Chapter 2

The baby was born shortly after midnight.

A nurse emerged carrying a tiny, wrinkled newborn.

"Family of Vanessa Raleigh? Mother and son are both stable."

I stood frozen, as though my feet had been nailed to the floor.

The nurse placed the child in my arms. When I remained stiff, she frowned.

"Sir, your son was just born. Aren't you even going to hold him?"

I accepted the baby with rigid arms.

He was impossibly small, with a weak cry and a face scrunched tight.

I'd heard enough outside that hospital room to know the truth, yet the moment I held him, one ridiculous hope still rose inside me.

What if?

What if he really was mine?

I used the newborn screening as an excuse to get away from Margaret and contacted a physician I trusted.

A short while later, the preliminary results appeared on my phone.

My friend's voice was grave.

"Daniel, the relationship test confirms what you suspected. The child isn't biologically yours."

I closed my eyes.

There was a pause on the other end.

"There's something else you need to prepare yourself for.

"Your bloodwork shows signs of long-term exposure to a prescription hormone suppressant. It wasn't acutely toxic, but the repeated doses have seriously damaged your reproductive system.

"It may be extremely difficult for you to father a child in the future."

A loud hum filled my head.

For years, Vanessa had insisted restaurant food was unhealthy.

While we were supposedly trying to conceive, she made me drink one of her homemade wellness tonics every single day.

Whenever I finished a cup, she smiled at me with such tenderness and concern.

All that time, she'd been feeding me poison one careful spoonful at a time.

I gripped the phone so hard that nausea surged into my throat.

Seven years together, and she'd cheated on me and carried another man's child.

Worse, she'd deliberately tried to make sure I could never have one of my own.

It took a long time before I could carry the baby back to the room.

The moment I entered, Margaret snatched him from me and clutched him protectively to her chest.

"Where did you take my precious grandson? Why were you gone so long?"

Her words sounded concerned, but the suspicion in her eyes was impossible to hide.

To them, the baby wasn't a grandson. He was leverage.

I answered evenly.

"The newborn unit was backed up. We had to wait for the routine screening."

Vanessa lay against the pillows, her face pale.

Once, the sight would've broken my heart.

Now it only made my stomach turn.

Her eyes reddened as she held out a hand to me, her voice trembling with grievance.

"Daniel, are you disgusted by me now?"

I stayed where I was and replied without emotion.

"You just gave birth. Stop upsetting yourself."

She stared at me, and panic flashed unmistakably through her eyes.

Margaret immediately exploded and pointed at me.

"Daniel, who are you punishing with that funeral face?"

I looked at her and suddenly smiled.

"Mrs. Cole, there's no need to get worked up.

"I reserved Meadowcrest Postpartum Retreat's most expensive private suite for Vanessa. She can move in tomorrow."

Only then did Margaret's expression improve.

I said nothing more. I sat in the visitor's chair and closed my eyes as though I intended to rest.

The room gradually fell silent.

It was well past midnight when Margaret began to snore and I heard a phone vibrate.

I opened my eyes to a narrow slit.

Vanessa had turned her back to me and was typing a message from the hospital bed.

The words on her screen were unmistakable.

[Don't worry, sweetheart. The baby is healthy.]

[Daniel even booked Meadowcrest's private suite. Tomorrow I'll make him sign the birth certificate and give the baby the Raleigh name.]