Lahat ng Kabanata ng Ties of a Contract: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

AlexanderThe hospital office is my temporary refuge. I need a few minutes to pull myself together, to push away the memories Victoria’s presence has stirred up. I rub my hands over my face, trying to organize my thoughts, when my phone vibrates. It’s Dominic.“Sir, sorry to bother you, but I thought you should know. Victoria Hawthorne checked into the Four Seasons this morning.”My stomach twists.“She intends to stay,” I murmur, more to myself than to Dominic.“Would you like me to keep an eye on her?”“Yes. Every step. And Dominic… strengthen security at the neonatal ICU. No one enters without express authorization from me or Sophia.”I hang up the phone and walk over to the window. Outside, the city carries on at its frantic pace, oblivious to the storm raging inside me. The sound of heels in the corridor alerts me, and I don’t have to turn around to know who it is.“You’re still hiding in dark corners when you’re upset,” Victoria’s voice is soft, almost motherly, yet it carries t

AlexanderDr. Stevens’s office feels smaller than I remember, even with its bright walls and bookshelves packed with volumes. Maybe the sense of being closed in comes from the weight of everything that’s happened. Last time, I was just a shattered teenager, trying to pick up the pieces Victoria left scattered. The armchairs and the faint scent of chamomile tea remain the same, but my anxiety keeps me from sitting down. I pace back and forth, as if I need to burn off the tension that seizes me.“How long has it been, Alexander?” Dr. Stevens asks, adjusting his glasses.He sits in the chair beside a small table with notes and pens. His voice is calm and reminds me of when I believed that talking could be enough to cure my torment.“Fifteen years,” I answer, unable to hide my nervousness. My hands are sweating, and I need to keep pacing to clear my mind. “Maybe I just pretended to be okay.”“And what brought you back?” he continues, watching me intently.I stop by the window, gazing at t

SophiaLate at night, when Alexander finally drifts off on the sofa, exhausted from supervising the installation of all the security equipment, I decide to investigate more about Victoria. Something inside me says I need to understand better what we’re up against.I take my phone and send Dominic a message: “I need you to bring me something from Alexander’s office. An old wooden box with photos in it—should be at the bottom of the last drawer.”A few minutes later, he replies: “You sure? He’s not going to like this.”“I’m sure. Please.”An hour goes by before Dominic appears silently with a worn wooden box. He sets it beside me on the bed and leaves without a word, casting only a concerned glance at Alexander, who is sound asleep.With slightly trembling hands, I open the box. A musty smell of old, stored paper hits me. There are more photos than I remember, and something new: a black notebook, its cover worn by time.“Forgive me, my love,” I whisper to Alexander before opening the d

SophiaRaindrops cast dancing shadows on the walls of the neonatal ICU, while the steady beeping of monitors fills the room. I’m settled in a reclining chair, feeling the soft vibration of the air conditioning that keeps the temperature controlled. Noah is nestled against my chest, in direct skin-to-skin contact. The nurses explained this as the “kangaroo method,” and it’s been delivering impressive results for the twins’ development. He seems calmer this way, feeling my warmth and listening to my heartbeat.“His oxygen saturation has improved a lot,” comments Nurse Laura, coming over to check the monitor’s readings. “And his weight as well—he’s almost at two kilos.”Her voice is soothing, though I still feel a hint of anxiety every time they do a check. I gently stroke Noah’s delicate head, hoping he keeps making progress. Across from me, Alexander does the same with Oliver, who is sleeping in his arms, breathing softly. Despite all the recent chaos, there’s a sense of serenity in th

AlexanderDominic’s office feels like a maze of paperwork, with documents scattered everywhere and a palpable tension in the air. He moves back and forth, sifting through files and notes while recounting, in a grave voice, discoveries that make the tightness in my chest worsen. With every photo or record he shows me, I realize how little I truly knew about Victoria’s past.“She isn’t who we thought she was,” he says, separating out some yellowed reports. “Her real name is Claire Bennett.”At those words, I feel my hands start to shake. Everything becomes even more unsettling when Dominic shows me old newspaper clippings indicating that Victoria was linked to my family long before I ever suspected.“What did you find?” I ask, struggling to stay calm, though a faint nausea threatens to overwhelm me.“She was nineteen when she met your mother,” Dominic answers, sliding an article toward me. “She worked as a nurse at the hospital where your mother was being treated.”Looking at the black-