Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 41 - Chapitre 49

Lena's POVEthan woke me at three in the morning with a cry that went straight through my exhausted haze. The hospital room was dark except for the soft glow from the monitors.I reached for the call button, then stopped.No. I could do this myself.I pushed myself up carefully, everything still hurt from the delivery, and lifted Ethan from his bassinet. He was so small, so impossibly light, but solid and warm in my arms."Hey," I whispered. "What's wrong?"He rooted against my chest, mouth searching. Hungry, then.I settled back against the pillows and tried to get him positioned for feeding. It took three attempts, my hands clumsy and uncertain, before he latched on properly.The sensation was strange, not painful, just foreign. This tiny person, depending entirely on me for survival.I looked down at him in the dim light. His eyes were closed, a small fist curled against my skin, completely trusting.Something shifted in my chest. Not the dramatic rush of love I'd expected when th

Lena's POVI woke to voices in the nursery, low, careful, but definitely there.I checked the monitor. Seven AM. Ethan had slept for four straight hours, the longest stretch since we'd come home.I should have felt rested. Instead, panic hit immediately. Why hadn't he woken up? Was something wrong?I threw off the covers and hurried to the nursery.Abel sat in the rocking chair, Ethan cradled in his arms, talking quietly."—and that's basic calculus. We'll get to differential equations when you're older. Maybe three, four years old.""Abel," I said from the doorway.He looked up, completely unrepentant. "He was awake. I didn't want him to wake you.""You're teaching him calculus?""Discussing calculus. There's a difference." He stood, bringing Ethan over. "He seems very interested."Ethan was staring up at Abel with wide eyes, making small cooing sounds."He's three days old.""Never too early to start." Abel transferred Ethan to my arms. "He needs changing, by the way. And probably f

Henry's POVEthan fell asleep in my arms during the third verse of "Blackbird."I kept singing anyway, voice low, watching his face relax completely. Two weeks old and already he had preferences, this song over others, being held upright instead of cradled, the specific rhythm of walking that calmed him when nothing else would."You're spoiling him," Lena said from the nursery doorway."He's two weeks old. That's not possible yet.""Give it time."I stood carefully, transferring Ethan to his crib without waking him. A minor miracle.Lena moved into the room, checking on him with that automatic vigilance she'd developed."You should sleep while he's down," I said."I will. Just need to finish reviewing the quarterly reports first.""Lena—""Twenty minutes. Then I'll sleep."She left before I could argue.I stayed in the nursery, watching Ethan's chest rise and fall. This tiny person who'd completely reorganized all our lives in a matter of days.My nephew.The word still felt strange.

Lena's POVGerald Whitmore called at seven AM."DataCore is pulling their contract. Thornton offered them a better deal. We have forty-eight hours."I sat up. "Send me everything.""Lena—""Thirty minutes. Now."Ethan woke as I ended the call. I fed him while scanning the files Gerald sent, DataCore's contract, Thornton's proposal, their usage data.Fifteen million annually. Third-largest client.Reference account for every enterprise deal we closed.Thornton's offer was brutal. Twenty percent cost reduction, timeline cut in half, quarterly reviews with him personally.We couldn't match the price without bleeding money. The timeline required gutting other projects. And Thornton's personal involvement was theater, he'd never show.But their CEO wouldn't know that.I called Damien."We're not matching price," I said."Then we lose them.""No. We offer what Thornton can't." I shifted Ethan to my other arm. "Integration with our AI platform. Early beta access. Partnership on their healthc