The CEO's One-Night Mistake

Chapter 5: The Penthouse Meeting

Kieran Drake's penthouse is on the 88th floor of the Drake Tower. It takes up the entire floor.

The elevator opens directly into his living room. No hallway. No buffer. Just floor-to-ceiling glass, Jakarta spread out like a map of lights below, and a man who looks like he owns all of it.

Because he does.

Kieran stands by the window, back to me, hands in his pockets. He's taken off his suit jacket. His white shirt stretches across his shoulders. Even from behind, he radiates power. Control.

"You came," he says. He doesn't turn around. "I wasn't sure you would."

"Your lawyer threatened my son," I say. My voice echoes in the huge space. "I didn't have a choice."

Now he turns. His gray eyes find mine immediately. They're colder than I remember. Or maybe I'm just seeing him clearly now.

"Sit." He nods to a white leather sofa that probably costs more than my kos for a year.

"I'd rather stand."

"Suit yourself." He walks to a bar cart. Crystal. Top-shelf everything. He pours two fingers of amber liquid into a glass but doesn't offer me any. "Do you know why I asked you here, Ara?"

"To threaten me again? To offer more money? To tell me how you're going to take my son?"

"To meet my son."

The glass in his hand stops halfway to his mouth. "Excuse me?"

"You want Rio? Fine. You meet him. Tonight. Here. Now."

I blink. "What?"

"You heard me." He sets the glass down without drinking. "You said I don't know him. That I'm not a father to him. You're right. So fix it. Bring him here."

"Are you insane?" I step back. "It's 8:30 PM. He's four. He has asthma. He should be in bed, not in a penthouse with a stranger who wants to steal him."

"I'm not a stranger. I'm his father."

"You're a donor. There's a difference."

His jaw clenches. There it is. The first crack in his ice. "Watch your mouth."

"Or what? You'll sue me? You already are." I wrap my arms around myself. The AC is arctic. Or maybe it's fear. "Kieran, please. Don't do this. Don't drag him into this. He's a child. He has a heart condition. Stress can trigger an episode. You want to meet him? We do it at the hospital with his doctor present. Slowly. Properly."

"I'm done waiting, Ara. I've waited four years. I want to see my son. Tonight."

"He's not a package you can demand!" My voice rises. "He's a human being. With feelings. With fears. He doesn't even know you exist!"

"Then introduce us." He walks toward me. Each step is deliberate. Predatory. "Right now. Call whoever is watching him and have them bring him here."

"Maria is his babysitter, not a delivery service. And I will not traumatize my son by dragging him to his billionaire father's evil lair at night."

"Evil lair?" One corner of his mouth twitches. Not a smile. Something darker. "You think I'm the villain here?"

"I think you're a man who uses money as a weapon. Who thinks he can buy people. Who decided he wants a son and now expects the world to rearrange itself for him."

"And you're a woman who stole from me." He's in front of me now. Too close again. I have to look up. Always up. "You stole my right to know him. To hold him when he was born. To change his diapers. To be sleep-deprived and terrified and in love. You stole all of it."

The raw anger in his voice steals my breath. For a second, he doesn't look like a CEO. He looks like a man who was robbed.

"I was scared," I whisper. The truth slips out before I can stop it. "I was 22. I was pregnant. I was alone. And you... you told me you never wanted kids. That you would never settle down. What was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to tell me! Give me the choice!" He doesn't yell. He never yells. But his voice is sharp enough to cut. "Maybe I would have been the man I was five years ago. Maybe I would have paid you to go away. Or maybe... maybe seeing that positive test would have changed me. We'll never know, will we? Because you made the choice for both of us."

Guilt claws at my throat. He's right. I did make the choice for both of us. I told myself it was to protect Rio. But was it also to protect myself? From his rejection?

"I'm sorry," I say. The words feel tiny. Inadequate. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. If I could go back—"

"But you can't." He steps back. The moment of honesty is gone. The ice is back. "So now we deal with the present. And in the present, I have a son. And I want him in my life. Full-time."

