ATHENA

    The breath I didn''t know I''d been holding finally escapes my lungs. The paper slips from my fingers, fluttering softly to the floor, but I don''t reach for it.

    I can''t move.

    I''m frozen in ce, staring nkly. As a wave of emotions crashes over me with such force, it nearly knocks the air from my chest as I read the results over and

    over again.

    Paternity Results;

    Athena Dawson and Rayen King:

    99.9% Match.

    Rayen is mine.

    He''s mine.

    My baby didn''t die. He didn''t die that day in the hospital like they told me.

    I wasn''t crazy.

    I didn''t imagine his little fingers curling around mine. The way I knew, deep in my soul, that he existed even when no one believed me.

    Tears burn my eyes, blurring the world around me, and I lift my trembling hand to cover my mouth.

    A choked sob escapes before I can stop it. Zayan is suddenly beside me again, his arm wrapping around my shoulders, anchoring me before I drown in the storm.

    "If I say I suspected it before I saw his birthmark, then I must be a liar, Zayan. My baby was right at the tip of my fingers and I.... I........ I.....”

    Hot fast tears roll down my cheeks as Zayan wraps his hands around me. He holds me while I cry my eyes out.

    "I''m such a terrible mother!" I sob as he rubs circles around my back.

    "You''re the best mum Ry will ever have. Leah is such a bitch and if you want to

    burry her six feet under, I''ll help you carry the body."

    Despite the chaos in my chest, I let out augh.

    "You''re sick!"

    God I''m so happy!

    Relief floods through me, bitter and sweet.

    But it''s followed by rage.

    Pure, searing rage.

    Because someone took him from me. Made me believe I was crazy. Made me believe I was a murderer. I spent years hating myself, grieving a child I thought I killed.

    Hell, I wasn''t even allowed to fucking grieve because I "Killed my child!"

    Yet all this time, he was alive.

    All this time... Leah had him.

    The tears stop.

    The relief is swallowed by fury.

    And then the next name burns into my mind like fire licking at gasoline.

    Alex.

    I will never forgive him for not believing me when I told him I wouldn''t do such a thing. My heart boils in hatred because all this happened because of that girl''s obsession with him!

    He looked me in the eye countless

    Unfit to be called a mother

    named another child the a times and called me

    ????

    we

    nned together.

    I wonder what he''ll look like when he realizes the mighty Alex, Mr. Know it all was yed for a fool!

    Just then, the door opens and we both shoot our gaze to the door.

    "Am I interrupting something?"n''s voice reaches my ears as he res at Zayan.

    I realize the source of that re is the way he''s holding me.

    I shoot to my feet, to create some space when his eyes scan the room andnd on the results.

    "No You''re not. I just needed a moment." I respond to his earlier question and grab the envelope to cover the results.

    If he''s seen, he doesn''t show it.

    He instead ces his hands in his coat as he says,

    "Stop hugging in the office. It''s unprofessional and valid enough to send one of you abroad!"

    I knownn is Alex''s best friend so where his loyalty lies is no surprise.

    Before I can even open my mouth, Zayan leans back casually in his chair, one arm drapingzily over the rest.

    "Next time she needsforting, I''ll make

    sure to do it somewhere less

    unprofessional," he says, his tone

    light but the sarcasm so

    loud.

    My lips twitch despite everything, andn''s nostrils re ever so slightly.

    me,

    "I need to talk to you." Then he turns on his heel and walks out.

    "If it was up to him, you would have been gone." I turn to Zayan who chuckles with

    a shrug.

    "Good thing I''m well connected then."

    "Yeah." I fall back in the couch as my eyes fall on the resultsying under the envelope.

    How do I get my son back?

    "So, what''s next?" Zayan pulls me back to the present.

    I lean forward, threading fingers together as an idea strikes me.

    "Do you have some trusted men I can ask a favour from?"

    "What kind of favour?"

    "I need the results delivered to Alex, tonight. But I want them given to him and no

    one else."

    "No need for favors. I have people who work for me. I can ask them to do that."

    "Thank you for doing this."

    I reach for the results again, this time cing them back into the envelope carefully.

    It feels heavier now. Not just a sheet of paper, but a weapon. One that will bring my son back to me.

    "Are you not afraid he''ll react differently?" Zayan asks and I shake my head.

    I''ve never understood Alex, he''s not

    the type of man you can understand.

    I don''t know how he''ll react but one

    thing I''m sure of is that hell will sit back and take lessons.

    "How are you so sure?"

    I look up to face Zayan, a shiver running down my back just remembering how ruthless Alex is.

    "Because he''s Alexander King and if vengeance had a face, it would look like him when someone touches what''s his."