Lily's POV
She pushed through the photographers like they were water. Cameras flashed. Voices overlapped. Someone grabbed her arm and she jerked away, moving faster toward the building entrance.
The door was heavy. She pulled it open and stumbled inside, her breath coming in short gasps. Behind her, security was blocking the photographers from following. For now.
Upstairs. She needed to get upstairs.
Her mother was waiting at the apartment door. She looked like she'd aged ten years in the last few hours. Her face was pale, her hands shaking, and behind her Sophie peeked out with confusion written all over her five-year-old face.
"Mommy, why are all those people here," Sophie asked. Her voice was small and scared.
Lily pulled her daughter close, breathing in the familiar smell of her hair. Sophie was still warm from fever. Still sick. Still innocent.
"We're just having a strange day, baby. It's okay."
It wasn't okay. Nothing about this was okay.
Her mother grabbed her arm once they were inside. "Lily, what is happening. Those people outside, they've been here for an hour asking questions about you and a man named Ethan and why you never told anyone about Sophie's father."
Lily couldn't explain. Not yet. Not with Sophie standing there trying to understand.
"Can you take her to her room," Lily asked. "Put on her favorite movie. I need to handle something."
Her mother's eyes widened but she didn't argue. She took Sophie's hand and led her away. Lily heard her talking softly, distracting her daughter with promises of ice cream and cartoons.
Lily went to the living room window and peered through the curtains. The news vans were still there. Maybe six of them now. More photographers than before. They were setting up equipment, getting comfortable. This was going to be a story.
This was going to be her life now.
Her phone buzzed constantly. She'd turned off notifications but the screen kept lighting up. Messages from people she barely knew. Comments on posts she wasn't even part of. The internet was obsessed with her now.
She was sitting on the edge of her couch when there was a knock on the door.
Lily's stomach dropped. It was exactly six o'clock.
She opened the door and there they were. Three men in black suits that probably cost more than her entire monthly rent. They looked like they'd been cut from the same mold. Sharp faces. Sharp eyes. Sharp everything.
"Lily Chen," the first one said. Not a question.
"Yes."
"We represent Ethan Blackwell. May we come inside."
She wanted to say no. She wanted to close the door and pretend this wasn't happening. But they'd find another way. People like this always did.
She stepped aside.
The men entered like they owned the space. One of them pulled out a folder and placed it on her coffee table. The edges were perfect. The papers inside were crisp and new.
"Mr. Blackwell wants to resolve this situation quickly," the lead man said. His name was probably something forgettable. He might have introduced himself but Lily didn't hear it. She was staring at the folder.
"He's prepared to offer you two options."
Lily sat down. Her legs didn't feel like they could hold her anymore.
The man opened the folder and slid a contract across the table. The first page had a heading in thick black letters: CUSTODY AGREEMENT AND TERMS OF SURRENDER.
"Option one," he continued. "You sign over all parental rights to Mr. Blackwell. He assumes full custody of Sophie. You would receive a settlement of two million dollars and a non-disclosure agreement to protect the privacy of the child. You would have no further contact with Sophie unless Mr. Blackwell permits it."
Lily's vision tunneled. No contact with Sophie. Her daughter. The only person she'd ever loved unconditionally.
"Option two," he said, "you move into Mr. Blackwell's residence. You maintain custody but he takes an active parental role. You would work directly under him as his personal marketing advisor. Your salary would be triple your current rate. You would live in his home with Sophie. Security would be provided. Your employment ends only when Mr. Blackwell deems it appropriate."
She looked up from the contract. "Live with him."
"Yes. In his penthouse. You would have a private suite. Sophie would have her own room. You would have access to all household amenities except Mr. Blackwell's private office and bedroom."
Except his bedroom. Like she would even want access to that.
"What happens if I refuse both," Lily asked.
The men exchanged a look that made her blood run cold.
"Mr. Blackwell would pursue legal action to gain full custody based on your deception and employment fraud. Given the public nature of this situation and your deliberate concealment of Sophie's paternity, family court would likely side with him. Additionally, he would press charges for misrepresentation of identity in your employment file. You would lose custody, face criminal charges, and have no access to your daughter."
Lily's hands were shaking. She looked at the contract without reading it. The words blurred together. Residence. Employment. Custody. Terms. Conditions.
Thirty minutes. They'd given her thirty minutes to decide her entire future.
"Can I think about it," she whispered.
"No. Mr. Blackwell needs an answer within the hour. It's now six fifteen."
She read through the contract with shaking hands. The language was dense and cold. Legal words designed to trap her in one direction or another. There was no escape clause. There was no out.
Option one meant losing Sophie. Watching Ethan raise her alone. Never being her mother again.
Option two meant living in his house. Working for him. Surrendering her freedom and her privacy and her life to a man who'd used her once and discarded her.
Both options meant losing herself.
But one of them meant keeping Sophie.
Her mother appeared in the doorway with a confused look. She'd sent Sophie back to her room with the promise of ice cream. When she saw the three men in suits, her face went pale.
"What is this," her mother asked.
Lily couldn't answer. She couldn't explain that her daughter's father was a billionaire and that he was taking her away whether she cooperated or fought.
She looked at the first page of the contract. It had two signature lines. One for her. One for a witness.
Her hands moved before her brain could catch up. She signed her name on the first line. Shaky and wrong, but it was her signature. She was agreeing to option two. Moving into his house. Working for him. Surrendering her freedom for the right to stay in her daughter's life.
Her mother made a sound like she was breaking. "Lily, what are you doing. You can't sign that. You don't even know what that says."
"I know exactly what it says," Lily whispered.
One of the men pulled out a notary seal. Her mother was asked to sign as a witness. She refused twice. The man told her that her refusal would be noted in the document and would only strengthen Mr. Blackwell's case for full custody.
Her mother signed with tears streaming down her face.
The men collected the papers. The lead one checked his watch. Six forty five. They'd timed it perfectly. Fifteen minutes to spare.
"Mr. Blackwell expects you at his residence by eight o'clock. Bring only personal items for you and Sophie. A security team will handle the rest of your belongings. You should inform your employer that you're resigning effective immediately."
"I already lost my job," Lily said numbly.
"Then you're free to go. The address is in the letter he's provided."
They left without another word. The door closed and the apartment suddenly felt very small and very quiet.
Her mother was crying. Actually crying, her shoulders shaking, her hand over her mouth like she was trying to hold herself together.
"I'm sorry," Lily said. The words felt inadequate. "I'm so sorry, Mom."
"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to yourself, beta. You just signed away your life."
Lily looked at the letter they'd left behind. Heavy cardstock. Expensive. Inside was the penthouse address in Manhattan and a note in someone's handwriting.
'Sophie deserves to know her father. You deserve to understand what you took from us. Come at eight. Come alone with Sophie. Don't tell anyone where you're going. Veronica has done enough damage already. Let's keep the rest private.'
It was signed with a single letter. E.
Lily read it three times, trying to find some hidden meaning. Some way out. Some sign that this was going to be okay.
She found nothing.
Sophie appeared in the doorway. Her fever seemed to have broken. She was curious now, wondering about the strange men, wondering about the tears on her grandmother's face.
"Mommy, are we going somewhere," Sophie asked.
Lily looked at her daughter's innocent face and realized she'd just made a choice that would change all of their lives forever.
"Yes, baby. We're going somewhere new."
She had less than two hours to pack everything that mattered and step into a world she wasn't prepared for.
She had less than two hours before she became someone's employee.
She had less than two hours before she moved into Ethan Blackwell's penthouse and faced the man who'd destroyed her world three years ago and was about to destroy it all over again.