Chapter 3 – How Dare You?

The headache returned slowly, like a quiet warning before a storm. At first, it was only pressure behind Sabrina’s eyes, but within minutes it spread across her temples and down the back of her neck.

Her body felt weak, almost disconnected from her thoughts, and she had to sit down on one of the benches outside the soccer academy before her legs gave out completely.

Around her, life continued normally. Parents laughed as they waited for their children, coaches called out final instructions, and cars pulled in and out of the parking lot. The world had not changed.

But Sabrina’s had.

The envelope inside her handbag felt heavier than it should have. She did not need to open it again; she already knew what it said. She had read the words over and over until they no longer looked real.

No biological relationship, and the test had been clear. There was no mistake.

Noah was not her son.

Her breathing became shallow, and for a moment she thought she might faint. She could not go home like this.

If she confronted Adrian now, she would not have the strength to stand through the conversation, let alone demand answers.

So instead of going to the mansion, she took a cab to the hospital.

The moment she walked into the emergency department;, she was recognized immediately. Sabrina Kane was not just any physician; she was respected, known, and admired. The nurses straightened when they saw her, and the attending doctor approached with concern in his eyes.

“Dr. Kane, what happened?” he asked gently.

“I just need a few hours,” she replied. “I’m fine.”

But she was not fine. Her blood pressure was elevated, her pulse irregular, and the strain was clear on her face. The doctor insisted that she should be admitted for overnight monitoring.

“You are under significant stress,” he said carefully. “You need proper observation.”

“I cannot stay,” she answered, her voice firm despite the exhaustion weighing on her body. “Give me something to stabilize the symptoms. I’ll agree to a few hours of observation, but I won’t be admitted.”

After some discussion, they compromised. She was placed in a private room and monitored for several hours. Medication eased the pounding in her head, and fluids helped steady her blood pressure. While she lay there staring at the ceiling, her thoughts moved slowly.

If the report was true, then something had happened the night she gave birth.

The hospital administration later contacted Adrian as a matter of protocol, informing him that Sabrina had come in, that she had refused admission, and that she would be discharged after observation.

Sabrina did not know how he reacted to the call, but she imagined he responded calmly, as he did to everything, offering just enough concern to appear responsible.

When the doctors were satisfied that she was stable, she left. She did not allow herself more time to think.

She picked a cab and went straight to the house, the place she once called home.

The mansion stood tall and illuminated against the darkening sky. It looked perfect, untouched, and peaceful. Sabrina had chosen the marble floors, the chandeliers, and the artworks on the walls.

She had helped build the research institute that funded this house, and she built the empire Adrian now claimed as his own.

As she stepped inside, she heard laughter from the living room. Noah’s voice, Daniella’s soft response, and Adrian’s calm but steady tone. They sounded comfortable, like a family that had never been interrupted.

Noah was the first to notice her presence and his smile faded immediately.

“Dad,” he said quickly, “she’s here again.”

Again? The word pierced Sabrina’s chest in a way she had not expected.

Adrian stood up at once, and Daniella rose beside him. Daniella’s expression was composed, but her eyes were alert.

“What do you mean again?” Adrian asked Noah.

“She came to the academy,” Noah explained. “She said she wanted to take me.”

Sabrina felt her stomach twist. She had tried to take him only because of his condition, which only she knew very well, but she was met with rejection.

Daniella placed a gentle hand on Noah’s shoulder. “No one is taking you anywhere,” she assured him softly. “You are safe.”

As if Sabrina were something dangerous. Adrian’s tone became controlled and firm. “Noah, go to your room.”

He turned to Daniella. “Go with him.”

Then he looked at Marla, who had been standing near the hallway. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Marla nodded and stepped out. The room fell silent once they were gone, now it was just Sabrina and Adrian.

He stood a few feet away from her, perfectly dressed as always, his posture straight and unshaken. There was no visible panic in him, no fear of what she might say.

“What were you thinking?” he asked evenly. “Trying to remove Noah from the academy without informing me.”

“I was not removing him,” Sabrina replied, forcing her voice to remain steady. “I was taking my son with me.”

“You have no authority to interfere in that way.”

The word felt unfamiliar in her own home. Sabrina took a slow breath.

“If Noah is not my son,” she said carefully, “then where is my child?”

She reached into her bag and threw the maternity test results at him.

The question hung between them, Adrian did not answer immediately. He studied her face, as though deciding how much truth she could handle.

