Chapter 2 The Question I Couldn't Answer

Elena's POV

"Elena... do you have a child?"

Alexander Blackwood's question hung between us like a threat to everything I had spent five years protecting.

My fingers tightened around my phone.

Across the conference table, Nathan Cole glanced from Alexander to me, clearly wondering why a business meeting had suddenly become so personal.

I forced myself to breathe.

"With all due respect, Mr. Blackwood, my family has nothing to do with this contract."

Alexander didn't look away.

"That wasn't what I asked."

"And I wasn't aware that answering questions about my private life was part of the interview."

His jaw tightened.

Five years ago, I would have been intimidated by that expression. I would have worried about upsetting him, about saying the wrong thing, about losing his approval.

Not anymore.

Nathan cleared his throat.

"Perhaps we should discuss the proposal."

"Yes," I said immediately. "Perhaps we should."

Alexander remained silent for another moment before taking the chair at the head of the table.

"Proceed."

Nathan opened a folder.

"As you're aware, Blackwood Global is facing allegations concerning several investment transactions. Our shareholders are demanding an independent review of the company's public disclosures and crisis response."

"Then you'll need more than a public relations strategy," I replied.

Nathan nodded.

"That's why we approached your firm."

I opened my laptop.

"Before I accept, I need written confirmation that my team can examine the relevant records without interference from executive management."

Alexander leaned back.

"You want unrestricted access to confidential company information?"

"I want enough access to establish whether the allegations are true."

"That's a significant demand."

"So is three million dollars."

Nathan coughed, apparently hiding a laugh.

Alexander's expression didn't change, but something shifted in his eyes.

Interest.

"You're different," he said quietly.

I met his gaze.

"Five years can change a person."

The room fell silent.

Nathan glanced at his watch.

"I should speak with legal about the access provisions. Give me a few minutes."

He gathered his documents and left.

The moment the door closed, I regretted allowing myself to be alone with Alexander.

He stood.

"Elena."

"Don't."

He stopped.

"Don't what?"

"Say my name as though we're old friends."

His expression tightened.

"I never said we were."

"No. You made that very clear."

He walked toward the windows, then turned to face me.

"I didn't know where you went."

I laughed without humour.

"How unfortunate for you."

"I tried to contact you."

The words caught me off guard.

"What?"

"After everything happened, I tried to find you."

I stared at him.

"That's a lie."

His eyes hardened.

"I have no reason to lie about that."

"You had plenty of reasons five years ago."

He looked away.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then he said, "I believed things about you that I shouldn't have."

My heart gave a painful twist.

"You believed I was a thief."

"I believed your family was involved in stealing confidential information."

"And you never thought to ask me?"

"I thought the evidence was clear."

"Of course you did."

I closed my laptop.

"You know what the worst part was, Alexander? It wasn't discovering that Daniel Reed didn't exist. It wasn't even learning that your company benefited from my father's downfall."

His face grew still.

"It was realising that the man who spent an entire evening telling me how much he valued honesty never gave me the chance to defend myself."

He lowered his gaze.

"I'm sorry."

Two words.

Five years too late.

I picked up my briefcase.

"Apology accepted. Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"Why did you change your name?"

I froze.

He noticed.

"Elena Hart became Elena Hayes. Why?"

"Hayes is my mother's maiden name."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Because every time someone heard the name Hart, they remembered the scandal. They didn't remember my qualifications, my work, or the fact that my father was never convicted of fraud."

Alexander's expression darkened.

"I didn't know."

"You didn't ask."

He absorbed the accusation without responding.

Good.

Let him understand what his silence had cost us.

Nathan returned ten minutes later with revised access provisions.

To my surprise, Alexander approved most of my requests.

He even agreed that an independent forensic accounting firm could examine the disputed transactions.

I didn't know whether he was being reasonable or trying to impress me.

Either way, I intended to hold him to every word.

By eleven, the meeting was over.

Nathan escorted me toward the elevators.

"I hope you'll accept the contract," he said.

"I'm still reviewing the terms."

"Understandable."

He hesitated.

"Whatever history you have with Alexander, I hope it won't affect our professional relationship."

I stopped walking.

"Mr. Cole, I don't allow personal feelings to interfere with my work."

He gave a small smile.

"Then we're going to get along."

As the elevator doors opened, I heard footsteps behind us.

"Elena."

Alexander.

Again.

Nathan looked between us.

"I'll leave you two."

Before I could protest, he disappeared down the corridor.

