"Alex, do you realize what you just asked for?" Daniel’s voice sounds heavy from behind the speaker. "DNA testing without your mother’s consent? If the media finds out, our reputation at Rington Group and our stock positions could be at risk."
"Just do it, Daniel," Alexander cuts in without hesitation. His voice is cold, cutting through all his friend’s doubts. "Use the most trusted independent lab. Make sure the results are out before tonight."
"Alright. I’ll handle it directly," Daniel responds resigned before hanging up.
Alexander gets into his black sedan, closing the door with a loud bang that drowns out the noise of London city. He leans back against the leather seat, takes a deep breath, then opens his left palm. A silver pendant shaped like an old anchor reflects under the cabin light. The same item hangs around the neck of the boy in Olivia’s photo.
A strange tightness grips his chest. For five years, he’s been chasing the shadow of that woman without success. For five years, Victoria Ashford has convinced him that she’s just a love adventurer who disappeared after getting money. But tonight, Olivia Carter’s terrified eyes reveal something different. There’s a big secret being hidden, a secret that could change everything.
In a hospital room, Olivia sits on the edge of Ethan’s bed, gently wiping his forehead as he starts to drift off. The room is silent, filled only with the soft rhythm of his breathing. Olivia gazes at his tiny face, her heart pounding.
Every detail of Ethan’s eyebrows, his lips while sleeping, even the way he tilts his head, is a perfect copy of the man who just left this room.
"Forgive Mommy, Ethan," she whispers softly. Her voice trembles, holding back tears she’s been suppressing all this time.
Her phone vibrates loudly on the table, breaking the silence. The screen shows the name she desperately wants to avoid—Christian Monroe. Olivia lets the call ring until it disconnects on its own, then turns off her phone completely. She cannot afford to be weak. The presence of Christian and Alexander at the same time in London is her biggest threat.
She promises herself that once Ethan is declared fully recovered tomorrow, she will request a transfer or find an excuse to stay out of Alexander’s reach.
The next morning, sunlight streams through the glass window of the Rington Group skyscraper. At the top floor, the CEO’s office feels like an invisible battlefield. Alexander stands facing the large glass wall, looking out over London with both hands in his pockets.
The door opens without knocking. Victoria Ashford enters gracefully, wearing a bright red dress that hugs her figure. A confident smile graces her face as she places a folder of documents on Alexander’s desk.
"Good morning, Alex," Victoria greets sweetly, with an insincere tone. "I brought the budget allocation report for the new marketing project. I suggest we replace the project manager. Olivia Carter seems distracted lately."
Alexander slowly turns around. His eyes lock onto Victoria with an intense gaze that makes her squint, feeling uncomfortable.
"Since when does the Director of Ashford Corporation interfere with internal marketing staff at Rington Group?" he asks flatly, emotionless.
Victoria chuckles lightly, trying to ease the tension. "I just care about your company’s well-being, Alex. Besides, we’ll announce our engagement next month, right? I have the right to make sure no unqualified employees damage our reputation."
"This engagement is just an idea from our parents, Victoria. I’ve never agreed to it," Alexander replies coldly.
Victoria’s face hardens instantly. "Alex, I’ve waited for you for five years! That foreign woman from that night will never come back. Why do you still hold onto the shadow of someone who doesn’t even have a name?"
Before Alexander can reply, the door opens again, and Daniel Brooks steps in, catching his breath. He’s holding a thick, sealed envelope. His gaze shifts from Alexander to Victoria, signaling the presence of an unwanted guest.
"I need to talk to you privately, Alex," Daniel says firmly.
Victoria eyes the envelope in Daniel’s hand with suspicion. "What’s this? Is there a problem with the financial report?"
"This is an internal matter, Miss Ashford," Daniel cuts her off without a smile. "I hope you can leave the CEO’s office now."
With a sigh of annoyance and a loud heel strike, Victoria turns and leaves, closing the secret door behind her.
Once the room feels safe again, Daniel locks the door from inside. He approaches the desk and places the brown envelope right in front of Alexander.
"The results just came back from the lab," Daniel says softly. "The doctor matched Ethan Carter’s DNA sample with your family medical records in the database."
Alexander’s heart races with a strange sensation rarely felt in his calculating business world. His normally steady hands tremble slightly as he grabs a letter opener and tears open the envelope’s seal.
