POV: Ethan Sterling
I rip the IV out of my arm.
"Mr. Sterling, you can't—" The nurse rushes over, but I'm already standing, ignoring the pain that shoots through my side where James stabbed me.
"My son has been kidnapped." I grab my shirt from the chair, pulling it on despite the blood seeping through my bandages. "I'm leaving. Now."
"Sir, you lost a lot of blood. You need at least twenty-four hours of observation—"
"I don't have twenty-four hours." I look at Vivian, who's frozen by the door. "How long until midnight?"
She checks her phone. "Three hours."
Three hours to save Leo. Three hours to end this nightmare.
Three hours to find out if the boy I've started to love is even mine.
"Ethan, you can barely stand," Vivian says, but her voice wavers. "Let me handle this. You stay here—"
"That's my son." The words come out fiercer than I intend. "Biology or not, DNA test or not—he's my son. And I'm not letting Linda hurt him."
Our eyes meet. In hers, I see fear. Desperation. And something else—something that looks like gratitude.
"Then let's go get him," she says.
The car ride to the warehouse is silent except for Sofia's voice on speakerphone, giving us updates.
"Police are on their way, but they're twenty minutes behind you. SWAT team is assembling but won't be ready for at least an hour."
"We don't have an hour," I say, pressing harder on the gas pedal.
"I know. That's why I'm telling you—don't be heroes. Wait for backup. Linda is dangerous, and now she has James doing her dirty work."
"James has his own daughter to worry about," Vivian says quietly. "He's as much a victim as we are."
"A victim who sexually assaulted you while you were unconscious," I remind her, my knuckles white on the steering wheel. "A victim who stabbed me three hours ago. A victim who just kidnapped our son."
"He's not our—" Vivian stops mid-sentence, biting her lip.
The elephant in the car grows bigger.
"Say it," I tell her. "Say what you're thinking."
"I don't know what I'm thinking!" Her voice breaks. "Is Leo your son? Is he James's? Does it even matter anymore? He's five years old and terrified and—" She covers her face with her hands. "God, what if Linda hurts him? What if we're too late?"
I reach over, taking her hand. She doesn't pull away this time.
"We're not too late," I say firmly. "We're going to get him back. Both of us. Together."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
It's a promise I might not be able to keep. But right now, it's the only thing I have to offer.
The old Chen Fashion House warehouse looms ahead like a graveyard. Broken windows. Rusted doors. The place where Vivian's mother built her empire, now abandoned and rotting.
Perfect place for a trap.
"She's going to kill us," Vivian whispers as we park a block away. "You know that, right? Whatever Linda's planning, she's not letting us walk out alive."
"I know." I check my phone one more time. Still no backup. Still no miracle. "Which is why Sofia is tracking our phones. If we don't make contact in thirty minutes, she'll send in everyone—police, SWAT, the National Guard if necessary."
"Lot of good that'll do if we're already dead."
"Then we don't die." I grab the small knife Sofia gave me from the glove compartment. It's not much, but it's something. "We get Leo, we get James's daughter, and we get out. Simple."
"Nothing about this is simple."
She's right. But we're out of options.
We approach the warehouse on foot, staying in the shadows. The front door is chained shut, but there's a side entrance that's been forced open.
Someone wants us to come inside.
"Last chance to wait for backup," I whisper.
Vivian shakes her head. "That's my baby in there. I'm not waiting."
We slip through the door into darkness.
The warehouse is massive—three stories of empty space where machines used to run, where Vivian's mother once created beautiful clothes.
Now it just smells like rust and decay.
"Hello?" Vivian calls out. "Linda? We're here! Let Leo go!"
Her voice echoes off the walls, bouncing back at us.
No answer.
We move deeper into the warehouse, every shadow potentially hiding a threat. My side screams with pain from the stab wound, but I ignore it.
Pain means I'm alive. Alive means I can still save Leo.
Then I hear it.
A child crying.
"Mama! Mama, help!"
Leo's voice.
Vivian breaks into a run, and I'm right behind her. We sprint toward the sound, up a metal staircase to the second floor.
The crying is coming from a room at the end of a hallway. The door is open, light spilling out.
We burst through—
And freeze.
Leo sits in a chair in the center of the room, his hands tied, tears streaming down his face. But he's not hurt. Not yet.
Beside him, another child. A girl, maybe seven years old, also tied to a chair. Emily. James's daughter.
"Daddy!" Emily cries when she sees us. "Where's my daddy?"
"He's coming, sweetheart," I lie.
Then Linda steps out of the shadows, a gun in her hand.
"Right on time," she says with a smile. "I do appreciate punctuality."
Behind her, another figure emerges.
Richard Chen. Vivian's father.
"Dad?" Vivian's voice is barely a whisper. "What are you doing here?"
Richard looks older than I remember. Tired. Broken. He won't meet his daughter's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Vivian," he says quietly. "But this is for the best."
