Chapter 2 - The Son Wade Never Knew Existed
The hospital clock moved with insulting slowness.
2:41.
2:48.
2:57.
Each minute seemed designed to test how much fear a person could carry before breaking.
Wade had spent years surrounded by violence and learned not to fear blood.
But nothing had prepared him for the sight of a tiny pair of sneakers sitting beneath a hospital chair.
Audrey had brought them to the hospital that night.
Small blue sneakers.
Rocket ships on the sides.
One lace untied.
Wade stared at them for several seconds.
“What size?”
Audrey looked at him.
“What?”
“The shoes.”
She swallowed.
“Little eight.”
He nodded.
“His favorite?”
“Yes.”
“The rockets?”
“He likes anything that flies.”
Wade looked at the sneakers again.
A strange ache formed in his chest.
He had missed birthdays.
First words.
First steps.
First fever.
First nightmare.
Maybe Elias had called someone else daddy before tonight.
Maybe he had asked why every other child had a father and he didn't.
Maybe Audrey had lied.
The thought angered him.
Then guilt replaced it.
Because Wade had never been there to discover the truth.
He sat beside Audrey.
She immediately moved a few inches away.
The gesture was small.
But he noticed.
“Tell me everything.”
“I don't know where to begin.”
“Start with the day you left.”
Audrey stared at the floor.
“I was already pregnant.”
His fingers tightened.
“How far?”
“Eleven weeks.”
Wade closed his eyes briefly.
The memory returned.
The night she had stood in their bedroom with one hand pressed against her stomach.
Had she done that?
Had he noticed?
Had she tried to tell him?
“What happened?”
“You were becoming more dangerous.”
“I was always dangerous.”
“You weren't always unreachable.”
Audrey looked at him.
“I went to tell you.”
Wade's voice was almost a whisper.
“When?”
“The night before we separated.”
He remembered the argument.
He remembered shouting.
He remembered walking out.
He remembered not looking back.
Audrey continued.
“I had the ultrasound photo in my bag.”
Wade looked at her sharply.
“Where is it?”
She shook her head.
“Lost.”
He said nothing.
“I found out I was pregnant during the same week you refused to tell me where you were going.”
“I was protecting you.”
“You were locking me out.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it was true.”
Audrey's eyes flashed.
“No, Wade. You were protecting your empire. I was just standing inside it.”
Silence.
The operating-room light remained red.
Wade looked away.
“Why did you never bring him to me afterward?”
“I did.”
His head snapped back.
“What?”
“I brought him to the old Mercer warehouse when he was six weeks old.”
Wade's heart stopped.
“What are you talking about?”
“You weren't there.”
“I was.”
“No. You were out of town.”
“Who told you that?”
“Your security chief.”
Wade's eyes narrowed.
“Name.”
“Marcus Venn.”
Silas, standing nearby, immediately looked at Wade.
“That’s impossible.”
Wade looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because Venn left the organization four years ago.”
Audrey shook her head.
“He didn't leave.”
Silas went still.
“He was removed,” Wade said.
Audrey's voice dropped.
“He told me you didn't want the baby.”
Wade looked at the floor.
Something inside him cracked.
He had never known.
The baby had existed outside the boundaries of his life because someone had built the wall.
“Did you believe him?”
“At first.”
“And then?”
Audrey smiled bitterly.
“Then Elias got sick at three months. I called you from a different number.”
Wade's eyes burned.
“No one told me.”
“I know.”
“How many times?”
“Twenty-three.”
He looked away.
Twenty-three.
She had tried twenty-three times to reach him.
And every call had died somewhere before touching him.
“Then why tonight?”
“Because I ran out of places to hide.”
“What happened?”
Audrey reached into her purse again.
This time she took out her phone.
She opened a photograph.
A street corner.
A black sedan.
Then another.
A man standing beside a playground.
Another photo showed Elias walking beside Audrey.
The same black sedan appeared in the background.
“They've been following us for weeks.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Why didn't you call the police?”
“Because the police were not who I was afraid of.”
Wade looked at Silas.
“Trace the vehicle.”
“Already doing it.”
Audrey stared at Wade.
“There’s more.”
“There always is.”
“The person behind this has your old financial records.”
Wade's face hardened.
“Which records?”
“The ones from your first year in Chicago.”
Silas cursed softly.
Wade looked at him.
“You know what that means?”
Silas nodded.
“Someone wants the original structure of the organization.”
Audrey frowned.
“I don't understand.”
Wade did.
The early records contained names.
Routes.
Bank accounts.
Safe houses.
Deals that no longer existed.
And one secret Wade had thought buried forever.
His father's old ledger.
The black book.
The one everyone believed had burned fifteen years ago.
“What did they ask for?” Wade said.
Audrey shook her head.
“Nothing.”
“That makes no sense.”
“They don't want money.”
“Then what?”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“They want Elias.”
The corridor seemed to disappear.
Wade stood.
“No.”
Audrey's eyes filled.
“I know.”
“No one gets near him.”
“Wade—”
“No one.”
The doors opened.
A surgeon stepped out.
Wade turned immediately.
The doctor lowered his mask.
“He's stable.”
Audrey nearly collapsed.
Wade caught her.
