Chapter 2 - The Child Damian Never Knew ExistedDamian did not sleep.
He told himself it was because of business.
It wasn't.
At 2:00 a.m., he walked into the kitchen.
Clara's kitchen.
Her space.
Her rules.
Her handwriting still covered the meal schedule on the refrigerator.
He stared at it.
MONDAY — LOW SODIUM.
TUESDAY — MORE VEGETABLES.
WEDNESDAY — NO FOURTH ESPRESSO.
He laughed bitterly.
“Bossy.”
He opened the refrigerator.
The food was labeled.
He stared.
There was one container marked:
FOR DAMIAN WHEN HE FORGETS HE'S HUMAN.
He sat down.
He didn't eat.
At 3:15, Aaron walked in.
“You're still awake.”
“Yes.”
“Have you called her?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Damian looked at him.
“I don't know.”
Aaron sighed.
“You've fought armed men with less hesitation.”
“She doesn't scare easily.”
“That scares you.”
Damian remained silent.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Damian Cross.”
A woman's voice said,
“If you want your chef back, you're going to have to find out why she left.”
He stood.
“Who is this?”
The line disconnected.
Five minutes later, Aaron entered with a file.
“We found something.”
“What?”
“Clara Bennett has a daughter.”
Damian froze.
“What?”
“Six years old.”
“Where?”
“Private address.”
“Father?”
Unknown.
Damian's pulse accelerated.
“Show me.”
Aaron opened the file.
A photograph appeared.
Clara.
A little girl.
And behind them, blurred in the background, a photograph of a man.
Damian stared.
The man in the photograph was him.
Taken six years earlier.
At a charity event.
His blood turned cold.
“Why is my picture in her house?”
Aaron looked at him.
“That is what we're trying to find out.”
Damian drove there himself.
He reached the house at 6:30 a.m.
Clara opened the door.
She froze.
“What are you doing here?”
“Who is Lily?”
Clara went pale.
“Leave.”
Damian looked past her.
A little girl stood at the hallway entrance.
She had dark curls.
Brown eyes.
A small dimple in her left cheek.
Damian stared.
Clara stepped in front of the child.
“Don't.”
He looked at Clara.
“Is she mine?”
Silence.
“Clara.”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
The world seemed to stop.
Damian looked at Lily.
Then back at Clara.
“She's my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Six years.”
“Yes.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You never told me.”
“I was trying to protect her.”
“From me?”
“From your world.”
He stepped back.
His face hardened.
“You should have told me.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because I knew what you would do.”
“What would I do?”
“You would take over.”
“You think I would hurt her?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“You would make her part of your life.”
“Yes.”
“That life kills people.”
He had no answer.
Clara's voice broke.
“I wanted her to have one normal thing.”
Damian looked at Lily.
The little girl was staring at him.
“Is he my dad?”
Clara swallowed.
“Yes.”
Lily looked at Damian.
“You're taller than Mommy said.”
Damian almost laughed.
“Your mother talked about me?”
“Sometimes.”
“What did she say?”
Lily thought.
“That you're mean.”
Clara closed her eyes.
Damian looked at her.
“She isn't wrong.”
Lily tilted her head.
“Mommy said you don't like hugs.”
Damian crouched.
“I didn't.”
“Do you now?”
He didn't know what to say.
Lily opened her arms.
Damian stared.
Then, very slowly, he moved closer.
She hugged him.
He froze.
Nobody had hugged Damian Cross like that in years.
Without fear.
Without expectation.
Without knowing what he was worth.
Just because he was Dad.
Something inside him broke.
He held her carefully.
Clara watched.
She had imagined this moment countless times.
She had feared it.
She had prayed against it.
Now that it had happened, she only felt tired.
Damian looked at her over Lily's shoulder.
“You should have told me.”
“I know.”
“I missed six years.”
“I know.”
His voice cracked.
“I can't get them back.”
Clara whispered,
“No.”
He kissed Lily's forehead.
Then stood.
“I'm taking her to the doctor.”
“No.”
“She needs medical care.”
“She has a pediatrician.”
“Not anymore.”
“Damian.”
“I have doctors.”
“I don't want her treated like a liability.”
He looked at Clara.
“She's my daughter.”
“And she's mine.”
Something passed between them.
Not ownership.
Something deeper.
Responsibility.
Fear.
Love.
Then Lily coughed.
Both adults turned instantly.
The color drained from Clara's face.
Damian noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“She coughed.”
“She has allergies.”
Damian looked at the child.
“Why are you scared?”
May you like
Clara's eyes filled.
“Because there's something else.”
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