Chapter 6

Voices drifted through the darkness before Elena fully opened her eyes.

“…stress levels are too high.”

“She fainted from emotional exhaustion.” The words sounded far away at first.

Then the sharp scent of antiseptic slowly pulled her back to reality.

Elena’s head throbbed.

She shifted weakly against the hospital bed and immediately felt something warm wrapped around her hand.

Not a blanket.

A hand.

Strong fingers held hers carefully, almost cautiously, like the person was afraid she might disappear again.

Elena’s lashes fluttered open.

Bright hospital lights blurred above her before her vision finally steadied.

Alexander sat beside her bed. The moment he noticed she was awake, his posture changed slightly. “You’re awake.”

His voice remained calm, but Elena still caught the tension underneath it.

The room slowly came back into focus after that.

Six men. Still there.

Noah stood near the window with his arms crossed tightly, his expression dark and restless.

Dominic remained beside the wall scrolling through something on his tablet, though his eyes kept lifting toward her every few seconds.

Raphael looked like he had not breathed properly since she collapsed.

Julian stood beside Doctor Miz quietly reviewing medical charts while Matteo stayed closest to the door like he was guarding it.

All of them were watching her. Like her waking up mattered.

Elena swallowed.

The last thing she remembered was dizziness… then falling.

The ultrasound papers. Her hand moved instinctively toward her stomach.

Alexander noticed immediately. “Your baby is okay,” he said softly before Elena could ask.

Something inside her loosened so suddenly it almost hurt.

Elena shut her eyes briefly…. Thank God.

Doctor Miz stepped closer. “How are you feeling?”

Elena opened her eyes. “My head still hurts a little.” Her voice sounded too weak

Alexander’s hand still rested over hers. His thumb moved once gently against her skin when he noticed her looking.

Doctor Miz adjusted the IV carefully. “This is exactly what I warned about.” Her tone became firmer as she looked toward the brothers. “Stress like this is dangerous for both her and the baby.”

Noah’s jaw flexed once at the word baby.

Alexander never took his eyes off her. “She’s coming with us.”

Elena blinked. “With you?”

“To your family.”

The word settled strangely inside the quiet room.

Family.

Elena lowered her eyes to the blanket covering her lap. For years, that word had belonged to other people.

Not her.

She looked around again.

Six men stood near her bed.

Powerful men.

Dangerous-looking men.

Yet every expression in the room softened whenever they looked at her.

Her chest tightened unexpectedly. “I can’t leave with strangers,” she whispered. “I don’t know any of you.”

Then after a pause—“And I don’t know if this has something to do with Damian.”

The atmosphere shifted immediately.

Dominic’s expression hardened.

Matteo actually laughed once under his breath, but there was nothing amused about it.

Alexander stayed calm.

Dominic stepped closer, careful not to overwhelm her. “You’re pregnant,” he said quietly. “You fainted from stress alone in a hospital while reporters chased you outside.”

His eyes moved over her pale face. “Please let us take care of you.”

Elena looked at him for a moment too long before glancing away. The request sounded unfamiliar in a way she did not know how to process.

“We can run every DNA test you want,” Dominic added more gently. “You don’t have to trust us immediately.”

Silence settled again.

Elena leaned back carefully against the bed.

Her head still hurt.

Everything hurt.

Damian. The divorce. The baby. These men. This impossible situation.

Alexander noticed the distant look in her eyes immediately. “You don’t have to decide anything right now,” he said.

Elena looked at him quietly.

There was something unnerving about him. Not frightening. Just familiar enough to make her uneasy.

“We can slow this down,” he added.

No frustration. No impatience.

Just certainty.

Dominic muttered dryly from beside the window, “Mentioning Lancaster every few minutes probably isn’t helping her blood pressure.”

Normally Elena would have defended Damian automatically. This time she stayed silent.

Doctor Miz returned carrying discharge papers and medication. “She can leave soon,” the doctor explained. “But she shouldn’t be left alone.”

