The elevator doors hadn't even fully opened into the hospital penthouse before I was calling for him.
"Leo? Nanny?"
The penthouse was still, the floor-to-ceiling windows reflecting the Lagos skyline like a silver cage. I found Leo sitting cross-legged on the rug in the center of the living room. The photo I had kept hidden in my nightstand was lying on the floor in front of him. On the wall-mounted television, a news report was playing on mute. Asher Reed was on the screen, looking cold and untouchable as he walked through a swarm of reporters.
Leo looked from the TV to the photo, then up at me. His little face was a mask of quiet, deep confusion.
"Mommy," he said, pointing his small finger at the television. "The nanny said that man is the King of the city. He's the one who owns the big cars."
I walked over and knelt beside him, my heart hammering against my ribs. I reached for the photo, but Leo's hand stayed on it.
"He is a powerful man, Leo," I said, my voice as steady as a surgeon's. "But power doesn't make someone a hero."
Leo looked at the screen again, then back at the photo. He ran a hand over his own dark, unruly curls—the exact same shade and texture as the man on the news. "Mommy, he has my hair. Why is his picture in your drawer?"
The question I had feared for five years was finally here. I had fled Asher's house when Leo was nothing more than a three-week-old secret in my womb. I had built an entire world to keep this boy safe from the Mafia's shadow.
"He is someone from my past," I said, choosing my words with the precision of a scalpel. "A long time ago, we lived in the same world. But we don't anymore."
"Is he my daddy?"
I almost choked on my spittle. The question I dread answering has finally come up. I looked into his innocent eyes, and for a second, I saw Asher's intensity staring back at me. I couldn't lie, but I wouldn't give Asher the satisfaction of the title yet.
" Let's just say, He is the man who helped give you life," I whispered. "But being a 'Daddy' is a job you have to earn. And he hasn't even applied for the position."
Huh! He looked more confused than he was a minute ago. "You mean like a doctor? Like mummy"?
I hated the fact that I'm the cause of his confusion. " Yes! You could say that. Like Mummy". I answered. That wasn't the truth but it wasn't entirely a lie either.
Leo looked back at the TV. Asher was ignoring a reporter, his jaw tight, his eyes like flint. "He looks scary," Leo decided, pushing the photo toward me.
I pulled him into a hug, a wave of relief washing over me. "You have nothing to be scared of Leo. Mummy is here and will always be with you. I will not allow anything bad to happen to you, even if it kills me. I whispered under my breath more to myself.
I spent the next hour reading to him until he finally fell asleep. Once he was tucked safely in his bed, I walked back out to the living room and picked up my phone. It was glowing with a new message.
[9:15 PM]: "The Onyx. 8:00 PM tomorrow. Don't forget about the dinner" Come along with Leo Chloe. Don't think of changing your mind because you can't keep him locked up in the glass forever.
I stared at the screen. He was watching the penthouse. He was testing me.
I didn't cry. I pulled up a contact I had saved under 'Medical Supplies'—a man from the underworld whose life I had saved in a secret surgery two years ago.
"It's Dr. C," I said, my voice cold and focused. "I'm going to dinner at The Onyx tomorrow. I need a shadow on the perimeter and a full scan of the restaurant's security. I ended the call. If he tries to move me or the boy, I want him to realize he's playing a game he already lost."
I looked at the muted image of Asher on the screen. He thought he was the hunter. He had no idea that I was the one holding the blade now