Chapter 1 - THE BOY WHO CHOSE A PRINCE
The silence after Noah's confession felt heavier than the marble floor beneath my feet.
I could hear the faint hum of the air-conditioning.
The clicking of keyboards.
The distant ringing of phones.
And somewhere behind me, someone whispered my name.
I wanted the floor to open.
Instead, Gabriel Roth simply stared at my seven-year-old son.
Not at me.
At Noah.
“Your real dad said you weren't worth staying for?”
His voice was quieter than I'd ever heard it.
Noah nodded.
“He said Mommy was too difficult.”
My stomach twisted.
“Okay,” I said quickly. “That's enough.”
I grabbed Noah's hand.
“Come on.”
But Gabriel didn't move.
“Claire.”
I stopped.
It was the first time he'd ever called me by my first name without a meeting room full of people around us.
I turned.
“Yes?”
“Does your son always hear things like that?”
I looked at Noah.
He was studying the floor.
“No.”
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
“Good.”
Then he crouched again.
“Noah.”
My son looked up.
“Your father was wrong.”
I froze.
Gabriel continued.
“You are absolutely worth staying for.”
Noah's eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“And Mommy?”
Gabriel looked at me.
Something unreadable passed through his green eyes.
“Especially your mom.”
Heat rushed to my face.
A few employees suddenly became extremely interested in their phones.
I cleared my throat.
“Mr. Roth, I'm sorry about this.”
“Don't apologize.”
“But he shouldn't have wandered into the executive lobby.”
“He wasn't causing trouble.”
“He called you a prince.”
Gabriel's mouth twitched.
“I've been called worse.”
Noah tugged on my sleeve.
“Mommy?”
“What?”
“Can Mr. Roth come to dinner?”
I nearly choked.
“No.”
Gabriel actually laughed.
Again.
That deep, unexpected laugh.
Noah looked pleased with himself.
“See? He likes you.”
“That's not how this works.”
Gabriel stood.
“Actually, Noah may have better instincts than most people in this building.”
I stared at him.
He walked past me.
Then stopped.
“Claire?”
“Yes?”
“Bring your son to my office after lunch.”
My heart sank.
“Am I fired?”
He looked genuinely confused.
“No.”
“Then why?”
“I want to talk to him.”
My protective instincts immediately activated.
“About what?”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“His father.”
I felt the blood leave my face.
“How do you know about him?”
“I don't.”
“Then why ask?”
He glanced toward Noah.
“Because the way he said it didn't sound like a child repeating something he overheard.”
I said nothing.
Gabriel continued.
“It sounded like something he had been told.”
Then he walked away.
I stood there, gripping Noah's hand.
My son looked up at me.
“Did I get you fired?”
“No.”
“Did I get you a husband?”
“No.”
He thought about it.
“Maybe.”
I sighed.
“Office. Now.”
---
At 12:15, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then something made me answer.
“Hello?”
Silence.
“Hello?”
A man's voice finally spoke.
“You need to take your son out of that building.”
My blood went cold.
“Who is this?”
“You don't know me.”
“Then why are you calling?”
“Because someone knows Noah is there.”
I looked through the glass wall of my office.
Noah was coloring.
Completely unaware.
“Who?”
The caller breathed heavily.
“His father.”
I froze.
“That isn't possible.”
“Why?”
“Because Noah's father has been gone for seven years.”
The man was silent.
Then he said:
“No.”
My heart began pounding.
“He's been hiding.”
The line went dead.
I immediately called the number back.
Disconnected.
I stared at the screen.
Then at Noah.
Seven years.
Seven years since Ethan Mercer had walked out of my apartment.
Seven years since he'd told me he didn't want a child.
Seven years since I had watched him drive away without looking back.
I'd spent years convincing myself that he was simply selfish.
Cruel.
Cowardly.
But never dangerous.
I stood.
“Mommy?”
I walked to Noah.
“Sweetheart.”
“Yes?”
“Has anyone talked to you today?”
He shook his head.
“Except Mr. Roth.”
“What about yesterday?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded.
Then he frowned.
“Mommy?”
“What?”
“Why was that man outside our apartment last night?”
My entire body went still.
“What man?”
“The one in the black hat.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What did he look like?”
Noah shrugged.
“He had Daddy's watch.”
My blood turned to ice.
Because I knew that watch.
Ethan had worn it every day.
Until the night he disappeared.
---
At 1:03, I walked into Gabriel Roth's office.
He was standing behind his desk, looking through a report.
Noah sat in one of the leather chairs.
Gabriel looked up.
“You're late.”
“I received a phone call.”
His expression changed.
“From whom?”
“I don't know.”
“What did they say?”
I closed the door.
“They said someone knows my son is here.”
Gabriel's face became completely still.
“Who?”
“They said his father.”
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
“Ethan Mercer?”
I stared at him.
“How do you know his name?”
He didn't answer.
“Gabriel.”
He slowly placed the report on his desk.
Then he said something that made my knees nearly give out.
“Because Ethan Mercer once worked for my father.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
Gabriel walked toward the window.
“He wasn't just your son's father, Claire.”
He turned.
“He was my brother's best friend.”
I couldn't speak.
“And seven years ago,” Gabriel continued, “he disappeared after stealing something from my family.”
“What did he steal?”
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
“A file.”
“What file?”
He looked directly at Noah.
“A file containing the names of children born through a private medical program funded by the Roth family.”
The room went silent.
I felt Noah's small hand slip into mine.
Gabriel lowered his voice.
“And your son's name was on it.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
Gabriel nodded slowly.
“I wish I could tell you otherwise.”
Then someone knocked violently on the office door.
Gabriel reached for the lock.
Before he could open it, his assistant shouted from outside.
“Mr. Roth!”
“What?”
“There is a man downstairs asking for Claire Morgan.”
Gabriel looked at me.
“What does he look like?”
The assistant hesitated.
“Dark hair.”
My heart stopped.
“Green jacket.”
Noah whispered:
“That's him.”
Gabriel's expression changed.
“Who?”
Noah looked toward the door.
“The man who was outside our apartment.”
Then the elevator bell rang.
Ding.
The doors opened.
A man stepped into the executive lobby.
And even from the fifteenth floor, I could see the silver watch on his wrist.
The watch I had buried in a box seven years ago.
The watch that belonged to Ethan Mercer.
My son's father.
The man who was supposed to be gone forever.
May you like
And he was walking toward us.
---
