The sky above Manhattan wore a dull gray, mirroring the chill that clung to the luxury corner office of Sophia Carter, CEO of Carter Enterprises. Outside, the city buzzed like a living organism. Inside, silence reigned—sharp and intentional.
Click. Click.
Her heels struck the marble floor with precision. Not a strand of her sleek bun was out of place. Power didn't just sit in this office—it radiated from her every step.
Five years.
Five long, brutal years since her marriage collapsed under courtroom lights. Yet… she still saw his face.
Adrian Blake.
In dreams. In reflections. In the silence between heartbeats.
The way he had looked at her that day—hurt, proud, infuriatingly calm—still haunted her.
"Ma'am, the investors from Tokyo are on the line," her assistant's voice broke through the intercom.
Sophia didn't blink. "Tell them to wait. Five minutes."
She sat down slowly, her hand drifting to the bottom drawer. Hesitating. Then opening it.
Wrapped in shadows lay a silver-framed photo no one else had ever seen.
A little boy. Four years old. Almond-shaped eyes that sparkled with mischief.
Her son. Their son.
Adrian didn't know. He never had.
She had been too angry… too proud. And now? She told herself it was too late.
But her heart—traitorous and aching—knew better.
---
Across the city, the halls of St. Jude's Hospital pulsed with urgency.
Dr. Adrian Blake peeled off his bloodied gloves, exhaustion etched into every line of his face.
Sixteen hours. Another emergency. Another night trying to forget the woman who'd left him with a single signature.
"She said she didn't want kids," he muttered bitterly. "She wanted boardrooms, not bedtime stories."
"Dr. Blake!" A nurse burst in. "Young boy—car crash. Massive internal bleeding. We're losing him!"
Adrian was already moving. "OR 2, now! Get trauma. Call anesthesia!"
He pushed through chaos and gurneys—until he reached the child.
The world tilted.
A boy, barely conscious, lay before him.
But it wasn't the blood or injuries that made Adrian freeze.
It was the eyes.
Wide. Familiar. His own.
His breath caught.
"No…" he whispered. "That's not… possible."
But some truths can't be denied.
And this one?
It was about to change everything.