27/08/2026
I CAME HOME TO FIND MY EX-WIFE HIDING A NEWBORN IN MY BED—THEN THE BABY OPENED HER EYES AND I REALIZED SHE WAS MINE.
I had been away for six months.
Six months of private jets, billion-dollar negotiations, and meetings in cities I barely remembered.
When I finally returned to Manhattan, I expected silence.
Instead, I found Sloan asleep in my bedroom.
A newborn rested against her chest.
I froze.
Sloan woke instantly.
“Vincent…”
I stared at the baby.
“Who is she?”
Sloan's arms tightened around the tiny bundle.
“Her name is Willa.”
“That's not what I asked.”
She looked at me.
“She’s yours.”
My heart stopped.
I walked closer.
The baby opened her eyes.
Dark.
Unmistakably mine.
“How old?”
“Four weeks.”
I did the math.
My daughter had been born while I was halfway across the world.
And I knew nothing.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Sloan looked exhausted.
“Because I knew you'd think I was trying to get you back.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
She looked down at Willa.
“I was trying to protect her.”
“From me?”
“From your life.”
That answer cut deeper than I expected.
I sat beside her.
“You could have called.”
“I did.”
I frowned.
“When?”
“The night she was born.”
My blood went cold.
“I never received a call.”
Sloan stared at me.
“I called your private number three times.”
“That number is monitored by my assistant.”
“I know.”
“Then someone blocked you.”
She slowly nodded.
“That's what I think.”
Silence filled the room.
I looked at my daughter.
“Who would do that?”
Sloan didn't answer.
Then Willa began crying.
Sloan immediately checked her.
Her face suddenly changed.
“What's wrong?”
“She has a fever.”
I grabbed my phone.
“I'll call the doctor.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because the doctor you hired isn't safe.”
I stopped.
“What are you talking about?”
Sloan looked terrified.
“The pediatrician who treated her after birth wasn't assigned by the hospital.”
My stomach tightened.
“Then who sent him?”
“I don't know.”
She reached into the nightstand and pulled out a small envelope.
“This was left outside my apartment.”
I opened it.
Inside was one photograph.
Willa asleep in the hospital.
Taken from inside the nursery.
On the back, someone had written:
SHE SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BORN.
My blood ran cold.
I looked at Sloan.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because the person who sent this knew everything about us.”
“Who?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
Silence.
Then a man's voice whispered:
“Congratulations, Vincent.”
I froze.
“You finally met your daughter.”
I looked at Willa.
The voice continued.
“Now decide what matters more.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“What do you want?”
A pause.
“Your company.”
Then the line went dead.
I stared at Sloan.
She whispered:
“They aren't after the baby.”
I looked at her.
“They're using her to get to me.”
“No.”
Sloan shook her head.
“They're using her to get to you.”
At that moment, the lights inside my penthouse went out.
Every security screen went black.
And from somewhere in the darkness, I heard a door slowly open.
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