Chapter 10: The Return
1738 Words
Dawn broke over the Mediterranean like a wound.
I hadn’t slept. I sat on the beach, the phone clutched in my hand, watching the horizon for a black speck. Alexander said he was on his way. That was seven hours ago.
Theo was still inside, eating breakfast with Maria. I’d told him to stay in the villa. He’d looked at me with those dark, knowing eyes and said, “The ghost is coming back, isn’t he? ”
I hadn’t lied. “Yes.”
“Good, ” Theo said. “I have questions for him. ”
That was three hours ago.
Now the sun was fully up, and the sea was empty. I began to think he wasn’t coming. That Victoria had intercepted him. That the DNA test had been a bluff.
Then I heard the helicopter.
It came from the north, flying low over the water. Not black this time. White. A different helicopter. No logos. No markings.
It landed on the beach fifty yards from where I stood.
The rotor wash kicked up sand. I shielded my eyes.
The door slid open.
Alexander stepped out.
He looked terrible. Dark circles under his eyes. His white shirt wrinkled, untucked, the sleeves rolled unevenly. He hadn’t shaved. He looked like a man who hadn’t slept in days.
He walked toward me. No entourage. No security. Just him.
“Elena.”
“Alexander.”
He stopped a few feet away. Close enough to touch. Far enough to give me space. He was trying.
“Victoria,” he said. His voice was hoarse. “She went to the island. She threatened you. She threatened Theo. ”
“You knew?”
“I found out two hours ago. One of my security team tipped me off. She’s been planning this for weeks. ” His jaw tightened. “I fired her.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Victoria. I called off the engagement. Last night. Before I got on the helicopter.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “She tried to blackmail me. Said she’d go public with the DNA test if I didn’t marry her by the end of the month.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I’d ruin her. ” His voice was flat. “And then I called her father and told him everything. The embezzlement. The affair. The threats.”
I stared at him. “You believe me now.”
“I believed you four years ago.” His voice cracked. “I was just too much of a coward to admit it. She played me, Elena. She played both of us. ”
The waves crashed between us.
“The paper, ” I said. “The one waiving your rights.”
“It’s still valid.”
“I didn’t sign it.”
His eyes searched my face. “Why not?”
I didn’t have an answer. Or maybe I did, and I wasn’t ready to say it out loud.
“Where is he? ” Alexander asked. “Theo.”
“Inside. He wants to meet you.”
Alexander’s breath caught. “He knows?”
“He figured it out. He’s four, but he’s not stupid. ”
“No,” Alexander said softly. “He’s not. ”
I led him to the villa.
The walk was silent. The sand was warm under my bare feet. Alexander walked beside me, close but not touching. Respecting a boundary I hadn’t explicitly drawn.
Theo was waiting on the villa steps.
He had changed out of his swimsuit. He was wearing a small button-down shirt and khaki shorts. He looked like he was going to a business meeting.
His tablet was in his hand.
“Theo,” I said. “This is Alexander.”
Theo looked up at the man who was his father. His dark eyes—Alexander’s eyes—scanned Alexander’s face, cataloging details.
“You look tired, ” Theo said.
Alexander knelt in the sand, bringing himself to Theo’s eye level. “I am tired.”
“Mommy says you’re the ghost from the gala. ”
“I was.”
“She cried about you. At night. When she thought I was asleep. ”
I felt my face flush. “Theo—”
“It’s okay, Mommy. ” Theo didn’t look at me. He kept his eyes on Alexander. “I just wanted him to know. ”
Alexander’s throat moved. “I’m sorry,” he said. His voice was raw. “I’m sorry I made your mother cry.”
Theo considered this. “Are you going to make her cry again? ”
“No.”
“Are you going to try to take me away from her? ”
“No.”
“Are you lying? ”
Alexander held up his right hand. “I swear on my life. ”
Theo looked at the hand. Then he looked at me. I nodded.
“Okay, ” Theo said. “You can stay for breakfast. ”
Breakfast was surreal.
Theo sat across from Alexander, eating his oatmeal with the precision of a tiny CEO. He asked questions. So many questions.
“What do you do for work? ”
“I run a company.”
“What kind of company? ”
“Investments. Real estate. Some tech.”
“What’s your annual revenue? ”
Alexander glanced at me. I shrugged.
