working so closely with Damian.

But when she walked into her apartment that evening, she knew instantly.

Something was wrong.

The air felt different, charged with an unfamiliar tension. And then she saw him.

Damian.

He stood in her living room, his powerful frame filling the space as if he belonged there. He was dressed in his usual tailored suit, his presence overwhelming. But it wasn’t just his presence that sent a chill down her spine.

It was the look in his eyes.

Cold. Unyielding.

Dangerous.

Sienna’s breath hitched. "How did you get in here?"

His lips curved into a humorless smirk. "You should check your security, Sienna. It’s lacking."

Her heart pounded, but she forced herself to stay calm. "You broke into my home?"

Damian took a slow step toward her, his gaze never leaving hers. "I needed answers. And I wasn’t going to wait any longer."

Sienna swallowed hard. She knew, in that moment, that her worst fear had come true.

He knew.

"Damian, whatever you think—"

"Enough." His voice was like a blade, slicing through her feeble attempt at denial. He pulled a folded document from his pocket and tossed it onto the coffee table.

Sienna’s stomach dropped. She didn’t need to look at it to know what it was.

A DNA test.

"Five years," Damian said, his tone deathly quiet. "Five years, Sienna. You kept my son from me."

Sienna’s throat went dry. "I—"

"Don’t," he snapped, his voice laced with fury. "Don’t you dare lie to me again."

She had never seen him like this before. Damian was always controlled, calculating. But now? Now, he was barely containing his rage.

"You had no right," he continued, stepping closer. "No right to decide I didn’t deserve to know."

Sienna’s hands clenched into fists. "And what would you have done, Damian? If I had told you back then?"

His eyes darkened. "I would have been there."

She let out a bitter laugh. "Would you? Or would your precious empire have come first?"

Something flickered in his expression, but it was gone just as quickly.

"You don’t get to make excuses for what you did," he said. "You stole my son from me, Sienna. You kept him hidden. You let me believe—"

He stopped, exhaling sharply. His fingers curled at his sides, as if he was barely holding himself back.

Sienna’s chest ached. "I did what I thought was best."

His gaze sharpened. "For who? For you?"

"For Julian," she said fiercely. "I wasn’t going to let him be raised by a man who only saw relationships as transactions. You weren’t ready to be a father, Damian."

His jaw tightened. "That wasn’t your decision to make."

Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating.

Finally, Damian exhaled, his voice lower but no less intense. "I’m not going to fight with you about the past, Sienna. What’s done is done. But make no mistake—I am not going to be a stranger to my own son."

Fear shot through her. "What are you saying?"

He met her gaze, unwavering. "I want full custody."

Sienna’s breath left her in a sharp gasp.

"You can’t be serious."

"Oh, I’m very serious." His expression was unreadable, but she could see the determination in his eyes. "Julian is mine, and I will not be some weekend visitor in his life."

Panic clawed at her chest. "You can’t just take him away from me."

His lips pressed into a thin line. "You took him from me first."

Sienna shook her head. "No. I raised him. I took care of him. You don’t get to walk in now and act like you’ve earned the right to be his father."

Something in his expression shifted, a flicker of something almost… wounded. But it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"I will fight for him, Sienna," Damian said, his voice softer now but no less resolute. "I will do whatever it takes."

Sienna’s hands trembled. "Damian, please. Don’t do this."

His gaze lingered on her for a moment, unreadable. Then he turned toward the door.

"You have until after our trip to Boston to figure out how you want to handle this," he said. "But make no mistake—one way or another, I will be in my son’s life."

And with that, he was gone.

Sienna collapsed onto the couch, her entire body shaking.

This was it.

The secret was out.

And now, she had to fight to keep the one thing that mattered most.

Julian.