Chapter 0004

Alexander’s POV

The day before…

When I woke up that morning, the first thing I noticed was the stiffness in my neck.

I blinked slowly and stared up at the ceiling of the living room. For a moment I wondered why I was there instead of in my bed. Then the memory returned. I had fallen asleep on the couch sometime after midnight while going through reports on my tablet.

The Seattle headquarters project has been occupying most of my thoughts lately. It was not just another corporate building. It was something Charlotte and I had dreamed about together.

Her architectural designs combined with my company’s AI systems would create a structure unlike anything the city had seen before.

A smart tower that could regulate its own energy consumption, manage internal transportation systems, and respond to environmental conditions in real time.

It was supposed to be revolutionary.

I sat up slowly and rubbed my eyes.

The house was quiet. Charlotte must still have been asleep upstairs.

For a moment I considered going up to wake her so we could have breakfast together before I left for work. But the thought disappeared as quickly as it came.

She had been exhausted lately.

The hospital visits, the endless tests, the emotional weight of our struggle to have a child. I knew she barely slept some nights.

She deserved the rest.

Just as I stood up, my phone vibrated on the coffee table. It’s an email notification.

I picked it up and frowned when I saw the sender. It’s a member of the regional construction board.

My jaw tightened as I opened the message.

‘Mr. Voss, you are required to attend an urgent meeting regarding the Seattle headquarters construction project.’

There is no further explanation. Just a time and an address.

I checked the time and saw the meeting was scheduled in less than an hour. I exhaled slowly and grabbed my coat.

Before leaving, I glanced once toward the staircase leading to the bedroom.

Charlotte would probably still be asleep. Which was good.

There was no reason to drag her into whatever bureaucratic nonsense the construction board wanted to discuss.

I quietly left the house.

—

The construction board’s office building stood in the middle of the downtown district, an unremarkable gray structure surrounded by government vehicles.

I walked through the lobby with my assistant trailing slightly behind me. The receptionist directed us to a conference room on the second floor.

When I entered the room, several members of the board were already seated around the long table but none of them looked particularly pleased to see me.

I took the empty chair at the center. “Let us get straight to the point,” I said calmly. “Why was construction on my project paused without prior notice?”

One of the older board members cleared his throat. “We received an environmental complaint regarding the Seattle headquarters site.”

“A complaint?” I repeated.

“Yes.”

“From whom?”

“An anonymous source.”

I leaned back in my chair. “What exactly does this anonymous source claim?”

Another member slid a file across the table. “The complaint states that your tower may negatively affect a protected wetland located near the construction site.”

I stared at him for a moment then I laughed. “That is impossible.”

The room fell silent.

“My wife, Mrs Voss, personally supervised the environmental research on that land,” I continued. “Every report confirmed the area was perfectly suitable for construction.”

One of the board members shrugged. “These new findings suggest otherwise.”

“Then show me the reports.” They exchanged brief glances.

“I am afraid those documents are confidential during the investigation process,” the chairman said.

My patience thinned instantly. “You halted a billion-dollar project based on a complaint from an anonymous source, and you refuse to show me the evidence?”

“That is correct, Mr Voss.”

I looked around the room and every face remained neutral.

Then my gaze settled on one particular member of the board. A man I had never liked.

He leaned back in his chair and smiled faintly. “Perhaps this is only the beginning of your problems, Mr. Voss.”

My eyes narrowed sharply. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged lazily. “I simply meant that powerful empires sometimes crumble faster than expected.”

The implication in his tone was unmistakable.

I stood up slowly.“If there are problems with the reports,” I said evenly, “then I suggest you resolve them quickly.”

The chairman opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him off. “Because this project will not remain frozen indefinitely.”

Without waiting for their reply, I walked out of the room and my assistant hurried after me.

Outside the building, I stopped beside my car and stared across the street for a moment.

Something about that meeting felt wrong. The complaint. The refusal to show evidence and that board member’s strange comment.

I finally slid into the back seat of the car.

“Sir?” my assistant asked from the front.

“Find out who submitted that environmental complaint,” I said.

“Yes, sir.”

As the car began moving, I took out my phone. There was only one person I wanted to speak to at that moment.

Charlotte.

I dialed her number.

—

Present…

The hospital waiting room was crowded with reporters. Camera flashes burst constantly as journalists shouted questions in every direction.

I ignored them all and focused on the woman sitting beside me.

Charlotte looked pale.

I handed her a cup of coffee. “Drink this,” I said quietly.

She accepted it but barely took a sip. Her eyes looked empty and seeing her like this twisted something deep in my chest.

“Do you remember our trip to Florence?” I asked suddenly.

She looked at me with faint confusion. “What?”

“The one before we got married,” I said. “You dragged me through six different architecture museums in one day.”

A small flicker of recognition appeared in her eyes. “You complained the entire time.”

“I did not complain,” I said defensively.

“You said your feet were dying.”

“Well, they were.”

For a brief moment I hoped the memory might lighten her mood but the sadness quickly returned to her face.

“Alexander,” she whispered. “How did this happen?”

I did not have an answer because that was what we were trying to find out.

News had spread across every major media outlet that my wife was barren.

A piece of private medical information that only a handful of people should have known.

Footsteps approached and my lawyer entered the waiting room carrying a folder. “Mr. Voss.”

I stood immediately. “Well?”

He shook his head. “We investigated the hospital staff.”

“And?”

“No sign of any medical records being leaked.”

I frowned.

“The doctors and nurses involved in Mrs. Voss’s examinations all deny releasing any information.”

Charlotte suddenly spoke. “It was your mother.”

Both of us turned toward her.

“She leaked it,” Charlotte said bitterly. “I’m sure she did it out of spite.”

I hesitated. My mother had never really liked Charlotte. Even during our early days of dating she had tried to convince me to break off the relationship.

But this? Revealing such a personal secret to the media? It seemed too extreme.

“My mother values her reputation,” I said carefully. “And the reputation of this family.”

Charlotte looked at me with disbelief. “So you think she would not do it?”

“I am not saying that.”

“But you do not believe me either.”

I did not respond.

My lawyer cleared his throat awkwardly. “I will continue investigating the source of the leak,” he said. “There must be another explanation.”

I nodded. “Keep digging.”

Then I placed a hand gently on Charlotte’s back. “Let us go.”

Outside the hospital, the crowd of reporters surged toward us.

“Mr. Voss! Is it true your wife cannot have children?”

“Mrs. Voss, do you have a response to the reports?”

Camera flashes exploded around us.

I guided Charlotte through the chaos and toward our car while security tried to hold the journalists back.

Just as we reached the vehicle, a voice called out from the crowd. “Mr. Voss!” I turned slightly.

A man stepped forward, raising his hand. “I saw something yesterday,” he said quickly.

I paused. “What did you see?”

He pointed toward the hospital entrance. “Two men went into the doctor’s office yesterday.”

“What about them?”

“They were dressed strangely,” he said. “Too formal for a hospital visit.”

I frowned. “And?”

“They stayed there for a long time.”

My chest tightened slightly. “Did you see them leave?”

The man shook his head. “No. I left before they came out.”