Chapter 1 - THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE
The hallway remained silent after Julian's words.
“I know everything.”
Dominic stared at him as though the floor had disappeared beneath her feet.
Gabriella held Noah tighter.
The baby was still crying softly against her chest, his tiny fingers curled into the fabric of her uniform.
Julian looked at him.
Then at Dominic.
Then back at the envelope.
“You're going to explain this,” he said.
Dominic swallowed.
“I can explain.”
“You have five seconds.”
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Julian placed the birth certificate on the marble console.
The name of the biological father was clearly printed beneath Noah's information.
Gabriella accidentally saw it.
Her eyes widened.
She knew that name.
She had seen it before.
Not on a birth certificate.
On an old photograph hidden inside the library desk.
“Mr. Hale…”
Julian turned toward her.
“What?”
Gabriella hesitated.
“I think I know that man.”
Dominic's face went white.
Julian noticed immediately.
“You know him too?”
Gabriella shook her head.
“No. Not personally.”
“Then how do you know his name?”
Before she could answer, a soft clicking sound came from behind the double doors.
Everyone froze.
Julian slowly turned.
The doors opened.
An elderly man stepped into the hallway.
Arthur Hale.
Julian's father.
The man everyone believed was too ill to leave his private suite.
His expression was cold.
His cane tapped against the marble.
Dominic backed away.
“Arthur…”
He looked at her.
“You weren't supposed to find out this way.”
Julian's face hardened.
“Find out what?”
Arthur stared at Noah.
Then he whispered:
“That child is the reason your mother died.”
Gabriella gasped.
Julian stepped forward.
“What did you just say?”
Arthur looked toward the locked study.
“There is a file in my desk.”
“What file?”
“The Hale family file.”
He paused.
“And if you open it, Julian…”
His voice trembled for the first time.
“You will discover that Dominic isn't the only person who has been lying to you.”
Behind them, Dominic suddenly ran.
Julian caught her wrist.
“Where are you going?”
She looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“To save your son.”
Julian's grip loosened.
“My son?”
Dominic whispered:
“That's exactly what I've been trying to do.”
Then the lights went out.
And somewhere upstairs…
May you like
a gunshot shattered the silence.
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