"Kieran—"

"Here are your options, Ara." He walks back to the window, looking out at his city. "One: You agree to joint custody. 50/50. He lives with me half the week. You get a apartment near mine, paid for by me. You get a monthly allowance. You get to be in his life."

"And option two?" My voice shakes.

"Two: I take you to court. I use every resource I have. I prove you're an unfit mother. Unstable income. No family support. History of lying. I win full custody. You get supervised visitation twice a month. If you're lucky."

He turns back to me. His face is blank. Business.

"Those are your options. You have 48 hours to decide. After that, my lawyers file."

The room spins. I grab the back of the sofa to stay upright. "You can't prove I'm unfit. I love him. I've kept him alive for four years."

"Love doesn't pay for lawyers, Ara. Money does. And I have more of it than you can comprehend." He checks his watch. Expensive. Diamond. "Your 48 hours start now. Maria's number is on your phone. Call her. Or don't. But decide."

"I need time to think!"

"You've had four years. Time's up." He picks up his glass and finally takes a drink. "Sarah will show you out."

The elevator doors open behind me. The female lawyer from the phone is there. Silent. Waiting.

I've been dismissed.

I walk to the elevator on numb legs. Before the doors close, I turn back.

Kieran is still at the window. He doesn't look at me.

"He asks about you, you know," I say. My voice is small. "Rio. He saw you at the hospital. He asked if you were gonna be his new papa. He said you looked at him like I look at him."

Kieran's shoulders go rigid. He doesn't turn around.

"For what it's worth," I whisper, "I think he would have liked you. Five years ago. If you'd given him the chance."

The doors close.

---

I don't go home. I can't face Rio yet. I can't look at him and know I have 48 hours before his world implodes.

I go to the one place I always go when I can't breathe.

The hospital roof.

It's 10 PM. The air is thick and hot. Jakarta is a carpet of lights and smog below. I sit on the ledge, feet dangling, and try to think.

Option one: Joint custody. Give Kieran 50% of Rio. Give up half my time with my son. Move into an apartment he pays for. Be dependent on him. Watch him become the hero dad while I'm the broke mom who needs his money.

Option two: Fight him. Lose. Lose everything. See Rio twice a month with a stranger watching us. Watch Rio forget me. Watch him call Kieran's next girlfriend 'Mom'.

Both options end with me losing.

My phone rings. Unknown number again. I'm getting really tired of this.

"What?" I snap.

"Ms. Anindita. It's Sarah Chen again. Mr. Drake has an addition to his offer."

"Of course he does."

"He will drop the custody suit entirely. He will sign away all parental rights. He will never contact you or Rio again. He will set up the five billion rupiah trust for Rio and a separate one for you."

My heart stops. "What?"

"In exchange for one thing."

There it is. The catch. "What?"

"A paternity test. Right now. Tonight. At the hospital downstairs. If the test proves Rio is not his, he walks away forever. No suit. No contact. Just money."

"And if the test proves Rio is his?"

"Then the original two options stand. Joint custody or court."

I close my eyes. He's giving me a way out. A tiny, horrible way out. If I can prove Rio isn't his...

But Rio is his. I know it. The eyes. The dimple. The stubborn chin. The test would just confirm it.

"Why would he offer this?" I ask. "If he's so sure?"

"Mr. Drake doesn't like loose ends, Ms. Anindita. He wants certainty. For himself. For you. For the court."

For the court. So he can use it against me.

"Where is he?" I ask.

"Downstairs. In the lobby. With a doctor and a court-ordered test kit."

He's here. At the hospital. Right now. Waiting to find out if the son he wants to steal is actually his.

"Tell him," I say, standing up. "Tell him I'll be down in five minutes."

I hang up and look at the city one more time.

48 hours to decide. Or one test to end it.

I choose the test. Because at least then I'll know.

I just pray I'm wrong. I pray Rio isn't his.

But as I take the stairs down, two at a time, I know the truth.

Kieran Drake is Rio's father. And tomorrow, he'll have proof.

And then the real war begins.

End of Chapter 5