Elena's POV
"She's not breathing!"
The words tear from my throat as the doctor places my baby on my chest. Three hours of labor. Three hours of pain. And now my daughter—my perfect, tiny daughter—is silent.
"Doctor!" My voice breaks into panic. "Why isn't she crying?"
The medical team moves fast. Someone takes my baby from my arms before I can hold her properly. I see honey-blonde hair, tiny fingers, a face that looks like mine.
But no sound. No cry. No breath.
"No, no, no." I try to sit up, but Moira's hand pushes me back down. She flew to Shanghai yesterday when I went into labor, standing beside me through everything. Now her face is calm, controlled, but I see fear in her violet eyes.
"Let them work," she says firmly. "Elena, let them work."
I can hear the medical team speaking rapid Chinese. Hear equipment beeping. Hear everything except the one sound I need—my baby crying.
Please. Please let her be okay. I'll do anything. Give up revenge, give up power, give up everything. Just let my baby live.
Seconds feel like hours.
Then—finally—a thin, angry wail cuts through the room.
My daughter is crying. My daughter is alive.
Relief hits me so hard I start sobbing. The doctor brings her back, and this time I hold her properly. She's perfect. Absolutely perfect. Tiny and red-faced and screaming her fury at the world.
"She's strong," the doctor says, smiling. "Ten fingers, ten toes. Completely healthy. She just needed a moment to decide if she wanted to join us."
I look down at my daughter—my fighter—and fall completely in love.
She has my honey-blonde hair, already thick for a newborn. My nose. My chin. But when she opens her eyes, squinting against the light, my heart stops.
Gray eyes. Steel-gray, just like her father's.
Adrian's eyes in my daughter's face.
For one horrible second, I see him. See the man who rejected us. See the cold fury when he called me a liar. See him signing away his rights like we were nothing.
Then my daughter makes a small sound, turning her face toward me, and she's just herself. Just my baby. Not Adrian's. Not Moira's. Mine.
"Hello, little fighter," I whisper. "I'm your mama. And I love you so much."
She settles against my chest, her crying stopping. Like she knows she's safe now.
"What will you name her?" Moira asks quietly.
I've thought about this for months. Considered family names, powerful names, names that would make statements.
But looking at my daughter now, I know exactly what she should be called.
"Lily." The name feels right. "Lily Morven."
Not Chase. Not Wolfe. Morven. My true family name. The name that comes with power and protection.
Moira's eyes soften. "After your mother. She would have loved that."
"Tell me about her," I say suddenly. "About my mom. Dad never talks about her. I barely remember."
"Caroline was sunshine." Moira's voice is thick with old grief. "Beautiful, kind, too trusting for her own good. She saw the best in everyone, even people who didn't deserve it." She touches Lily's tiny hand. "Richard Chase didn't deserve her. She gave up everything for him—her family, her inheritance, her future. And he repaid her by marrying Margaret six months after Caroline died."
"He didn't even mourn her."
"No. He didn't." Moira's expression hardens. "Men like Richard and Adrian Wolfe are the same. They take what they want and discard what they don't need. But you, Elena—you're not your mother. You won't sacrifice everything for a man who doesn't value you."
"No." I hold Lily closer. "I won't. This baby will grow up knowing she's loved. Knowing she's wanted. Knowing she doesn't need any man to validate her worth."
"Good." Moira stands. "Rest now. Tomorrow, we start your training. You have five years before we return to New York. Five years to become unstoppable."
She leaves, and I'm alone with my daughter.
I study Lily's face, memorizing every detail. Her tiny nose. Her perfect lips. Those devastating gray eyes that will break hearts someday.
"I'm going to tell you a story," I whisper. "About your father."
Lily's eyes fix on my face, like she's listening.
"Once upon a time, your mama met a man at a party. He had gray eyes just like yours. For one night, he was kind to her. Gentle. He made her feel safe." My throat tightens. "But the next morning, he left. And when your mama told him about you, he said terrible things. He didn't want to be your daddy."
Lily makes a small sound, and I kiss her forehead.
"But that's okay, baby girl. Because you don't need him. You have me. And I promise—I promise—I will give you everything. Love, safety, power, freedom. You'll never feel unwanted. You'll never feel like you're not enough." Tears stream down my face. "You are my everything, Lily. You're the best thing that ever happened to me."
She yawns, her tiny fist curling around my finger.
