Page 10 of Secret Heir

My son is afraid of me.

Because of her and the choices she made.

She’s probably filled his head with lies about me and what I’ll do to them.

The rage surges again, hot and vicious, but I force it down. Not now. Not in front of the boy.

“Is this everything?” I ask Aria, gesturing to the duffel bag slung over her shoulder. It looks ancient, the zipper half-broken and patches sewn over thin canvas holes.

“Yes.” Her voice is tight and defensive. She’s repositioned Daniel so he’s facing away from me, like she can shield him with her body.

As if I’m the threat here.

Like she wasn’t the one who stole seven years of my son’s life from me.

“Let’s go.” I head for the door, expecting them to follow.

They don’t.

I turn back. Aria is standing frozen by the stairs, Daniel still in her arms. Her face is pale, her eyes too bright. On the edge of panic.

“I need to lock up,” she says. “The gallery⁠—”

“Leave it.” I don’t have patience for this. “You won’t be coming back.”

She blanches. “But Mrs. Li below us, she depends on⁠—”

“I said leave it.” My voice comes out harsher than I intended. Daniel flinches, and I see Aria’s arms protectively tighten around him, like I’m going to hurt him.

I take a breath and soften my tone. “Someone will handle it. Give me the key.”

She hesitates then awkwardly juggles Daniel to fish the key out of her pocket.

Her hands are shaking so badly she can barely get it out. I don’t take the key from her.

Instead, I wait until she sets it on the counter.

“Let’s go,” I say again, and this time she follows.

The SUV is parked three blocks away, exactly where I left it.

Black tinted windows and license plates that won’t trace back to anything. My driver, Len, is behind the wheel, but I wave him off when he starts to get out.

I open the back door myself.

The interior is luxurious with heated leather seats and enough space for six people.

A small refrigerator built into the console is filled with drinks.

The contrast between this and the shithole apartment they’ve been living in is obscene.

Aria stands on the sidewalk, still holding Daniel. The boy is more awake now, gray eyes taking everything in. He looks at the SUV like he’s never seen anything so nice.

He probably hasn’t.

“Get in,” I order Aria.

She doesn’t move. “Where are we going?” she asks warily.