“About forty billion.”
Theo nodded. “That’s adequate. ”
Alexander almost smiled. “Thank you.”
“Do you know how to code? ”
“Some. Not as well as you, apparently.”
Theo’s lips quirked. “I hacked into your private server. ”
“I know.”
“Your security is bad. ”
“I’ll fix it.”
“You should hire me. ”
I choked on my coffee. “Theo.”
“I’m joking, Mommy. ” He wasn’t joking. “Mostly. ”
Alexander looked at me. There was something in his eyes—wonder, grief, hope—all tangled together. “He’s incredible.”
“I know.”
“I’m right here, ” Theo said. “You can talk about me in the third person when I’m not in the room. ”
Alexander laughed. A real laugh. I hadn’t heard that sound in four years.
After breakfast, Theo went to the beach with Maria to build sandcastles.
I stood in the kitchen with Alexander, washing dishes I didn’t care about. The silence was different now. Less hostile. More uncertain.
“He’s nothing like I expected,” Alexander said.
“What did you expect?”
“A child. Not a tiny CEO with a moral compass and a hacking habit. ”
I dried my hands on a towel. “He gets the hacking from you.”
“I don’t hack.”
“You have the brain for it. The obsession. The focus.” I turned to face him. “He’s yours, Alexander. In every way that matters. And that terrifies me. ”
He stepped closer. “Why?”
“Because you have power. Money. Lawyers. If you wanted to take him from me, you could. ”
“I don’t want to take him from you.”
“You signed a paper saying you wouldn’t. But paper burns. ”
He was quiet for a long moment. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen and handed it to me.
A video.
I pressed play.
Alexander sat in a lawyer’s office. A camera was mounted on the wall. He looked into the lens and spoke.
“I, Alexander Blackwood, hereby state that I have no intention of seeking custody of Theo Sterling. I acknowledge that Elena Sterling is his sole legal guardian. I waive all parental rights, now and forever. This statement is made freely, without coercion, and shall be filed with the court.”
The video ended.
I looked up at him. “You filmed it.”
“I wanted you to have proof. Something that couldn’t be burned.”
My hand was shaking. “Why?”
“Because I spent four years searching for you. And in that time, I learned that love isn’t possession. It’s choosing someone else’s happiness over your own.”
I set the phone down. “You’re different.”
“I had to be.” He stepped closer. “I lost you, Elena. I’m not going to lose him too. ”
Theo burst through the door, sandy and triumphant.
“Mommy! I found a starfish! ” He held up a small, orange starfish.
I knelt down. “That’s beautiful, baby.”
“Can we keep it? ”
“Starfish belong in the ocean, Theo.”
He sighed dramatically. “Fine. ” He looked at Alexander. “You can come see it before I put it back. ”
Alexander looked at me. I nodded.
He followed Theo out onto the beach.
I stood in the doorway and watched them.
Theo walked along the water’s edge, the starfish held carefully in both hands. Alexander walked beside him, his hands in his pockets, his head bent to hear Theo’s nonstop commentary.
They looked like a father and son.
My phone buzzed.
Marcus: Victoria is talking to reporters. She’s claiming you kidnapped Theo. It’s on every news channel. Get off that island. Now.
I looked up.
On the horizon, a boat was approaching. Fast.
Not Alexander’s. No markings. Black hull. Like the helicopter Victoria had arrived in.
I ran toward the beach.
“Alexander! ”
He turned. Saw my face. Saw the boat.
“Get Theo inside, ” he said. His voice was calm. Commanding. “Now.”
I grabbed Theo’s hand. “Come on, baby.”
“But the starfish— ”
“Leave it. ”
We ran.
The boat hit the shore.
Men in black suits jumped out. Four of them. Armed.
Alexander stood between them and the villa. His hands were up, but his body was a wall.
“This is private property, ” he said. “You’re trespassing.”
One of the men held up a document. “We have a court order. Temporary custody of the minor child, Theodore Sterling, pending investigation of unlawful removal from the United States. ”
My blood turned to ice.
Victoria stepped off the boat.
She was wearing a power suit. Her hair was perfect. Her smile was venom.
“Hello, Elena. ” She looked at the villa. “Where’s my stepson? ”
End of Chapter 10
- Writer
