POV: Ethan Sterling
"Leo isn't mine."
The words echo in the hotel room like a death sentence.
Vivian stares at me, her face completely white. "What did you just say?"
I can barely breathe. Can barely think. The medical records on my phone screen might as well be written in a foreign language because my brain refuses to process them.
"The drug they gave me that night—" My voice cracks. "It causes temporary sterility. Twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Which means—"
"Stop." Vivian's voice is sharp as broken glass. "Just stop. Leo looks exactly like you. He has your eyes, your chin, your stubborn attitude—"
"Physical resemblance doesn't mean DNA match," I say, even though every word feels like swallowing razor blades. "You know that."
"Then the records are fake!" She grabs my phone, scrolling frantically. "Claire and Linda faked them! They faked everything else, why not this?"
"Maybe." I want to believe her. God, I want to believe her so badly it hurts. "But what if they didn't?"
Vivian's hands shake so hard she drops my phone. "Then who... if you weren't... who is Leo's father?"
The question hangs between us like a grenade with the pin pulled.
"I don't know." The admission makes me want to punch through a wall. "But we're going to find out."
Two hours later, I'm sitting in my car outside Vivian's apartment, staring at a text I've read fifty times.
"Leo knows. He wants to meet you properly. Tomorrow, 2 PM, Riverside Park. Please don't make me regret this."
I should tell her about the medical records. Should tell her that I might not be Leo's biological father.
But I can't.
Because what if I am? What if Claire and Linda faked those records just to mess with us one last time?
And even if I'm not... Leo thinks I'm his dad. Leo wants me to be his dad.
Can I really destroy that?
My phone rings. James.
"Please tell me you have good news," I answer.
"Depends on your definition of good." James sounds exhausted. "Linda Chen's plane landed in São Paulo an hour ago. Brazilian authorities are holding her, but extradition could take weeks. Maybe months."
"And the medical records she took?"
"Gone. She either destroyed them or hid them somewhere we can't access. Without those original documents, we can't verify if the copies Claire showed you are real or fake."
I slam my fist against the steering wheel. "So we're stuck. No proof either way."
"There's one other option," James says carefully. "We could run our own DNA test. Settle this once and for all."
"No."
"Ethan—"
"I said no." My voice comes out harder than I intend. "Not yet. Not until I meet him properly. Not until—" I break off, not sure how to explain.
"Not until you're ready to lose him," James finishes quietly.
He's right. That's exactly what I'm afraid of.
"Take the meeting tomorrow," James advises. "Get to know Leo. Then decide what to do about the DNA test. Because Ethan? Whether he's biologically yours or not, that kid deserves the truth. And so does Vivian."
Riverside Park is crowded when I arrive the next day. Families everywhere—kids on swings, parents pushing strollers, dogs chasing tennis balls.
Normal people living normal lives.
Nothing about my life has been normal since I saw Vivian again three days ago.
She's waiting on a bench near the duck pond, Leo beside her. He's wearing a dinosaur t-shirt and light-up sneakers, his dark hair sticking up in the back.
My son.
Maybe.
Probably not.
But definitely the kid who looks at me with my own eyes.
"You came," Vivian says when I approach. She looks tired, like she hasn't slept since yesterday.
"Of course I came." I crouch down so I'm eye-level with Leo. "Hi."
Leo stares at me with those impossibly familiar gray eyes. "Mama says you're my dad."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
"I am." The lie comes easier than I expected. Or maybe it's not a lie. Maybe biology doesn't matter as much as I think it does. "I'm sorry I didn't know about you sooner."
"Why didn't you know?" Leo tilts his head, genuinely curious. "Didn't Mama tell you?"
How do I explain this to a five-year-old? How do I say that adults are complicated and messy and sometimes we hurt each other without meaning to?
"It's... grown-up stuff," I finally say. "Complicated. But I know now, and I'm here. Is that okay?"
Leo studies me for a long moment. Then he nods. "Okay. Do you like dinosaurs?"
The subject change is so abrupt I almost laugh. "I... yes. Dinosaurs are cool."
"What's your favorite?" Leo pulls out a small plastic T-Rex from his pocket. "Mine's T-Rex because he's the king."
"Velociraptor," I say without thinking. "Because they hunted in packs. They were smart."
