Chapter 0005

•NOAH•

“Sir, I just found out she changed her name to Giselle Sullivan when she arrived in New York, shortly after she left California in 2020 during her pregnancy. Connor Crowe helped her to start a new life in New York. She struggled with the babies and only had a breakthrough in 2022 when she launched an app for college students to study through.”

I sat on the chair in my office and breathed. “Vince, are you telling me she did not inherit the money? Her parents were rich tycoons before they died. Perhaps they kept something for her when she got older and could manage the funds herself.”

“According to my sources, Mr. Blackwood, the money her parents left her was all spent in the North family. They used it to build their mansion and started the North Construction Company. She also used the money to build the Blackwood mansion.”

My heart skipped a beat when he mentioned that, and I quickly cleared my throat.

“Miss Sullivan is an IT genius. She built silver crest bank system from scratch after there were rumors it got hacked and people’s financial information got leaked. Nobody has hacked their banking system since it became super secure back in 2021. They tried in 2023, but they failed. So, she has been receiving twenty million dollars a year from the bank for her system.”

“What about the children?” I sighed, scratching my head.

For the first six months of our marriage, she was a homemaker, handling the home stuff, and never once brought up her love for technology.

Even when we were dating after high school, she didn’t tell me she was studying for an IT degree. She supported my dreams and wanted to see them come true.

I never even bothered to ask about her because I didn’t think she had any passions when her parents had left her multi-billion-dollar empire, which the North family claimed because they raised her.

“She was pregnant when she left California, sir. She hasn’t been in any relationships after her divorce from you. But—”

“But what?” My heart raced as I stood up from my chair. “What is it, Vince?”

“The children have a rare blood disease called aplastic anemia. Miss Sullivan took them to the hospital last night, and things aren’t looking good for them. There’s no update if whether they will be okay. As soon as my sources find something, I’ll update you, Mr. Blackwood.”

“Aplastic anemia? What does it mean?”

“They might not survive without a stem cell donor. They’ve tried chemotherapy over the years and blood transfusions, but they’ve only been getting worse with no one matching their HLA profile. There are a lot of medical terms here, but yeah, that’s all there is here.”

“Thank you, Vince, for your wonderful job. Send me an email if you find anything. I have to go now.” I hung up the call and stood near the window of my office, contemplating what to do when the door creaked open.

“Hey, honey. I bought you lunch!” Octavia squealed as she walked inside and closed the door. “I figured you had a long day and had nothing to eat. It’s lasagna, your favorite.”

I looked at the food as she placed the takeaway on the counter and didn’t know how to tell her the news about Laura or Giselle.

“What? You don’t want the food?”

“No, it’s just—” I sighed, leaning toward her. “Laura is back as Giselle Sullivan, and she’s the top investor I told you about.”

“What?” she gasped. “How is that possible?”

“That’s not the point. She’s back with twins, and I think they’re mine.”

“Wow,” she scoffed as she sat on the chair near the table. “Didn’t she get an abortion before she left the city?”

“I hired a private investigator, and he told me she didn’t get an abortion. Before I take accountability for the kids, I want to get DNA tests.”

“Seriously? Are you actually wondering if those kids are yours?” She frowned, standing up from the chair. “You know how manipulative Laura is. She changed her name, came back here, and is an investor in your company?” She scoffed. “Can’t you see she wants to ruin our lives?”

“She didn’t get an abortion, Octavia. Don’t you get that?”

“What I’m hearing is you asking me to sneak her back into our lives! She’s desperate and willing to do anything to get money from us.”

“The kids are sick, and if there’s a way I can help them, then I want to do so after finding out that they are mine.”

***

When we arrived at the hospital, we found the twins’ ward, and Giselle frowned when she saw us approaching her outside the door.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, her eyes puffy from crying.

“I’ve spoken with Dr. Bennett, and she told me the twins need a stem cell donor. So, I will get tested if we can prove through DNA tests they are mine.”

Giselle looked at Octavia and back at me. “Fine. If you want DNA tests, then you’ll get them, and after that, I want you and her out of this hospital.”

After the DNA tests, we waited a few hours in the waiting room for the results. We were on our feet before the door creaked open, and Dr. Bennett walked in.

“Here are the results, Mr. Blackwood. We will give you a few minutes before you decide what to do. The twins are running out of time.” She gave me an envelope before she left the room.

“They are mine,” I muttered after reading the document, and Octavia yanked it from my hands to read it.

When we walked out and found Giselle waiting outside the wardroom of the twins, we approached her.

“Listen here, Giselle or whatever you call yourself,” Octavia sneered as she pointed her finger at her. “Noah is my husband, and just because you kept the kids to trap him doesn’t mean we will dance in the palm of your hand.”

“Are you done?” Giselle snarled.

“That’s enough.” I grabbed Octavia’s wrist and stood in front of her. “Giselle, I have a proposal for you. I know that the twins’ lives are in danger, and I might be the only one who could help them, but to do so, I need your written agreement that if I save them and donate my stem cells, I will get major custody of them with Octavia, and she will be their legal guardian.”

“You’d make me choose between saving them and giving you custody with Octavia?” She scoffed. “You lost the right to my kids when you booked an appointment for me to abort them without discussing that with me!”

“If you refuse custody, Octavia and I will leave. You decide.”