Chapter 3 - Roman Vale
The elevator opened eleven minutes later.
Four men stepped out first.
Black suits.
Earpieces.
Controlled movements.
Then Roman appeared.
Eight years had changed him.
He was forty now.
Broader.
Colder.
More dangerous.
A black overcoat covered most of his tailored suit, but dark tattoos remained visible across his hands and along the base of his throat.
The scar through his eyebrow was still there.
So were those gray eyes.
They found me immediately.
Roman stopped.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
“Claire.”
Hearing my name in his voice brought back eight years in one breath.
“Roman.”
His jaw tightened.
“I received a medical alert saying an eight-year-old boy is a first-degree genetic relative.”
I said nothing.
Roman stepped closer.
“Tell me the system is wrong.”
I couldn’t.
His eyes moved toward the glass.
Toward Noah.
Roman stared at him.
I watched the exact moment he understood.
Noah had Roman’s dark hair.
Roman’s eyes.
Even the same small dimple in his chin.
“How old?”
“Eight.”
Roman looked at me.
“When is his birthday?”
“March seventeenth.”
His face changed.
He calculated instantly.
“You left in June.”
“Yes.”
“You were pregnant.”
I nodded.
Roman’s voice became frighteningly quiet.
“You took my son.”
“I protected him.”
“From me?”
“From your world.”
His bodyguards looked away.
Roman came closer.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I needed you to stop looking.”
“I searched for you for three years.”
“And if you had found me?”
“I would have asked why.”
“No. Your men would have followed. Your enemies would have followed them. Noah would have grown up surrounded by guns and revenge.”
Roman stared at me.
Then Noah’s monitor alarm sounded.
Everything else disappeared.
Dr. Park rushed from the room.
“We need the donor now.”
Roman removed his coat.
“Take whatever you need.”
“You’ll need testing first.”
“Then test me.”
“Mr. Vale—”
Roman looked directly at her.
“That boy is my son.”
His voice broke on the final word.
For the first time in my life, I saw Roman Vale afraid.
May you like
“Save him.”
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