Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Illegitimate Son

Nathan froze when he opened his phone and saw the photograph on the screen.

Number one trending.

Alex, his son, smiling as if the world was still the same as always, standing right beside Sarah’s child. The resemblance was so brutal it hurt to look at. Almost twins. His stomach dropped. He lifted his eyes to Sarah. She was already staring at her own screen, face pale, lips parted in a failed attempt to say something that never came.

They exchanged no words.

Nathan walked straight to the center of the stage, where the cameras were still live.

“One moment, please,” he said, voice contained, almost too calm. “This is clearly some kind of misunderstanding. I’ll handle it personally and clear the story. I ask for space to deal with it. Thank you.”

He gave a single nod, turned, and left the podium before the first reporter could open his mouth.

The room began to deflate. Cables being coiled, low murmurs, hurried footsteps toward the exits.

Sarah waited until the place was nearly empty. Only then did she approach. Her hands trembled slightly.

“Nathan… I’m sorry. Mrs. Cassy took them to the market for groceries. I should have told her to keep a low profile. No photos. This is on me. I’ll fix it, I promise.”

He gave her a brief nod. He didn’t trust himself to speak. She waited one more second, then walked away without pressing.

The moment she disappeared down the hallway, Nathan pulled out his phone again and dialed the head of cybersecurity.

“Listen carefully,” he said the instant the call connected. “I don’t care what it costs. Money, favors, connections. Twenty minutes. If those photos aren’t gone from the internet, from backups, from caches, from every damn search result… you’re finished. Tomorrow you’ll be looking for work on another continent. Understood?”

He hung up without waiting for an answer.

Emma was still in her car, furious, still shaking with rage at being dragged out of the press room like a criminal. She cursed Sarah aloud, replaying every humiliation in front of the reporters. Then her phone buzzed. Trending alert. She tapped it.

She stopped breathing.

Nathan wasn’t the type who appeared in scandals. Never rumors, never leaks, never a single compromising photo. And now that child—who could pass for Alex’s twin—was everywhere. Her fingers went numb. Her heart slammed against her ribs as if it wanted out.

Who the hell is that kid?

Sarah drove with her gaze lost, windows down, wind whipping her face. She couldn’t stop thinking about Adin. Five years old and already seeing things adults missed. If anyone had followed them at the market, he would have noticed. He would have said something. 

Therefore, no one followed them. Which meant he allowed—or arranged—for the photo to be taken.

Nathan Reed? What was he thinking?

She arrived home. Mrs. Cassy was waiting on the porch, guilt carved so deeply into her face she looked ill.

“Sarah, I didn’t mean—”

“I know,” she cut her off. “It’s not you. It’s Adin. He knew exactly what was happening. If he’d wanted that photo to never see daylight, it would already be gone.”

She didn’t wait for more apologies. She went inside and climbed the stairs.

“Adin,” she called.

He stepped out of his room, tablet in hand. Too calm. As if he’d been waiting for her.

“Why?” she asked. No raised voice. Just exhausted. “Do you even understand what you’ve started? You chose the Reeds. Do you know what that means?”

Alex poked his head out from the playroom, eyes already shining.

“Mommy, don’t be mad at him. I begged Grandma Cassy to let me go too. And if Adin and Aria don’t have a dad… I’ll give them mine.”

Something cracked inside Sarah’s chest. She looked from one to the other.

Adin was already touching the screen.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” he said quietly. “I didn’t want to upset you. I’ll delete it now.”

His fingers moved fast. But she knew that look. That wasn’t a real “sorry.” That was him covering tracks.

She’d caught him weeks earlier reading old articles about her. Silently. Asking questions without asking. He didn’t like Emma. He didn’t like how she treated his mom. So he decided to stir the hornet’s nest. Make her uncomfortable.

She watched him work. He wasn’t just deleting tweets or posts. He was making everything vanish.

“Done,” he said at last, looking up. “All of it. They won’t get it back.”

She leaned against the wall, arms crossed tight.

“Why didn’t you stop it before it blew up? Why did you even let Mrs. Cassy take them outside?”

He didn’t answer. Just dropped his gaze to his feet.

Sarah’s mind slid back five years. That night she’d tried to bury it. She woke up alone, head splitting, stomach churning with regret. She never tried to find out who he was. Never wanted to. She had twins, a job, a life. That was enough.

But now Adin standing next to Alex… the same jawline, the same way the hair fell, the same faint scatter of freckles across the nose. It wasn’t just similar. It was identical.

The internet had seen it too. That’s why the photo went viral. People assumed Nathan had a secret family.

Someone knocked on the front door.

Sarah went down slowly, opened it.

Nathan. Still in his suit, face hard.

“I’m here for Alex,” he said, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. “And yes, the photos are disappearing. My teams can’t keep up. Someone is scrubbing faster than anyone I’ve ever hired could. Was it you?”

She shook her head.

“I don’t know anything about that, Nathan. I was just upstairs talking to Adin.”

He stepped closer. The room seemed to shrink.

“Then who? And why was your son at the market today with mine?”

“Mrs. Cassy went for groceries,” she answered. “She took them with her. I didn’t think it was a big deal. Two little boys who look alike. People notice those things. It happens.” She met his eyes directly. “You left your son here for three days. So don’t act like this is all my fault.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“Where is he?”

Alex came down the stairs slowly, socks slipping on each step. He stopped halfway.

“Daddy… Can we stay a little longer? Please.”

“No,” Nathan snapped. Sharp. “We’re leaving. 

You’ve caused enough trouble for one day.”

Alex took his father’s hand, glanced back at Sarah one last time. They left. The door closed with a final click.

Sarah stood there a moment. Then went upstairs. She took a long, very hot shower. Didn’t dry off completely. Just dropped onto the bed in the damp robe, staring at the ceiling, listening to the house fall silent.

Across town, Emma sat on her mother’s sofa, an untouched glass of wine between her fingers.

“How can some random kid look exactly like Alex?” Linda asked carefully.

“Mom, stop. It’s probably just a classmate or something.” But the words sounded hollow even to her.

Because how? How could someone with no connection have exactly the same eyes, the same smile, everything identical?

Her heart started pounding hard again.

This isn’t a coincidence… But who could have orchestrated it?

Could that child be…?