Page 32 of Secret Heir

“I caught a fish!” He’s practically bouncing. “Did you see? I really caught one!”

“I saw.” My voice is rough. “You did amazing, Daniel.”

He pulls the fish close to examine it, his eyes wide with wonder. “Can we keep it?” he asks eagerly.

“We can if you want. Or we can throw it back so it can grow bigger.”

He considers this seriously. “Let’s throw it back. Then maybe I can catch it again when it’s bigger.”

I show him how to unhook it gently and how to hold it in the water until it swims away. When it disappears into the depths, he’s still smiling.

“Thank you,” he says, shuffling closer to me. “For teaching me.”

“Anytime.” I ruffle his hair and he doesn’t pull away. “We can come fishing whenever you want.”

His eyes widen. “Really?”

“Really. This is your home, Daniel. Everything here is yours.”

He looks at me, and there’s no fear in them. Just cautious hope.

“Okay,” he says. “I’d like that.”

We fish for another hour, and he catches two more small fish. Each time, his smile gets bigger, his laughter more free. He’s starting to relax. Starting to trust.

Starting to be the child he should have been all along.

When we walk back to the house, his hand slips into mine. It’s tentative, like he’s not quite sure it’s allowed.

But when I squeeze gently, he squeezes back.

My son is holding my hand.

It’s such a small thing. Such a normal, everyday gesture that millions of fathers take for granted. But for me, it feels like everything.

Daniel and I are going to be okay. I’m going to make sure my son has everything he needs. Everything he deserves. Everything Aria couldn’t give him alone.

And maybe, eventually, Aria will see that too.

Maybe eventually, she’ll understand that I’m not the monster she thinks I am.

But for now, this is enough. My son’s hand in mine. His smile. His cautious trust.

It’s more than I dared hope for a week ago.

It’s a beginning.

5

ARIA

Four weeks.

Four weeks of watching my son bloom like a flower that’s finally been given sun and water and room to grow, and I’m drowning.

Daniel has gained weight.

Maybe about five pounds, but it’s enough that his ribs don’t show anymore and his face has filled out.