“So, you saw the report,” he said at last.

“Yes.”

“You were not supposed to learn it that way.”

“There was a better way?” she asked quietly. He ignored the question.

“You delivered a baby that night,” he began, his tone calm and detached. “That is true.”

Her heart pounded loudly in her ears.

“But the situation was complicated. The company was under investigation, and the board was monitoring every aspect of my personal life. Any scandal at that time would have triggered an emergency review and possibly removed me as CEO.”

Her voice trembled despite her effort to control it. “What has your infidelity got to do with my baby?”

“Daniella was also in labor that night,” Adrian continued.

Sabrina stared at him, unable to process the words. Her heart started beating rapidly.

“You switched them and decided mine belonged elsewhere? Why, Adrian?” she asked, her eyes teary.

“Yes, because I never loved you or that child.” The answer was immediate, simple, and cold.

“You’re the devil, Adrian. You will burn in hell.”

Adrian laughed. “Yes. Thank you. At least I am with the woman I want. I wanted to end it long ago, but you kept refusing to sign the divorce papers. And when you told me you found a way to stabilize Noah’s condition, your job here was done.”

“You made me believe Noah was mine, so I would keep him alive, when I thought I was keeping the family together and avoiding a broken home for him.”

Sabrina connected the dots.

“It was the most efficient solution,” he said with no remorse. Sabrina gave him a slap across the face.

Adrian didn’t react.

“I deserved that,” he said with a faint smile.

“For six years?” Her voice broke. “Six years, Adrian.”

“Your child posed a risk,” Adrian said evenly. “A child born under those circumstances would have exposed everything.”

“And you didn’t think what you were doing was wrong? You could have kept your mistress in the shadows. I would have understood even if you told me she was pregnant. I would have left quietly with my son. He was your son too,” she said.

“My blood,” Adrian corrected, his tone sharpening slightly. “And precisely because of that, he could not be connected publicly.”

Her body felt weak again, but she refused to collapse.

“What do you even mean by that? Never mind. Please, where is he?” she asked softly.

Adrian hesitated for a brief moment.

“He was placed privately,” he said. “Through secure arrangements. There is no accessible record. You can’t find him, Sabrina.”

“How dare you, Adrian?” she said, forcing the tears not to fall, but they streaked down anyway.

“All I ever wanted was to make you happy, be a good wife, and grow old with you. At what point did I ever wrong you? What is my crime?”

For six years she had devoted herself to stabilizing Noah’s rare immunological condition. She had spent countless nights in the lab creating an experimental formula to suppress the illness.

She also postponed publishing her research so it would not draw attention to his condition. She stayed in a failing marriage because she believed she was protecting her son.

All this while, her real child had been elsewhere.

“You erased my child,” she said. She continued slowly, “And I preserved hers.”

Daniella re-entered the room quietly and stood beside Adrian.

“You have been important to Noah,” Daniella said gently. “No one wants to take that from you. You can still be part of his life.”

The audacity of saying this to Sabrina at this point. “You cannot steal my child and then offer me charity,” Sabrina replied.

Adrian’s expression hardened. “This discussion is over.”

“No,” she said. “It is only beginning. I leave whatever justice there is to judge you both.”

She turned toward the hallway, but the emotional weight and the fading medication overwhelmed her. Her vision blurred, and the floor seemed to tilt beneath her feet.

She stumbled forward, losing her balance.

Before she could fall, she felt strong hands catch her. “Careful,” a deep, familiar voice said.

She looked up.

Victor Laurent stood before her, composed and steady. He had arrived earlier that evening for a scheduled investment discussion with Adrian and had been waiting near the entrance when she emerged from the living room.

His eyes studied her with quiet intensity.

Adrian approached quickly. “Mr. Laurent,” he said smoothly, as though nothing had happened. “I apologize for the disruption.”

Victor did not immediately look at him. His gaze remained on Sabrina.

“I was at the hospital. They informed me you were unwell,” Victor said calmly. “Are you certain you are stable enough to stand?”

Adrian cut in, “She will be fine, Mr. Laurent. We have important matters to discuss.”

Victor once again did not look at him. Sabrina straightened despite her weakness. “I am fine,” she answered, but she was not fine.

Behind her stood a man who had just orchestrated the fracture of her life. Adrian believed the past was buried, that there was no trace, no record, and no way back.

And for the first time since reading that report, Sabrina felt something stronger than grief rising inside her.

She felt resolve.