"We're going to go back to New York someday," I continue. "And when we do, we'll be strong. Powerful. Unbreakable. Your father will see what he threw away. Your aunt will see what her cruelty created. And they'll both regret every choice they made."
My phone buzzes on the side table. I shouldn't check it—should just focus on Lily—but something makes me look.
Email from an unknown sender. Subject line: Welcome to Motherhood
I open it with one hand, keeping Lily secure with the other.
The email has a photo attached. It's Adrian and Vanessa at some charity gala, looking perfect and powerful. Vanessa's hand rests on her own very pregnant belly.
The text below reads: Congratulations on your daughter! Vanessa wanted you to know she's also expecting. Due in two months. Adrian is thrilled to be a father—to THIS baby. The legitimate one. With his actual wife. Thought you'd want to know your daughter has a half-sibling who will get everything yours won't. —A Friend
My blood turns to ice.
Vanessa is pregnant. With Adrian's baby.
The baby he wants. The legitimate heir. The child he'll actually claim.
While my Lily—his firstborn—is erased from his life completely.
Another email comes through. This one has a video attachment.
I shouldn't watch it. Should delete it and focus on my perfect daughter.
But I click play.
It's Adrian in what looks like a nursery. Expensive furniture, soft colors, everything perfect. He's holding a tiny onesie, and his expression—God, his expression is so gentle. So happy.
"Can't wait to meet you, little one," he says to the camera. "Your mama and I already love you so much."
The Adrian who was cold to me. Who called me a liar. Who signed away his rights to Lily without hesitation.
That same man is excited about Vanessa's baby.
The video ends. Another text appears: He chose her baby over yours. Remember that when you're raising his daughter alone. Remember that he was capable of love—just not for you.
I hold Lily tighter, shaking with fury and heartbreak.
My daughter has a father who doesn't want her and a half-sibling who will get all the love Lily deserves.
"I'm sorry," I whisper to Lily. "I'm so sorry he's too broken to see how perfect you are."
Lily's eyes drift closed, peaceful and trusting.
She doesn't know yet that her father rejected her. Doesn't know that somewhere in New York, Adrian Wolfe is preparing to be a father to another child while pretending she doesn't exist.
But she'll know someday. When she's old enough to ask questions. When she wonders why she doesn't have a daddy like other kids.
And I'll have to tell her the truth: that her father was a coward who chose easy over right.
My phone rings. Moira's name on the screen.
"Did you see the email?" she asks without preamble.
"Yes."
"Good." Her voice is hard. "Let it fuel you, Elena. Let it remind you why we're doing this. Vanessa stole your life, your sister's love, and now she's stealing the father who should have chosen your daughter."
"He never would have chosen Lily. Even without Vanessa."
"Perhaps. But he should have tried." Moira pauses. "In five years, when we return to New York, Vanessa's child will be four years old. Lily will be five. And Adrian will finally see what he gave up. But by then, it will be too late. You'll be beyond his reach."
"What if I don't want to go back?" I ask suddenly. "What if I just want to stay here and raise Lily in peace?"
"You can't. Vanessa won't allow it." Moira's voice is grim. "She sent that email for a reason. She wants you to know she won completely. Wants to rub your face in it. And as long as she knows you exist, she'll keep finding ways to hurt you."
"So I have to go back."
"You have to become powerful enough that she can't hurt you anymore. That's the only way to protect Lily."
I look down at my sleeping daughter. At her innocent face and her father's eyes.
"Then that's what I'll do." My voice is steel now. "For her. I'll become everything they fear."
"That's my girl." Moira sounds satisfied. "Rest tonight. Tomorrow, we begin."
She hangs up.
I sit in the hospital bed, holding my newborn daughter, and make a silent promise.
Lily Morven will grow up strong. Loved. Protected. And when she's old enough to understand, I'll tell her the truth about her father.
Not to make her hate him.
But to make sure she never, ever waits for a man to save her.
Because we save ourselves.
My phone buzzes one last time. Final message from the unknown number: P.S. - Vanessa's having a boy. Adrian's heir. The son who will inherit Wolfe Enterprises. While your daughter gets nothing. Sleep well, Elena.
I delete the message and turn off my phone.
Then I hold Lily close and whisper, "They think you're nothing, baby girl. They think because your father didn't want you, you don't matter. But they're wrong. So wrong."
Lily sighs in her sleep, perfect and peaceful.
"You're going to matter more than all of them combined. I promise."
And I mean it.