"The best?" Vivian's voice rises. "You're working with Linda? After everything she's done to our family? After what she did to Mom's company?"
"Your mother's company was dying," Linda says coldly. "Richard and I are just speeding up the inevitable. Once you and Ethan are out of the way, we'll have access to both Chen Fashion House and Sterling Corp. A merger worth billions."
"You're insane," I say. "You really think you'll get away with this?"
"Of course we will." Linda raises the gun, pointing it at Leo. "Because you're going to sign over everything. Right now. Or I shoot the child."
"Don't!" Vivian steps forward. "Please. He's innocent. He's just a baby."
"He's leverage." Linda pulls back the hammer. "Sign the papers, or I find out if five-year-olds bleed as much as adults."
My mind races. The papers on the table beside Richard—transfer documents for both companies. Sign them, and Linda wins everything. Refuse, and she shoots Leo.
There's no good choice.
"Fine," I say. "I'll sign. Just don't hurt him."
"Ethan, no—" Vivian grabs my arm.
"It's okay." I walk toward the table. "It's just money. Just companies. Leo's life is worth more than all of it."
I pick up the pen. My hand shakes as I hover over the signature line.
Then I hear footsteps behind us.
"I wouldn't sign that if I were you."
Everyone spins around.
James Park stands in the doorway, covered in blood, a gun in his own hand.
"Daddy!" Emily screams.
"James, thank God," Linda says. "Help me with—"
"Shut up." James's voice is cold. Dead. He points the gun at Linda. "You said if I helped you, you'd let Emily go. You lied."
"James, be reasonable—"
"I've been reasonable for six years!" He's shaking. "Six years of doing your dirty work. Six years of living with what I did to Vivian. Six years of—" His voice breaks. "You said Emily would be safe. You promised."
"Put the gun down," Linda says calmly. "You're not a killer, James. You're a coward. That's why you were so easy to manipulate."
"You're right." James's finger moves to the trigger. "I am a coward. But even cowards have limits."
"James, don't!" I step forward. "Think about Emily. She needs her father."
"She needs a father she can be proud of," James says quietly. "Not a monster who—" He looks at Vivian, and I see absolute anguish in his eyes. "I'm sorry. For everything. I was drowning in debt, and Linda offered me a way out. I didn't know she was going to drug you both. I didn't know—"
"You knew enough," Vivian says, her voice hard as steel. "You knew you were raping an unconscious woman. You knew you were helping destroy two people's lives. You knew."
"I know." James's hands shake. "And I've hated myself every day since. Which is why—"
He turns the gun on himself.
"No!" I lunge forward, but I'm too far away.
James pulls the trigger.
The gunshot echoes through the warehouse like thunder.
But James doesn't fall.
The gun just clicks. Empty.
"Did you really think I'd give you a loaded gun?" Linda laughs. "James, you're even dumber than I thought."
Then she raises her own gun—the one that IS loaded—and points it at James.
"Goodbye, James. You've outlived your usefulness."
"Linda, don't!" Richard finally speaks up. "This has gone too far. You said no one would get hurt—"
"Oh, shut up, Richard." Linda doesn't even look at him. "You're as useless as James. Once I have the companies, I'm getting rid of you too."
Richard's face goes white. "You... you said we'd be together. You said—"
"I said what I needed to say to control you." Linda's smile is cruel. "Just like I've controlled everyone else."
She pulls the trigger.
The shot rings out.
But Richard is the one who screams and falls, blood blooming on his chest.
"Dad!" Vivian runs to him, catching him before he hits the ground.
"I'm sorry," Richard gasps, blood on his lips. "I'm so sorry, Vivian. I should have... should have protected you..."
"Don't talk. Save your strength." Vivian presses her hands to the wound, but there's so much blood. "Someone call an ambulance!"
Linda turns the gun on me. "Sign the papers. Now. Or Vivian is next."
I look at Vivian, holding her dying father.
I look at Leo, tears streaming down his face.
I look at Emily, terrified and alone.
And I make a choice.
"Okay," I say, reaching for the pen. "I'll sign."
But as my hand closes around it, I spin, throwing the pen like a knife at Linda's face.
She flinches, the gun going off—
The bullet hits the wall six inches from my head.
I tackle her, and we crash to the ground. The gun skitters away across the floor.
"Ethan!" Vivian screams.
Linda's stronger than she looks. She claws at my face, my eyes, going for the stab wound in my side.
Pain explodes through me. I can't breathe. Can't think.
Then Vivian is there, grabbing the gun, pointing it at Linda with shaking hands.
"Get off him," she orders. "Now."
Linda freezes, then slowly raises her hands. "You won't shoot me. You're not a killer, Vivian. You're weak. Just like your mother."
"My mother," Vivian says, her voice steady despite the tears on her face, "was the strongest person I've ever known. And she taught me that protecting your family is worth any price."
She pulls back the hammer.
