Chapter 1 - THE BOY WITH MY EYES
The elevator doors closed.
I kept staring at the empty space where Zara had disappeared.
For two years, I had imagined what I would say if I ever saw her again.
I had imagined anger.
Accusations.
Maybe even indifference.
I had never imagined seeing a little boy with my eyes.
“Mr. Lane?”
Mina's voice pulled me back.
I turned.
“Find everything.”
She frowned.
“Everything?”
“Everything about the paternity test.”
“The original laboratory?”
“Yes.”
“The doctor who ordered it?”
“Yes.”
“The chain of custody?”
“Yes.”
She typed rapidly.
“And Ms. Bennett?”
I hesitated.
“Don't contact her.”
Mina looked surprised.
“But—”
“I said don't contact her.”
I looked toward the elevator again.
“If Zara wants to talk to me, she'll do it.”
The words sounded reasonable.
They weren't.
Because the truth was, I was terrified.
Terrified that Prince really was my son.
Terrified that Zara had spent two years raising him alone.
And most terrified of what that meant about the man I had become.
My mother had told me Zara lied.
She had shown me documents.
A laboratory report.
A physician's signature.
A DNA probability listed in black and white.
I had believed it.
Not because I wanted to.
Because believing it was easier than admitting the woman I loved might be telling me the truth.
Now a little boy had walked into my hotel wearing my face.
And suddenly every decision I'd made seemed rotten.
My phone vibrated.
A message from my mother.
Your quarterly review is at three. Don't be late.
I stared at it.
Then another message arrived.
And Justin? Stay away from that woman.
My blood ran cold.
I hadn't told my mother Zara was here.
I hadn't told anyone.
I slowly looked at Mina.
“Who knows Zara is staying here?”
“Hotel management. The residency team. Security. Your mother, I assume, because she approved the partnership.”
“She knew?”
“Yes.”
My jaw tightened.
“Find out who gave her the room.”
Mina nodded.
Then stopped.
“Justin?”
“Yes?”
“There is something strange.”
“What?”
“Ms. Bennett requested that her floor remain private.”
“Meaning?”
“She specifically asked that no Lane family member be given access to her reservation.”
My chest tightened.
She had anticipated me.
Or perhaps she had been warned about me.
---
Three hours later, Mina walked into my office carrying a thin black folder.
She closed the door.
“We found the laboratory.”
I stood.
“Where?”
“Boston.”
“Still operating?”
“Yes.”
“Doctor?”
“Dr. Samuel Reed.”
I waited.
“Is he available?”
“He died eighteen months ago.”
I felt something cold move through me.
“Then who signed the report?”
Mina hesitated.
“That's the problem.”
She opened the folder.
The signature belonged to Dr. Reed.
But his medical license had already been suspended three months before the test.
I stared at the page.
“That's impossible.”
“Exactly.”
“Who paid the laboratory?”
“A private trust.”
“Whose?”
Mina slid another document across the desk.
Lane Family Foundation.
I stopped breathing.
My mother controlled that foundation.
I picked up the phone.
“Call my mother.”
“She already left the city.”
“Where?”
“Greenwich.”
I grabbed my coat.
Mina stood.
“Should I come?”
“No.”
“Justin—”
“I need to do this alone.”
I walked toward the door.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
“Who is this?”
Silence.
Then a child's voice whispered:
“Mr. Lane?”
I froze.
“Prince?”
A small breath.
“Mommy said I shouldn't talk to you.”
My heart broke.
“Where is your mom?”
Silence.
Then Prince whispered:
“She said you're the man who broke her heart.”
I closed my eyes.
“I know.”
“Are you my daddy?”
The world stopped.
I couldn't answer.
Then the line went dead.
I stood motionless.
For two years, I had believed I had lost a child who was never mine.
Now that child had called me.
And asked if I was his father.
I looked at the forged DNA report on my desk.
Then I made a decision.
I was going to find the truth.
May you like
Even if the truth destroyed my entire family.
---
