Chương 4
I looked down at Lily.
“She is already my life.”
Dominic came closer.
Not too close.
Never too close.
“I know.”
“Then tell me what is happening.”
He looked tired.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
Like he had been carrying information that became heavier every minute he kept it.
“Grant did not call you today because he wanted closure.”
“I figured that out.”
“He called because someone told him.”
“Told him what?”
“That Lily existed.”
The words sat between us.
I frowned.
“Someone told him?”
Dominic nodded.
“I thought he found out because of the wedding.”
“No.”
His answer came too quickly.
“He called because he was trying to confirm something.”
“What something?”
He looked at my daughter.
“The possibility that the child he believed was impossible was real.”
My stomach tightened.
“I don’t understand.”
Dominic pulled the chair closer.
“This started before you met me.”
That sentence bothered me.
Because it meant there was a part of my own life I had not seen.
“Explain.”
He looked at the floor for a moment.
Then back at me.
“After your divorce became public, people started looking into Grant’s business.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because people always look closer when powerful men fall.”
“That has nothing to do with me.”
“Usually it wouldn’t.”
He paused.
“But someone found inconsistencies.”
“About Grant?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
Dominic hesitated.
“Financial records.”
I stared at him.
“Grant is rich.”
“He is.”
“That is not an answer either.”
A faint expression crossed his face.
Almost approval.
“You are getting better at noticing that.”
“I had a lot of practice.”
He accepted that without defending himself.
“Grant’s company was preparing for a merger six months ago.”
I nodded slowly.
“I remember.”
He had been obsessed with it.
Late nights.
Private meetings.
Constant phone calls.
He told me it was the most important moment of his career.
“He needed investors to believe his personal life was stable.”
I felt something cold move through me.
“Are you saying our divorce was a business decision?”
“I’m saying Grant had reasons to control the story.”
I looked away.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
All those interviews.
All those statements.
All those people believing I had been the problem.
“What does Lily have to do with that?”
Dominic was quiet.
Then he said something I did not expect.
“Your medical records.”
My head snapped toward him.
“What about them?”
“Someone accessed information they should not have had.”
The air left my lungs.
“No.”
Dominic watched my reaction.
“I didn’t want to tell you until I knew more.”
“You’re saying someone looked at my private medical records?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Anger arrived before fear.
It was easier.
Fear made me feel helpless.
Anger made me stand taller.
“I was pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“And someone knew.”
“Yes.”
“And nobody thought to tell me?”
Dominic did not answer.
That was answer enough.
I looked at him.
“You knew.”
His silence confirmed it.
“When?”
“Not until after Lily was born.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Claire.”
“No.”
I pushed the blanket away slightly.
The movement startled Lily, and she made a small sound.
Immediately, my anger shifted into panic.
I picked her up carefully.
“I’m sorry.”
The apology came automatically.
To a baby who had done nothing wrong.
Dominic watched me.
“You don’t have to apologize for being upset.”
“I’m not upset.”
He raised an eyebrow.
I looked at him.
“Fine.”
A tired breath left me.
“I’m furious.”
“That makes sense.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“It does.”
I looked down at Lily.
“I spent months thinking I was finally free.”
Dominic said nothing.
“I thought the worst thing that could happen was losing Grant.”
My voice became quieter.
“I didn’t realize leaving him meant there were still people watching me.”
Dominic moved closer.
“There are people who underestimated you.”
“That is supposed to make me feel better?”
“No.”
His honesty caught me off guard.
“It probably doesn’t.”
For some reason, that helped more than reassurance would have.
A knock came again.
This time, Dominic opened the door himself.
The same man stood outside.
He looked nervous now.
“Tell me.”
The man glanced at me.
Then at Dominic.
“We traced the message.”
“And?”
“It came from a phone registered under a company account.”
“Which company?”
The man swallowed.
“Kingsley Holdings.”
My body went still.
Dominic’s face hardened.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“Could it be someone using their network?”
“We’re checking.”
I stared at him.
Grant.
Even after everything.
Even after the divorce.
Even after the wedding.
His world was still reaching into mine.
“No.”
The word came out softly.
Everyone looked at me.
I shook my head.
“Grant would not do that.”
Dominic studied me.
Not judging.
Just watching.
“Why not?”
Because I had spent seven years loving him.
Because some part of me still remembered the person he had been.
Because accepting that he could do something worse than abandon me meant accepting I had never truly known him.
“I don’t know.”
That was the worst part.
I did not know.
The man outside lowered his voice.
“There is more.”
Dominic looked at him.
“What?”
“Someone inside Kingsley Holdings tried to delete the access logs.”
My heart sank.
“Someone is covering it up.”
The man nodded.
Dominic looked at me.
And for the first time since I met him, I saw something close to fear in his eyes.
Not fear for himself.
For us.
“Claire.”
I held Lily closer.
“What?”
“We need to leave this hospital.”
I looked around the room.
The flowers.
The small gifts.
The blanket.
The chair where Dominic had sat all day.
This was supposed to be the first safe place my daughter knew.
I hated that someone had taken that from me too.
“When?”
“Now.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
Dominic looked surprised.
“I just had a baby.”
“I know.”
“I am exhausted.”
“I know.”
“I cannot disappear every time someone powerful decides my life is inconvenient.”
His expression softened.
“You’re right.”
I had expected an argument.
May you like
A command.
Something that proved every rumor about him.