"Vivian, don't!" I gasp, stumbling to my feet. "She's not worth it. Let the police—"
"The police are too late," Vivian says. "My father is dying because I waited for help. I'm not making that mistake again."
"Mama?" Leo's small voice breaks through the tension. "Please don't. I'm scared."
Vivian's hands shake harder. She looks at Leo, at his terrified face, and something in her breaks.
The gun lowers.
"You're right," she whispers. "I'm not a killer."
Linda lunges—
But this time, it's James who moves.
He grabs Linda, wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug, dragging her backward toward the window.
"James, what are you doing?" Linda struggles. "Let me go!"
"I told you," James says quietly. "Even cowards have limits."
And then he throws himself backward, taking Linda with him through the window.
They fall three stories onto the concrete below.
The sound of impact echoes in the sudden silence.
I run to the window, look down.
James isn't moving.
Neither is Linda.
"Stay with the kids," I tell Vivian, already running for the stairs.
By the time I reach them, police sirens are wailing in the distance.
James's eyes are open, staring at nothing. Dead on impact.
But Linda...
Linda's chest rises and falls weakly. She's still alive. Barely.
I kneel beside her. "Why? Why destroy so many lives for money?"
Linda's lips move. Blood bubbles at the corner of her mouth.
"Not... just... money," she gasps. "Revenge."
"Revenge for what?"
"Elena... took... everything." Linda coughs blood. "My first... husband. My first... chance. She... didn't even... remember me."
"You did all this because of some ancient grudge against Vivian's dead mother?"
"She... deserved... to suffer." Linda's breathing becomes ragged. "And... so... did... her... daughter."
"Well, congratulations." I stand up, looking down at her with disgust. "You made everyone suffer. Hope it was worth it."
Linda tries to speak again, but no words come out.
Then her chest stops moving.
She's gone.
I turn away, head back up to the warehouse. The police are flooding in, paramedics rushing to Richard.
Vivian holds Leo, who's sobbing into her shoulder. Emily stands nearby, confused and alone.
I kneel beside Emily. "Your dad..." I can't find the right words. "He saved us. He was brave at the end."
"Is he dead?" she asks, so quietly I almost don't hear her.
I nod.
Emily doesn't cry. She just stares at nothing, in shock.
A female officer approaches, gently leading Emily away. "Come on, sweetie. Let's find your aunt."
I walk to Vivian and Leo. She's still shaking, tears streaming down her face.
"Dad's alive," she says. "Barely. They're taking him to surgery."
"He's strong. He'll make it."
"He helped her." Vivian's voice is hollow. "My own father helped Linda destroy our lives."
"He was manipulated. Like all of us."
"That doesn't make it hurt less."
I put my arms around both of them—Vivian and Leo together.
"Mama?" Leo's muffled voice comes from against Vivian's shoulder. "Is the bad lady gone?"
"Yes, baby. She's gone. Forever."
"And the man who took me?"
"He's gone too."
Leo pulls back, looking up at us with red, puffy eyes. "Was he... was he really my daddy?"
The question freezes us both.
Vivian looks at me, her eyes asking what we tell him.
Before I can answer, a police detective approaches.
"Mr. Sterling, Ms. Chen—I need to ask you some questions. But first..." He holds out an evidence bag. "We found this on Linda's body. Letter addressed to you both."
I take the bag carefully. Inside is a sealed envelope.
Written on the front: "The Truth About Leo."
My hands shake as I open it.
Inside is a single piece of paper. A DNA test result.
Dated six years ago.
Comparing DNA samples from Ethan Sterling and Leo Chen.
The result is clear: 99.9% probability of paternity.
I stare at the paper, not understanding. "But the sterility drug... the medical records that said I couldn't—"
"Keep reading," Vivian says, looking over my shoulder.
At the bottom of the page, a handwritten note in Linda's distinctive script:
"The medical records were fake. The sterility drug story was fake. James Park's name on the birth certificate was fake. All of it—lies to torture you both. Leo is Ethan's biological son. He always was. I just wanted you to suffer, to doubt, to never know peace. Did it work? —L"
The paper falls from my hands.
"It was all a lie," I whisper. "The whole thing. Leo is mine. He was always mine."
I look down at the boy in Vivian's arms—my son. My actual, biological, DNA-confirmed son.
And I start to laugh.
Not happy laughter. Not sad laughter. Just the laughter of someone who's been through hell and finally found a way out.
"Ethan?" Vivian touches my arm. "Are you okay?"
"Leo is mine," I say, and this time it's real. "He's really, truly mine."
I kneel down to Leo's level. "Hey, buddy. Remember how you asked if that man was your daddy?"
Leo nods, still scared.
"Well, he wasn't. I am. I'm your dad. For real. Forever."
Leo's lip trembles. "Promise?"
"Promise."
He throws his arms around my neck, nearly knocking me over.
And for the first time in six years, something inside me stops hurting.
We're not okay. We're bruised and broken and traumatized.
But we're together.
And for now, that's enough.