“Can we see him?”
“In a few minutes. He’s going to intensive care, and he’ll remain sedated.”
Audrey nodded through tears.
“Thank you.”
The doctor left.
Wade stood frozen.
Stable.
The word should have brought peace.
Instead, it created space for questions.
Silas stepped closer.
“We found the car.”
Wade turned.
“Who owns it?”
“Shell company. But the registered driver is dead.”
“Convenient.”
“Very.”
“Where was it seen last?”
“Three blocks from Audrey's apartment.”
Wade's jaw tightened.
“Search the apartment.”
Audrey shook her head.
“There’s nothing there.”
“Exactly why we’ll search it.”
Twenty minutes later, Wade stood outside Audrey's apartment with four men.
The place was small.
Second-floor walk-up.
A narrow living room.
Cheap furniture.
Children's drawings on the fridge.
A basket full of laundry.
A stuffed dinosaur on the couch.
Wade entered slowly.
He had expected survival.
Instead, he found evidence of a life.
There were pictures everywhere.
Elias at six months.
Elias holding a spoon.
Elias asleep with his cheek pressed against Audrey's shoulder.
Elias wearing a superhero costume.
Wade stopped in front of one frame.
His son was laughing.
A real laugh.
Mouth open.
Two small front teeth.
Eyes squeezed shut.
Wade touched the frame.
Silas watched him but said nothing.
Then Wade noticed something.
A second picture.
Elias standing beside another man.
The man had one arm around Audrey.
Wade's face changed.
“Who is this?”
Audrey stepped behind him.
“Daniel.”
“Daniel who?”
“My neighbor.”
Wade stared at the photo.
“Why is he holding my son?”
“Because he helped us.”
“Did he sleep with you?”
Audrey looked offended.
“No.”
“Then why is he here?”
“Because when Elias had a fever, he drove us to the clinic.”
Wade put the photograph down.
“I don't like him.”
“That's not relevant.”
“It is to me.”
Audrey sighed.
“This is why I kept Elias away from you.”
Wade turned.
“Because I'm jealous?”
“Because you think possession is protection.”
He stared at her.
She stared back.
Neither moved.
Then Silas called from the hallway.
“Boss.”
Wade turned.
A loose floorboard had been lifted.
Beneath it was a metal box.
Inside lay a stack of documents.
Birth records.
Medical records.
And a folded paper.
Wade opened it.
At the top was a name.
Wade Mercer.
Underneath was a test result from a private laboratory.
PATERNITY PROBABILITY: 99.98%.
His hand trembled.
Audrey went pale.
“You tested him?”
“After the first time someone threatened us.”
“Why didn't you show me?”
“Because I knew you'd come.”
“Of course I'd come.”
“And I didn't know whether you'd bring your enemies with you.”
Wade folded the paper.
“He's mine.”
“Yes.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“And you let me believe…”
Her eyes filled.
“I let you believe nothing because I couldn't decide which lie would keep him alive.”
Wade walked toward her.
For a second, she backed away.
He stopped.
“I won't forgive you tonight.”
“I know.”
“But I understand why you did it.”
Audrey looked down.
“That might be worse.”
“Why?”
“Because now you can understand exactly what I was afraid of.”
He studied her.
Then he heard a soft sound.
A child's voice.
From the bedroom.
“Mommy?”
Audrey froze.
Wade looked toward the hallway.
“Elias?”
A nurse stood at the door with her eyes wet.
“He woke briefly.”
Audrey rushed toward him.
Wade followed.
The room was dim.
Machines surrounded the tiny bed.
Elias looked impossibly small beneath the blankets.
His face was pale.
His eyes fluttered open.
“Mommy?”
“I’m here.”
Audrey kissed his forehead.
“I'm here, baby.”
His eyes moved.
Then landed on Wade.
He stared.
For a moment, there was no recognition.
Then he smiled.
Not widely.
Just enough.
“Duh.”
Wade's throat closed.
He approached the bed.
“Hey, buddy.”
The child lifted one weak hand.
Wade took it carefully.
Elias's fingers closed around his.
The room became silent.
Audrey cried quietly.
Wade stared at their joined hands.
He had spent his life learning how to hold guns, contracts, secrets, and power.
He had never held anything so fragile.
Elias whispered.
“Daddy.”
This time, the word was clear.
Wade's eyes closed.
A tear escaped before he could stop it.
Silas looked away.
Even the nurse turned her head.
Wade leaned closer.
“Yeah.”
His voice broke.
“I’m here.”
Elias smiled.
Then he fell asleep.
Wade remained beside him.
He did not care about the organization.
He did not care about the traitor.
He did not care about Calder.
For the first time in his life, his world had narrowed to one hospital bed.
And one tiny hand in his.
Then Silas’s phone vibrated.
He answered quietly.
His expression changed.
“Boss.”
Wade looked over.
Silas lowered the phone.
“We found who accessed Audrey’s apartment.”
“Who?”
Silas swallowed.
“Marcus Venn.”
Wade's entire expression became still.
The man who had once stood beside him.
The man who had supposedly disappeared.
The man who had told Audrey Wade did not want his own child.
May you like
Marcus Venn was alive.
And he was looking for Elias.
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