Chapter 3 - THE CHILDREN HE NEVER KNEW EXISTED
Christian reached the storage room twelve minutes later.
The door was locked.
He heard nothing inside.
“Open it.”
The club manager appeared behind him.
“Mr. Ryder, there's nobody—”
Christian turned.
“Open the damn door.”
The manager hesitated.
Christian stepped closer.
“If she's hurt, every person who helped hide her will answer to the police.”
The lock clicked.
The room was empty.
Only a broken cleaning cart remained.
And blood.
A dark smear across the white tile.
Christian stared at it.
“Where is she?”
Nobody answered.
Then Henry entered with his phone.
“Christian, security footage shows two men taking someone through the service elevator.”
Christian turned.
“Find the vehicle.”
Amelia woke in a hospital bed.
The first thing she did was touch her stomach.
The second was scream.
“My babies!”
“Easy, sweetheart.”
An older woman hurried toward her.
Freya Ryder.
Christian's mother.
The same woman who had arranged Amelia's contract marriage.
“Your babies are alive.”
Amelia began crying.
“Both?”
“Both.”
Freya held her hand.
“I found you in the alley behind the club. The doctors stabilized you.”
Amelia looked at her.
“Why?”
Freya frowned.
“Why what?”
“Why did you help me?”
Freya's eyes filled.
“Because you're my daughter-in-law.”
Amelia looked away.
“Your son doesn't want me.”
“My son is a stubborn fool.”
“He told me to disappear.”
Freya sat beside her.
“Then he's going to spend the rest of his life regretting it.”
Across Chicago, Christian watched security footage from the club.
He saw Scarlett grab Amelia.
He saw Amelia fall.
He saw the guards drag her away.
His hands curled into fists.
Henry stood nearby.
“Scarlett has left the city.”
“Find her.”
“Christian, there's something else.”
Henry placed a folder on the desk.
The original marriage contract.
Amelia Jones.
Twenty-one years old.
Austin University music student.
Mother deceased.
Father estranged.
Medical debts.
Christian opened the folder.
A photograph slipped out.
It showed Amelia standing outside a hospital eight months earlier.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
Christian stared at the picture.
He remembered the young woman standing beside his bed.
He remembered throwing the check at her.
And suddenly he understood.
The pregnant cleaner.
The contract wife.
The woman who called him husband.
They were the same person.
His breath caught.
“Where is she?”
Henry hesitated.
“Your mother took her somewhere safe.”
Christian grabbed his coat.
“Give me the address.”
“Your mother said you aren't welcome.”
Christian stopped.
For the first time in his life, someone had denied him access to his own family.
And he knew he deserved it.
At the hospital, Amelia received another surprise.
Freya placed a folder beside her.
“Two apartments. A trust for the children. Enough money to finish school.”
Amelia shook her head.
“I can't accept this.”
“You're carrying my grandchildren.”
“I didn't marry Christian for money.”
“I know.”
Freya leaned forward.
“That's why I'm giving you something you never had.”
“What?”
“A choice.”
Amelia stared at her.
“You can stay married. You can leave him. You can raise the children wherever you want.”
Freya squeezed her hand.
“And whatever you choose, I won't abandon you.”
Amelia cried harder.
Because those were the words she had waited her entire life to hear.
The following morning, Amelia insisted on attending her final university performance.
Her graduation depended on it.
Freya protested.
“You need rest.”
“I've worked four years for this.”
“I could buy you a degree.”
Amelia smiled sadly.
“But it wouldn't be mine.”
Freya finally agreed.
As Amelia prepared to leave, her phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
A message appeared.
Your husband is coming to find you.
Amelia stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
And when he does, make sure he never discovers what really happened the night he woke from his coma.
Attached was a photograph.
A photograph of Amelia entering Christian's hospital room.
But she wasn't alone.
May you like
Someone else had been standing behind her.
Someone Christian trusted more than anyone.
