All Chapters of MY SECRET ALPHA HEIR : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

I sat alone in my father's study long after the house had gone quiet, the old photograph of Olivia still open on my phone screen, the light from it the only illumination in the darkened room besides the dying embers in the fireplace. I kept staring at that date stamp, turning it over and over in my mind, trying every possible way to make it fit the story I'd believed for seven years without question. It refused to fit no matter how I twisted it.I let myself remember that last week before Olivia disappeared, really remember it this time, instead of the smoothed-over version I'd rehearsed in my head so many times it had worn down like a stone in a river, edges softened by repetition until the truth of it had all but disappeared.Olivia had been quiet that week, I remembered now. Not guilty-quiet, the way Madison had described it to me later, painting a picture of a woman hiding something shameful. Scared-quiet. I remembered her flinching whenever Madison entered a room unannounced. I r

I called Margaret back within seconds, pacing the length of the guest room while Ethan watched from the edge of the bed, his own tension mirroring mine in the tight line of his shoulders. The carpet muffled my footsteps, but my heartbeat felt loud enough to fill the whole room by itself. Outside, somewhere beyond the tall windows, the mansion grounds sat dark and quiet, the kind of quiet that used to feel peaceful before tonight and now felt like something waiting to be broken."Tell me everything," I said the moment she picked up, cutting off whatever greeting she might have offered."There isn't much more to tell than what I already said," Margaret told me, her voice steadier now than it had been on the first call, though I could still hear the strain underneath it. "The doorman said a man asked whether a woman with a young boy lived in the building. He said Noah's name wasn't used directly, just a description that matched close enough to worry the doorman. When he asked who was ask

I sat frozen on that rug for longer than I probably should have, Noah watching me with the patient curiosity of a child simply waiting for a simple yes to a simple question. Somewhere behind me I could hear Olivia's breathing, quick and shallow, and I understood without turning around that this moment was costing her something too, some fear I couldn't fully name yet."You don't have to decide right now," I finally managed, my voice unsteady. "You can call me whatever feels right to you, whenever it feels right. Ethan, if that's easier for now."Noah tilted his head, considering this carefully, weighing the options the way he seemed to weigh everything. "But you are my daddy.""I am," I said, my voice rough with everything I was holding back."Then I want to call you Daddy," he said, like it was the simplest math problem in the entire world, and went back to his cars without another thought about it, the matter apparently settled to his complete satisfaction.I looked up and found Oli

Victoria found me in the mansion's rose garden the next afternoon, her heels sinking slightly into the soft grass as she approached, a cashmere wrap pulled tight around her shoulders against the cooling autumn air. I hadn't seen her since the gala, since her cryptic warning about William's cover-up had sent my head spinning, and I wasn't in any mood for another round of half-answers now, not on top of everything else I was already carrying."I heard about the trust," she said without preamble, stopping a few feet away from where I stood pruning dead blooms with more force than the task strictly required. "I heard about Noah.""Of course you did." I didn't look up from the rose bush I was pretending to examine, my hands still busy with the shears. "News travels fast in this family. Always has.""I want to help protect him," Victoria said, her voice carrying an earnestness I didn't fully trust yet, not from her.I laughed, short and humorless, finally turning to face her. "Where was tha

I read the letter three times before I could bring myself to show it to Ethan, my hands trembling with each pass over William's careful, deliberate handwriting, the paper itself soft with age where I'd folded and unfolded it too many times already. I had found it tucked inside an old design portfolio of mine, one William had apparently slipped it into years earlier, knowing I would eventually return to it when the time felt right, or perhaps hoping I never would if the danger passed on its own.Olivia, if you are reading this, someone close to this family has been working against you for longer than you know. I could not confront them directly without putting you and the child at far greater risk than either of you already faced. I am sorry for the silence. It was never meant to be permanent.I found Ethan in the library, surrounded by more of his father's old files, and set the letter in front of him without a word, my hand shaking slightly as I did it. Papers and ledgers covered nea