CELESTE
The morning light in the penthouse felt like a spotlight on a crime scene. I stood by the kitchen island, clutching a mug of coffee as if it were a shield, while Allen paced the length of the marble floor. The warmth of the previous night—the kiss that had shattered my defenses—had been replaced by a clinical, terrifying coldness.
"They want fifty million," Allen said, his voice flat. He didn't look like the man who had held me hours ago. He looked like the CEO of Apex Innovations, calculating the cost of a hostile takeover. "Fifty million for the original files and the non-disclosure of the child's identity."
"Fifty million?" I nearly dropped my mug. "Allen, that's insane. If you pay them, they'll just come back for more.
Blackmailers don't have an 'end' button."
"I know that," he snapped, finally stopping his pacing to look at me. His eyes were bloodshot. "But if those photos hit the wires today, Gabriel becomes the most hunted child in America. The Lawsons will sue for custody to 'save' him from a scandal-ridden environment. My board will move to oust me for 'instability.'
Everything I've built to protect him will burn."
"So, what's the plan? You just wire the money?"
"No," Allen said, a dark glint appearing in his eyes. "I'm going to find out who sent the email. My security team traced the encryption. It didn't come from a professional hacker. It came from an internal server."
My heart sank. "Anastasia."
"Or Yona," Allen added. "Or both."
Before I could respond, my phone chimed. It was a notification from a local news blog. I swiped it open, and my breath hitched. It wasn't the kiss. It was worse.
LEAKED: The Lawson Disgrace.
Documents reveal the secret birth of the 'Apex Heir.' Is Allen Cross the father of the year or the liar of the century?
The article didn't have the photo from the window, but it had my medical records from the Brooklyn clinic and a blurry shot of Gabriel at the park.
"They didn't wait for the money," I whispered, showing him the screen.
"They're already burning us."
ALLEN
The world was collapsing in real-time, and for the first time in my life, I couldn't stop the bleed with a press release.
I grabbed my coat. "Stay here with Gabriel. I've doubled the guards at the door. I'm going to the office to end this."
"Allen, wait—"
I didn't wait. I couldn't. Every second that story sat on the internet was a second my son's safety was eroded.
When I arrived at Apex, the lobby was a hornets' nest. Reporters were already gathering outside the glass doors. I ignored the whispers and the flashes, heading straight for the executive floor.
I didn't go to my office. I went to Anastasia's.
I kicked the door open without knocking. Anastasia was sitting at her desk, a glass of green juice in her hand, looking entirely too serene.
"Mr. Cross," she said, her voice a purr. "I assume you've seen the news. It's a tragedy. To think that girl was hiding such a scandal right under our noses."
"Drop the act, Anastasia," I said, leaning over her desk until our faces were inches apart. "I know the email came from this floor. I know you've been digging into Celeste's past since the moment she arrived."
Anastasia set her juice down slowly. Her smile didn't falter, but her eyes turned into shards of ice. "I was doing my job, Allen. Protecting the company from a Lawson plant. But then I found something much more interesting. I found a way to ensure that you and I end up exactly where we belong. Together. At the top."
"You think blackmailing me is the way to my heart?" I let out a low, dangerous laugh. "You've miscalculated."
"Have I?" Anastasia stood up, smoothing her skirt. "I didn't leak the medical records, Allen. That was Yona. She's much more... impulsive than I am. But I am the one holding the photo from your window last night. The one that proves you've compromised your professional ethics for a woman who is essentially an enemy of the state in the tech world."
She walked around the desk, her hand reaching out to touch my lapel. I swiped it away.
"Here is the deal," she whispered. "Fire the girl. Send the child to a boarding school in Europe—out of sight, out of mind. Marry into a family that actually brings value to Apex. Do that, and the photo disappears. I'll even help you spin the 'paternity' story as a clever PR move."
"And if I refuse?"
Anastasia's face hardened. "Then I hand the photo to the Lawson family's legal team. They've already reached out to me, Allen. They want that boy. And they'll use your 'unstable' romantic involvement with their daughter to prove you're an unfit guardian."
I felt a cold rage settle in my bones. I had spent my life playing chess, but Anastasia was playing for blood.
"You have one hour to decide," she said, returning to her seat. "The future of Apex, or a girl who will only ever be a scandal."
CELESTE
I was packing Gabriel's things into my old suitcase when the doorbell rang. Not the service entrance—the main door.
I looked at the security monitor. It wasn't Allen.
It was Yona Vance.
She wasn't alone. She was standing next to my brother, Chris. He looked pale, his eyes darting around the hallway.
"Celeste, open the door!" Chris shouted through the wood. "The lawyers are on their way. Mom and Dad have filed for an emergency injunction. They're claiming you're a flight risk!"
I backed away from the door, my heart hammering. I looked at Gabriel, who was sitting on the rug playing with his new tablet, oblivious to the fact that his own grandparents were trying to kidnap him via the legal system.
I realized then that Allen was right. The penthouse wasn't just a home. It was a fortress. But even fortresses have back doors.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Maya.
"Maya, I need you," I whispered when she picked up. "The Lawsons are here. I need a way out that isn't the front elevator."
"Stay put, C," Maya said, her voice sounding unusually grim. "I'm already in the building. I'm coming up through the freight lift. But you need to know... it's not just the Lawsons. There's someone else with them. Someone who knows the codes to the penthouse."
"Who?"
"Your mother's lawyer," Maya said. "And a woman named Miranda Cross.
"
Allen's mother.
The Crosses weren't just fighting the Lawsons. They were fighting each other for control of the heir. And I was the only thing standing in their way.