He pulls out two white sheets of paper. His eyes scan the lines, ignoring the complex graphs, until they land on the bolded bottom line.
Probability of Paternity: 99.99%
The world around Alexander seems to stop spinning. That number is right there, glaring at him, hitting his awareness mercilessly. The five-year-old boy he met at the hospital—his child.
"Alex?" Daniel calls softly, watching the sudden change in his friend’s expression, which turns pale.
"Five years, Daniel," Alexander’s voice comes out as a whisper, sharp and full of suppressed rage. "I lost the first five years of my child’s life."
His eyes burn with fury. All the pieces now fit perfectly. Olivia Carter is that woman from that night. The woman he’s been searching for, the woman who disappeared without a trace, and the woman raising her son in secret.
"Get the car ready," Alexander commands, standing up from his chair.
"Where are you going? You have a board meeting in thirty minutes!" Daniel calls after him.
"Screw the meeting!" Alexander snaps, grabbing his jacket from the chair. "I have to find Olivia now."
Meanwhile, downstairs at the Rington Group building, Olivia just arrives at her cubicle. Her face still shows signs of exhaustion from staying up all night to care for Ethan before the nurse took him home this morning. She arranges her files on the desk, trying to focus on work so her anxiety doesn’t take over.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps break the quiet. Employees glance over, surprised to see their CEO walking down the corridor with an intense, deadly aura.
Alexander stops right in front of Olivia’s desk. His gaze locks onto her with a mixture of anger, pain, and burning longing.
"Come to my office now," he orders shortly, ignoring the dozens of whispering colleagues.
Olivia feels a cold shiver run down her spine. "Mr. Rington, I’m in the middle of a project report."
"Now, Miss Carter!" Alexander cuts sharply, with no room for argument.
Without waiting for a response, Alexander turns and heads for the elevator. Olivia clenches her fists, takes a deep breath to steady herself, then follows him.
The private elevator door closes tightly, sealing them inside a narrow glass-walled space. The atmosphere inside is suffocating. Olivia stands in the corner, staring straight ahead, while Alexander stands beside her, radiating intense heat from his simmering anger.
When they reach the top floor, Alexander grabs Olivia’s wrist—not roughly, but firmly enough to prevent her from escaping. He leads her into his office and locks the door from inside.
"Mr. Rington, what is the meaning of this?" Olivia asks, trying to sound firm, though her chest pounds wildly.
Alexander spins around, walks to the desk, and picks up the crumpled lab results, tossing them onto the table in front of her.
"Explain this to me, Olivia," his voice is deep and dangerous.
Olivia looks at the paper hesitantly. But when her eyes read the letterhead from the independent laboratory and Ethan Carter’s name printed there, her face turns ghostly pale. Her entire complexion drains.
"You—you did a DNA test on my child?" she whispers, trembling, staring at Alexander with disbelief.
"OUR child, Olivia!" Alexander shouts, losing his patience. He steps forward, closing the distance until Olivia is backed against the door. "He’s mine! Why have you hidden him from me all these years? Why did you let me live like a fool while my son grows up without a father?"
Olivia’s tears finally fall, wetting her cheeks. The fear she’s carried for five years transforms into burning anger.
"You’re the one hiding him?" she asks bitterly, bitter laughter in her voice. "Do you think I ran away on purpose? Five years ago, I searched for you! I tried to find the man I was with that night! But what happened?"
Alexander is frozen, his chest rising and falling rapidly. "What do you mean?"
"My family burned all the evidence! Someone hacked and erased all the CCTV footage from that hotel that night!" Olivia screams, voice cracking. "My family threw me out of the house because I was pregnant out of wedlock! They disowned me, dumped me in Manchester just to cover their reputation! Where were you when I worked endless hours just to buy Ethan’s milk? Where were you when I had to give birth alone in a cheap hospital room?"
Her words hit Alexander like a hammer, shattering his defenses. The powerful man of London suddenly freezes. The overwhelming guilt seeps in, breaking down his arrogance and burning rage.
"Someone deleted the records?" he whispers, in disbelief.
"Yes! Someone made sure we’d never find each other!" Olivia shouts, wiping her tears harshly. "So never come to me pretending to be the victim here, Mr. Rington! Ethan is mine. I will never let you or your family take him away!"
Olivia grabs the door handle and yanks it open forcefully. She runs out, leaving Alexander standing stunned in the empty room, staring at the open door with a heart shattered into pieces.