Chapter 12 - Three ChildrenEmilia Rose Navarro entered the world at 4:18 that afternoon.
Seven pounds.
Four ounces.
A furious set of lungs.
A full head of dark hair.
And absolutely no patience.
“She’s definitely yours,” Claudia murmured.
Sebastian sat beside the hospital bed holding his daughter.
“How have you determined that?”
“She’s been alive forty minutes and already looks annoyed with everyone.”
“That could also be you.”
Claudia smiled tiredly.
“Keep talking.”
Sebastian kissed Emilia’s forehead.
He had cried when Noah was born.
This time he cried differently.
No panic.
No regret.
No knowledge that his family was breaking somewhere outside the operating room.
He had been there for every second.
Sophie entered carrying flowers.
Noah waddled beside Elena.
Sophie immediately inspected the baby.
“She’s small.”
“You were smaller,” Claudia said.
“I was elegant.”
“You looked like a raisin.”
Sophie gasped.
Sebastian laughed.
For fifteen minutes, the room became exactly what Claudia wanted.
Then Sebastian’s phone vibrated.
He looked at Claudia before touching it.
A tiny habit.
Permission without asking.
“Answer it.”
It was his physician.
The first DNA comparison had been expedited.
Sebastian listened.
His expression changed.
Claudia knew.
After the call ended, she asked quietly:
“He’s yours?”
Sebastian nodded.
“Probability of paternity exceeds 99.9 percent.”
Sophie stopped smiling.
Claudia stared at Emilia.
Three children.
Except suddenly there were four.
Somewhere across Connecticut, a twelve-year-old boy with leukemia had just become part of their family whether anyone was prepared or not.
“Are you a marrow match?” Claudia asked.
“Testing takes longer.”
Sebastian sat beside her.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For bringing this into today.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I should have.”
Claudia looked at him.
“How?”
He had no answer.
She touched his hand.
“Don’t manufacture guilt because uncertainty makes you uncomfortable.”
Sebastian almost smiled.
“Therapy has made you dangerous.”
“It made both of us harder to manipulate.”
That thought returned them to Thomas Greer.
Sebastian’s security team had already started looking.
Greer’s office was empty.
His apartment had been vacated.
His bank accounts had been nearly emptied.
Someone had paid him again.
The question was why.
That evening Rebecca called.
Ethan had been admitted after developing a fever.
Sebastian stood beside the hospital window while listening.
“I’m coming.”
Claudia watched him.
He ended the call.
“You should.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Claudia.”
She pointed toward Emilia.
“I’m surrounded by nurses, Elena, Daniel, Sophie, and an infant who has already established herself as management.”
Sophie nodded.
“She’s terrifying.”
Claudia continued.
“Ethan has spent twelve years without knowing you existed.”
Sebastian’s face tightened.
“And today he found you.”
She squeezed his hand.
“Go.”
He hesitated.
A year earlier, that word had destroyed them.
Go.
She’s already waiting.
Sebastian seemed to hear the echo too.
Claudia understood.
“This is different.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
He looked at her.
She smiled softly.
“You’re not leaving your family.”
Her eyes moved toward the door.
“You’re going to one of them.”
Sebastian kissed her.
Then Emilia.
Then Sophie.
He left.
Two hours later, he stood beside Ethan’s hospital bed.
The boy looked smaller beneath fluorescent lights.
Rebecca sat near the window.
Ethan stared at Sebastian.
“So?”
“The test says I’m your biological father.”
Ethan looked away.
“Congratulations.”
Sebastian pulled a chair closer.
“I don’t expect you to know what to do with that.”
“Do you?”
“No.”
That got Ethan’s attention.
Sebastian continued.
“I’m good at pretending I know what I’m doing.”
“My mom said you’re rich.”
Sebastian blinked.
“That was an aggressive transition.”
Ethan almost smiled.
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
“How rich?”
“Enough that discussing it with a twelve-year-old feels dangerous.”
Ethan smiled despite himself.
Then his face became serious.
“If you’re my dad, why didn’t Mom tell you?”
Sebastian looked toward Rebecca.
She stood.
“I’ll get coffee.”
“Mom.”
She stopped.
Ethan stared at her.
“Tell me.”
Rebecca slowly sat again.
“I tried.”
Sebastian frowned.
“What?”
Rebecca looked at him.
“Twelve years ago, I sent you three letters.”
“I never received them.”
“I called your office.”
“Who answered?”
She thought.
“Your assistant.”
Sebastian’s stomach tightened.
“What was his name?”
Rebecca looked confused.
“Marcus.”
The room became silent.
Sebastian leaned back.
Marcus Vane had known.
Twelve years.
He had known Sebastian might have a son.
And he had buried it.
Ethan watched Sebastian’s face.
“What does that mean?”
Sebastian answered carefully.
“It means someone I trusted may have kept us from knowing each other.”
Ethan stared at the ceiling.
“That sucks.”
“Yes.”
“Can I say sucks?”
“Apparently.”
“Cool.”
Sebastian almost smiled.
Then the door opened.
A doctor entered.
Her expression was serious.
“Mr. Navarro?”
Sebastian stood.
“We have the preliminary compatibility results.”
Rebecca grabbed Ethan’s hand.
The doctor looked at Sebastian.
“You’re not a match.”
Hope vanished from Rebecca’s face.
Sebastian’s chest tightened.
Then the doctor continued.
“But there’s something unusual in Ethan’s genetic profile.”
“What?”
She looked at Rebecca.
“We found a close familial relationship to another person already in the national donor registry.”
Rebecca stood.
“Who?”
The doctor hesitated.
“We cannot disclose the identity without authorization.”
Sebastian’s instincts sharpened.
“How close?”
“Close enough that there is a significant possibility of a half-sibling.”
Ethan stared at his mother.
Rebecca went pale.
Sebastian noticed.
“Rebecca?”
She said nothing.
“Is there another child?”
“No.”
Too fast.
Sebastian knew lies.
Rebecca looked terrified.
And suddenly the mystery was no longer whether Ethan was Sebastian’s son.
May you like
He was.
The question was whether Ethan was the only secret child someone had spent twelve years hiding.
Related Stories
