Chapter 5 - The Price of Choosing Lily
Nathan read Victoria’s name twice.
Then he looked at her.
“You filed this?”
Victoria’s crying stopped.
Something colder returned to her face.
“I activated protection for the company.”
Nathan stared at her.
“While Grace was lying on my floor?”
Victoria straightened.
“You don’t understand what happens if this becomes public.”
“I understand perfectly.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“You thought I would choose the company.”
Victoria said nothing.
That was answer enough.
Grace whispered.
“Nathan.”
He looked at her.
She shook her head.
“Don’t destroy your life because of me.”
He felt anger flare.
“This is not because of you.”
He looked at Lily.
“This is because people decided I should never know my own child.”
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“And what exactly are you going to do?”
“Walk into the boardroom tomorrow and announce that your maid secretly had your daughter?”
“You think the press will believe her?”
“She has no money.”
“No reputation.”
“No family anyone cares about.”
Nathan’s face changed.
Grace went still.
Victoria realized too late that she had said too much.
Nathan spoke quietly.
“That is exactly how my father talked.”
Victoria swallowed.
“You’re twisting my words.”
“No.”
“I’m finally hearing them.”
He removed the engagement ring from the small chain he wore around his neck whenever traveling.
Victoria watched his hand.
“Nathan.”
He placed the ring on the countertop.
“The wedding is canceled.”
Her face collapsed.
“You cannot be serious.”
“I have never been more serious.”
Victoria stepped forward.
“My father will ruin you.”
Nathan looked at Lily.
“Then he’ll have to stand in line.”
Charles called again.
Nathan declined it.
Thirty seconds later, Nathan’s chief financial officer called.
Then two board members.
Then the chairwoman.
He declined them all.
Elliot watched.
“They are panicking.”
“Good.”
Nathan picked up the phone.
“Call an emergency press conference for tomorrow morning.”
Grace stared at him.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking away their leverage.”
Elliot immediately understood.
“If you disclose first, Victoria cannot threaten disclosure.”
Nathan nodded.
“And Charles cannot frame Grace as a secret intruder if I publicly identify her.”
Grace shook her head.
“No.”
“Nathan, people will dig through Lily’s life.”
“They’ll photograph her.”
“They’ll follow us.”
He looked at her.
“Then we protect her.”
“With what?”
“Money?”
“You just said money might not save us.”
Nathan lowered his voice.
“Money won’t.”
“But truth might.”
Grace laughed softly.
It sounded exhausted.
“You still believe truth wins because eventually someone powerful notices.”
Nathan had no answer.
Grace continued.
“I spent five years learning what happens when the powerful people are the ones lying.”
That sentence stayed with him.
Later that night, Dr. Patel confirmed Grace had a shoulder contusion but no fracture.
Lily had no physical injuries.
Nathan sat outside the guest room while Grace helped her daughter sleep.
He heard Lily whisper through the door.
“Is Daddy staying?”
There was a long silence.
Grace answered.
“I don’t know.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
A few minutes later, Grace came out.
“You heard.”
“Yes.”
“She has asked about you for years.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Why did you show her my picture?”
Grace leaned against the wall.
“Because I couldn’t lie about who her father was.”
“You lied to me.”
Pain crossed her face.
“I was twenty-six years old, pregnant, terrified, and being followed.”
“I made the choice I thought kept her alive and with me.”
Nathan nodded slowly.
“I know.”
Grace looked surprised.
He continued.
“I’m angry.”
“But not at the person who had the least power.”
For the first time that night, Grace’s expression softened.
Nathan looked toward Lily’s door.
“I want the test.”
Grace nodded.
“So do I.”
The DNA samples were collected before midnight.
Elliot arranged a certified laboratory with expedited handling.
At 2:14 a.m., Nathan received another alert.
His corporate accounts had been restricted pending the board meeting.
At 2:21 a.m., his company-issued security team was reassigned.
At 2:37 a.m., the gate cameras went offline again.
Nathan stood immediately.
Then the house alarm sounded.
Grace ran into the hallway.
“What happened?”
Nathan looked at the security monitor.
A black SUV had stopped outside the gate.
Two men stepped out.
One carried documents.
The other carried a child-services identification badge.
Nathan’s stomach tightened.
A message appeared on his phone.
EMERGENCY CHILD REMOVAL ORDER APPROVED.
Grace looked at Lily’s closed bedroom door.
May you like
Her voice broke.
“They’re taking her.”