Leo's face lights up. "That's a good one! Mama, did you hear? He likes velociraptors!"
Vivian watches us with an expression I can't read. "I heard, baby."
For the next hour, Leo shows me everything. His dinosaur collection. His drawings of space ships. The rock he found that "definitely has fossils in it" even though it's just a regular rock.
He talks constantly, jumping from topic to topic with five-year-old logic that makes perfect sense and no sense at all.
And I listen. I laugh. I learn that his favorite color is blue, he hates broccoli but loves carrots, and he wants to be either an astronaut or a dragon when he grows up.
"You can't be a dragon," I point out gently. "Dragons aren't real."
"Yet," Leo says with absolute confidence. "Maybe I'll be the first one."
"Maybe you will."
When Leo runs ahead to chase a squirrel, I sit beside Vivian on the bench. She's been quiet this whole time, just watching.
"He's amazing," I say softly. "You did an incredible job raising him."
"I did what I had to do." Her voice is tight. "Alone. For five years."
The reminder stings. "I know. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it."
"Are you?" She finally looks at me. "Or are you just sorry you got caught in Claire's trap? Sorry your reputation might be damaged? Sorry—"
"I'm sorry I hurt you," I interrupt. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I'm sorry I wasn't there for Leo's first steps or his first words or any of the moments I should have been there for." I pause. "And I'm sorry about the medical records."
Vivian flinches. "Don't."
"We have to talk about it eventually—"
"Not here." She glances at Leo, who's laughing as the squirrel runs up a tree. "Not now. Let him have this one day where everything is simple. Where he has a mom and a dad and nothing is complicated."
She's right. Leo deserves that.
So I nod. "Okay. One day. Just... being his dad."
"Are you, though?" Vivian's voice drops to a whisper. "His dad? Or are you just playing the part until we get a DNA test that tells us the truth?"
The question cuts deeper than any blade could.
"I don't know," I admit. "But I know this—Leo thinks I'm his dad. And right now, that's enough for me."
As the afternoon fades, Leo gets tired. He yawns, rubbing his eyes with his fists.
"Time to go home, baby," Vivian says gently.
"But I don't wanna." Leo pouts. "Can't Ethan come too?"
"Ethan has work—"
"Actually," I interrupt, "I have the rest of the day off. If it's okay with your mom, I could walk you guys home?"
Vivian hesitates. I can see the war in her eyes—wanting to protect Leo, wanting to keep me at arm's length, but also wanting to give her son what he clearly wants.
"Please, Mama?" Leo tugs her hand. "Please?"
"Fine," she finally says. "But just to our building. Not inside."
"Deal."
We walk slowly through the park. Leo chatters the whole way, jumping between topics like he's channel surfing.
Then, without warning, he grabs both our hands.
"This is nice," he says, swinging between us. "Like a real family."
Vivian and I look at each other over his head.
In her eyes, I see pain. Loss. Anger. Fear.
But also something else. Something that might be hope.
"Yeah," I say softly. "It is nice."
We walk the rest of the way in silence, Leo swinging between us, humming a song I don't recognize.
When we reach Vivian's building, Leo hugs my legs. "Will you come back tomorrow?"
"If your mom says it's okay."
Leo looks up at Vivian with those big gray eyes. "Can he, Mama? Please?"
Vivian's face softens. "We'll see, baby. Say goodbye for now."
"Bye, Dad!" Leo waves as Vivian leads him inside.
Dad.
He called me Dad.
I'm still standing there, frozen, when my phone buzzes.
A text from an unknown number.
I open it, and my blood turns to ice.
The message contains one photo: Leo's birth certificate.
But something's wrong with it. Very wrong.
The date is correct. Vivian's name is listed as mother.
But the father's name isn't blank like Vivian told me it would be.
There's a name written there. A name I recognize.
A name that makes absolutely no sense.
The father listed on Leo's birth certificate is James Park.
My best friend. My COO. The man who's been helping me investigate this whole mess.
Below the photo, a text: "Surprised? You should be. James has been lying to you for five years. Want to know why? Meet me tonight. Midnight. The old Chen Fashion House warehouse. Come alone, or Leo learns the truth about his real daddy. —L"
Linda.
She's back. She's in Sterling City. And she knows something about James that I don't.
Something about Leo.
Something that changes everything.
Again.