Nobody argued.

Julian accepted the medical papers and started reading through them immediately.

Doctor Miz paused. “You’re a doctor?”

“Cardiothoracic surgeon,” Julian answered politely.

The doctor visibly relaxed. “Good.” She handed him the prescriptions. “Make sure she eats properly. She’s exhausted.”

Raphael quietly picked up Elena’s bag from beside the wall.Noah moved toward the door to clear the hallway.Dominic reviewed the discharge instructions twice.

Everything happened effectively around her.

Elena watched them silently.

Not because she felt emotional. Because she genuinely did not know what to do when people handled things for her.

“Elena?”

 She looked up slowly.

Alexander stood closer now. “If this is too much tonight, we understand.” His voice remained calm. “But let us stay beside you.”

The simple acknowledgement loosened something in her chest and she realized she wanted that… wanted someone beside her….wanted to stop feeling alone all the time.

“If this is true…” she said carefully. “Why didn’t you find me sooner?”

The room became silent.

Alexander answered first. “We tried.”

Noah turned away sharply.

“For years,” Dominic added quietly.

Matteo’s voice lowered. “Whoever took you erased every trail.”

Raphael smiled faintly, though his eyes looked suspiciously bright. “But you kept the necklace anyway.”

Elena touched the crescent moon pendant. “The woman who raised me said my mother gave it to me before she died.”

Alexander’s expression changed to that. “She protected you the only way she could.”

Elena looked down again. Her emotions felt tangled beyond understanding. Part of her wanted to believe every word they said. That frightened her more than disbelief did.

Raphael crouched beside her carefully. “Can you stand?”

Elena nodded weakly and tried moving.

Julian caught her arm before she could stumble. “Easy.” His voice stayed calm, but his grip tightened slightly.

“You’ve barely eaten,” he said quietly.

Alexander stepped forward immediately.

Without a word, he removed his coat and adjusted it more securely around her shoulders.

The gesture was so natural it nearly broke something inside her.

Damian had shared a bed with her for five years. Yet Elena could not remember a single moment he noticed when she was cold.

“Elena,” Alexander said softly. “Come home with us please.”

Home.

Elena swallowed hard. “What if I don’t remember any of you?”

For the first time since entering the hospital room, Alexander’s entire expression softened completely. “Then we’ll help you remember.”

Nobody spoke after that. Because something about the way he said it made the room feel emotional all over again.

Even his brothers looked stunned. Alexander Whitmore was not gentle with anyone. Yet around Elena, every hard edge disappeared.

*******

Inside the Lancaster Mansion, Damian sat alone in his office. The city lights stretched endlessly beyond the glass windows behind him.

Files covered his desk.

Unread emails filled his screen.

But his attention kept drifting elsewhere.

He had ignored all of it for nearly an hour.

Three days.

Elena had been gone for three days.

At first he dismissed it. Even after signing the divorce papers, part of him still expected her to return eventually.

She always had before.

Damian picked up his phone and called the downtown penthouse.

The call connected quickly.

“Is Elena there?”

A small silence from the other end.

“No, sir. Miss Elena never came here.”

Damian frowned immediately. “What do you mean she never came?”

Another pause.

“No one has seen her, sir.”

Damian slowly lowered the phone. For the first time since the divorce, something uneasy settled heavily in his chest.

If Elena isn't there… then where is she?

The thought should have reassured him. Instead, his office suddenly felt strangely quiet.

His eyes moved unconsciously toward the untouched cup of coffee sitting near his desk. Elena used to replace it herself whenever it got cold. 

Damian looked away sharply.

“Jack.” His assistant enter

ed immediately. “Yes, sir?”

Damian grabbed his coat from the chair beside him.

“Find Elena.”

Jack blinked slightly in surprise. Because this was the first real urgency Damian had shown since the divorce.

Damian’s jaw tightened.

“Now.”