Chapter 7
746words
My phone rings – an unknown number. I answer with shaking hands. "Hello?"
"Mommy?" Leo's frightened voice breaks my heart. "I want to come home."
"Baby, I'm here." Tears stream down my face. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
A man's voice replaces Leo's. "The boy is fine, for now."
I recognize William King's cold tone immediately. "What do you want?"
"Alexander knows the terms." William sounds smug, confident. "His shares for the boy."
"He's transferring everything now." I try to keep my voice steady. "Just don't hurt my son."
William laughs softly. "Your son? Or should I say, Lane's son?"
My confusion must show in my silence. William continues, his voice dripping with malice.
"Alexander believes the boy is Lane's." He sounds pleased with himself. "The jealousy is eating him alive."
I grip the phone tighter. "Leo is innocent in all this."
"Perhaps." William's tone turns mocking. "But Alexander isn't. He deserves to suffer."
Before I can respond, I hear commotion in the background. Shouting voices, something crashing.
"What's happening?" I press the phone closer to my ear. "William? Leo?"
The line goes dead. I stare at my phone in horror, imagining the worst.
Twenty agonizing minutes pass before my phone rings again. This time, it's Marcus.
"We have him." His voice sounds strained. "Leo's safe."
Relief floods through me so intensely my knees buckle. "Thank God. Where are you?"
"Heading to Memorial Hospital." Marcus pauses. "Alexander's been shot."
The world tilts sideways. Despite everything, the thought of Alexander hurt sends panic through me.
"How bad?" I can barely form the words.
"It's serious." Marcus doesn't sugarcoat it. "He jumped in front of Leo when William pulled a gun."
I grab my purse, already moving toward the door. "I'm on my way."
The hospital waiting room is chaos when I arrive. Police officers take statements while medical staff rush past. I spot Leo sitting with a female officer, clutching a teddy bear.
"Leo!" I run to him, gathering him in my arms. "Baby, are you okay?"
He clings to me, his little body trembling. "The bad man took me, but Mr. King saved me."
My heart catches at his words. Alexander risked his life for a child he believed wasn't his.
"Where's Alexander?" I ask the officer, still holding Leo tightly.
She points toward the emergency department. "Still in surgery. Mr. Lane is speaking with the doctors."
I find Marcus in the hallway outside the operating room. His shirt is stained with blood – Alexander's blood. His face looks grim.
"How is he?" I ask, Leo now asleep against my shoulder.
Marcus runs a hand through his disheveled hair. "Three gunshot wounds. One was close to his heart."
I sink into a nearby chair, careful not to wake Leo. "Will he survive?"
"The doctors are doing everything they can." Marcus sits beside me. "He didn't hesitate, Elise. When William aimed at Leo, Alexander just... moved."
Tears fill my eyes as I stroke Leo's hair. "What happened to William?"
"In custody." Marcus's expression hardens. "Victoria too. They found evidence linking them both to the kidnapping plot."
Hours pass in tense silence. Leo wakes briefly, asking for Alexander before drifting back to sleep. Finally, a surgeon approaches us.
"Mr. King survived the surgery." The doctor looks exhausted. "The next 24 hours will be critical."
Marcus squeezes my hand. "He's strong. He'll pull through."
As dawn breaks, I sit beside Alexander's hospital bed. Machines beep steadily, monitoring his vital signs. His face looks peaceful despite the tubes and bandages.
I take his hand gently. "You saved our son."
His fingers twitch slightly in mine, though he remains unconscious. Something shifts inside me – not forgiveness, not yet, but perhaps the beginning of understanding.
Marcus appears in the doorway with coffee. "You should get some rest."
I shake my head. "I need to be here when he wakes up."
Marcus hesitates, then pulls a small USB drive from his pocket. "There's something you should see."
"What is it?" I take the drive, turning it over in my hand.
"Alexander's personal files." Marcus looks uncomfortable. "My security team recovered them from William's computer."
I frown, confused. "Why would I want to see these?"
Marcus meets my eyes steadily. "Because they tell a very different story than the one you've believed for five years."