Alexander stopped a few feet away.

"I need to ask you something."

I folded my arms.

"You've already asked enough."

"Who is Noah?"

My stomach dropped.

I kept my expression neutral.

"Someone important to me."

"Your son?"

I said nothing.

His gaze searched my face.

"Elena, I'm not trying to interfere in your life."

"Then don't."

"I just want to understand."

"You lost the right to understand my life when you decided I wasn't worth hearing."

The elevator chimed.

I stepped inside.

Alexander remained outside, watching me.

Just before the doors closed, he spoke.

"Whatever you think of me, I never intended to destroy your family."

I held his gaze.

"Then perhaps you should find out who did."

The doors slid shut.

Only then did I allow myself to tremble.

"Mommy!"

Noah ran toward me the moment I entered my mother's apartment that evening.

I dropped my handbag and crouched to catch him.

"There's my favourite boy!"

"I'm your only boy."

"That makes you extra special."

He giggled and wrapped his arms around my neck.

For a few precious seconds, the meeting disappeared from my mind.

Then he pulled back.

"Did you meet a king today?"

I blinked.

"A king?"

"Grandma said you had a meeting with someone very important."

I glanced toward the kitchen.

My mother suddenly became fascinated with arranging plates.

"Well," I said, turning back to Noah, "I met someone who thinks he's a king."

Noah considered that.

"Does he have a castle?"

"Something like that."

"Does he have dinosaurs?"

I laughed.

"I doubt it."

"Then he's not a very good king."

My mother joined us, smiling.

"Come and wash your hands, sweetheart. Dinner is ready."

Noah hurried away.

The moment he disappeared into the bathroom, my mother's smile faded.

"You saw him."

I nodded.

"Alexander Blackwood."

She gripped the back of a chair.

"After all these years?"

"His company offered me a contract."

"Please tell me you refused."

"I haven't decided."

"Elena."

"Mum, Meridian Capital is involved in their current scandal."

Her expression changed.

"Meridian?"

"Yes."

She sat down slowly.

"Your father needs to hear about this."

"I know."

My mother studied me.

"Did Alexander recognise you?"

"Immediately."

"And Noah?"

My throat tightened.

"He saw a message mentioning his name."

Her eyes widened.

"Does he know?"

"No. But he asked questions."

"Elena, you can't keep this secret forever."

"I know that!"

My voice came out sharper than I intended.

I lowered it immediately.

"I'm sorry."

She reached for my hand.

"Sweetheart, I'm not judging you. I watched you struggle through your pregnancy while your father was fighting to clear his name. I know why you made the choices you did."

I looked toward the bathroom.

"But Noah deserves a father who wants him," she continued. "Not one who sees him as another possession."

"Alexander doesn't even know he exists."

"Then eventually, you'll have to decide how to tell him."

I closed my eyes.

That was exactly what terrified me.

Later that night, after Noah had fallen asleep, I opened my laptop.

An email from Blackwood Global was waiting.

Subject: Revised Consulting Agreement

I downloaded the attachment.

The contract included the independent access provisions I had requested, a clear confidentiality framework, and confirmation that my firm would report its findings without executive interference.

Alexander had agreed to everything.

Almost everything.

At the bottom of the email was a personal note.

Elena,

I know I have no right to ask you to trust me. But there are things about what happened five years ago that I need to understand.

I won't interfere with your work.

Alexander.

I read the message twice.

Then I opened a new email and typed my acceptance.

I would investigate the company.

I would discover what happened to my father.

And I would keep Noah far away from Alexander Blackwood until I knew whether the man standing in that boardroom was any different from the one who had abandoned me.

I pressed send.

My phone rang almost immediately.

An unfamiliar number flashed across the screen.

I hesitated before answering.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Hayes?"

The voice was male, unfamiliar, and strangely cautious.

"Who's speaking?"

"Someone who knows what happened to Hart Financial Advisory."

My pulse quickened.

"Who is this?"

"Don't trust anyone at Blackwood Global."

I sat upright.

"What are you talking about?"

"The documents that destroyed your father weren't stolen."

My breath caught.

"They were planted."

I gripped the phone.

"Who planted them?"

A pause.

Then the stranger spoke again.

"Ask Alexander Blackwood what his uncle did on October seventeenth."

The line went dead.

I stared at the screen.

October seventeenth.

The date that had appeared in the contract.

The date my father's company began collapsing.

And now, for the first time, I had a name connected to the betrayal.

Richard Blackwood.