Vows for REVENGE

CHAPTER TWO : The Boy

James POV

Sleep passed me by that night.

I sat high up in my office and watched city lights dance far below. The view should make me feel like a king. Tonight, I just felt hollow inside. Her face kept popping into my head. Her voice echoed, saying some part of her was a secret from me. My chest felt tight, like I was swimming in thick air.

It was a decade since I last saw Diane Martinez. Ten years since I shoved her away like she was nothing to me. Catherine had told me the baby was not mine, so I did it. Because I was a scared person, I had believed her. I had not even asked Diane what was the truth. I just walked away from her.

I grabbed my phone and stared at her number on the screen. A business friend gave it to me. Money and power make finding things easy. I typed then deleted a lot of messages before sending a simple text. I need to find you soon. It was too needy and too truthful. But I sent it in the end.

She did not send any reply back to me.

I looked up info about Vertex Corporation on my computer screen. Diane had built that from the ground up. She began with a small office and just two people working there, the reports said. Now she has hundreds working for her company. She took clients of mine. She stole contracts from me. She ruined deals I spent years making.

I once guessed it was just work stuff. I believed a person was sharp and strong in sales. Then my staff said who did it all. Diane Martinez. The lady I left with child and alone. The lady I did not think of in a decade, though that was not true. I thought of her each and every day.

I shut my PC and leaned back on my seat. What was she up to all this time? How did she shift from my helper, making barely enough to eat, to being a top boss? How did she go so far when I left her with no help?

The reason was clear. She did fine without my aid.

My phone made a sound. It was my mom. I almost did not pick up.

"James, I feel bad about you," she spoke as I answered fast. She did not say hi first. "Your helper told me you sat in that room sixteen hours. You need to go home to sleep now."

I touched my eyes. "I am okay, Mom. Just doing work."

"You are not okay," she spoke. "I know how you feel. I can hear in your voice tone. What went on at that party last night? Sandra phoned me up. She said you seemed like you saw a monster."

Sandra. Diane's work mate. My mom and Sandra were close for years. They hit balls on Saturdays. I had lost that link from my head.

"Did Sandra say other stuff?" I asked with care.

My mom was still for some time. "She said Diane seemed pretty. She said Diane has worked hard more than anyone. She said that Diane has a boy who is ten years old and very bright." My mom was still. "James, that would stand for—"

"Gotta dash, Mom," I told her, ending the call before her chat got done.

A boy child. Aged ten. The sums felt light. The kid Diane carried was mine all along. Ours, really. A decade of his life passed without me. First steps, words, school days all gone. Ten years of dad stuff, unknown to me.

Coat on, I bolted from work. No clue where to head, but not there.

I drove to Vertex, its building grand. Shiny, high, wowing me much. Past glass doors, folks worked on computers. I pictured Diane owning those halls. 'Cause she did, built it all herself.

I stayed outside, watched from my car. People came, trucks dropped stuff off. The sun glided, time ticking slow. No Diane in sight, though.

Then, near six, she walked out front.

White shirt, dark pants on her frame. Hair back, face a bit worn down. She moved tough, like life was a breeze. Like battles won, strength shining out.

A small boy then ran up to her side.

He was tiny, like reaching her shoulder height. His hair was dark, strangely just like mine. His dark eyes mirrored mine in a spooky way. He spoke quickly of school stuff, like a little motor. His hands danced as the story poured from him. He seemed so bright, like a light, with words bubbling up.

That small being, my son.

A strange crack appeared inside my ribs, so strange. I covered my mouth so no gasp would escape out. My eyes stuck to them, unable to look away now. I saw them slide into a car, so ordinary. I watched them float away in that metal box. I stayed put, still in my car, shaking a lot.

A buzz came, a strange message on my phone. This text, though, felt like a different kind of thing. A photo appeared, unexpected and a bit scary. It showed me sitting in my car, spying hard.

Then words popped up: "I see you, James, always. I could always see you plain."

My blood turned to ice water.