EPISODE5
1250 Words
CHAPTER FIVE
That Evening
Ana stood at the doorway of Noah’s room, hand pressed against the cool metal frame. The pale glow of the monitor cast shifting shadows across his sleeping form. Tubes led from his tiny arm to a machine humming softly behind the bed. Every blink, every breath felt like an echo of her own fear.
She crossed the room on unsteady legs and sat in the chair beside the bed. Noah’s eyelids fluttered open. He blinked at her blearily, offering a faint smile.
“Hi, Mama.”
“Hey, love,” she whispered, brushing back his wisps of ash-brown hair. “How are you feeling?”
He propped himself up on an elbow. “A little better.” He glanced at the IV. “Does it hurt?”
Ana shook her head. “Just a little pinch.” She offered her hand. “Want to hold it?”
“No thanks.” He settled back against the pillows. “But can you stay?”
“Always,” Ana said, her voice catching. She took his hand, warmth seeping through the thin glove.
Silence stretched between them—safe, familiar. Then a soft knock at the door.
Ana tensed.
Noah squeezed her hand. “It’s okay.”
She exhaled when Cassian Thorne entered, his presence sharp and businesslike in the muted light. He paused in the doorway, watching them.
“Good evening,” she managed, voice small.
Cassian stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “I wanted to check on him before rounds,” he said quietly. Rain pattered against the window behind him. “He slept most of the day.”
Ana nodded. “Thank you for coming.”
Cassian didn’t sit; he leaned against the wall. “He’s stronger.” He studied Noah’s pale face. “Still weak, but stronger.”
Noah flipped through a small picture book. “Doctor said I’m brave.”
Cassian’s expression softened for a fraction of a second. “You are brave, Noah.” He crouched to the boy’s level. “And I’m proud of you.”
Noah grinned, and the tension in Ana’s chest loosened. But when Cassian rose, the hard set of his shoulders returned.
Ana cleared her throat. “Why did you want to talk?”
Cassian folded his arms. “We’re moving fast, but we have to cover everything.” He tapped the leather folder at his feet. “Mara found something.”
Ana’s pulse jolted. “What did she find?”
He retrieved the folder and flipped it open. “Your brother’s records. They show his first surgery was two years ago, not four.” He slid a printout toward her. “And your initial donor application for Noah is timestamped three months before your NDA expired.”
Ana’s hand flew to her mouth. “I—I panicked. I didn’t know how else to save him. I was afraid of being turned away.”
Cassian watched her, his eyes cold. “Or you knew exactly what you were doing.”
She shook her head. “No. I didn’t think about timing or strategy. I thought about survival.”
Cassian closed the folder with a snap. “Survival isn’t convincing my board or our legal team. They’ll see this as manipulation, not desperation.”
Ana’s fists clenched. “Do you think I would manipulate my own child’s fate?”
Cassian’s gaze held hers. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”
She took a shaky breath. “Then let me prove it.”
He gave a small, curt nod. “All right. You speak first.”
Ana swallowed, voice steadying. “I know what I did looked suspicious. But my brother’s life was on the line, and then I learned Noah was coming, and I… I couldn’t risk another delay.” She looked past Cassian at Noah, sleeping peacefully. “Every choice I made was for him.”
Cassian was silent a moment. Then he turned and moved to the window, raindrops tracing white lines down the glass. “You know this isn’t enough.”
Ana braced herself. “What more do you need?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he stared at the dark city below. Finally, he said, “I need trust.”
“Trust?” Ana echoed softly. “After everything?”
“Yes.” Cassian’s shoulders squared. “I’m going to keep Noah alive, but you need to be honest with me—from now on.”
She fought back tears. “I promise. No more secrets.”
Cassian met her eyes. “And you’ll let me be his father. Fully.”
Ana’s heart fluttered. “I… I want you to.”
Cassian’s expression softened again, the tension easing from his stance. Then he looked down at Noah.
“I’m going to take him for tomorrow’s infusion,” Cassian said. “I want to be there.”
Ana blinked. “You—”
“I’ll be right here in the chair,” he whispered. “Next to you.”
Ana’s lip trembled. “Thank you.”
Silence wrapped around them again—thick but not suffocating. A promise had passed between them.
Suddenly, Noah stirred, blinking awake. Ana rushed to his side.
“Mama?” he murmured.
She knelt. “Hey, champ.”
Noah blinked at Cassian. “Daddy?”
Cassian offered a half-smile. “If you want.”
Noah threw his arms open. “Daddy!”
Cassian caught him in a gentle hug. Ana watched, tears sliding down her cheeks. This—this moment—was what she’d risked everything for.
But when Cassian set Noah back on the bed, he paused and looked directly at Ana.
“We still have a problem,” he said quietly.
Ana’s heart stuttered. “What now?”
He pointed to the folder on the counter. “Board meeting on Monday. I have to explain your timeline. You sure you can stand by it?”
She swallowed. “Yes. Because it’s the truth.”
Cassian’s jaw clenched. “Then we’ll face them together.”
Ana nodded, hope and fear mingling.
He turned to leave but stopped at the door. Rain still pattered against the pane.
“Sunday. Park. Three p.m. Don’t be late,” he said softly.
Ana’s breath caught. “I’ll be there.”
Cassian gave a small nod and walked out, the door clicking shut behind him.
Ana wrapped Noah in her arms, kissing his forehead.
“Sunday at the park,” she whispered. “We’ll be there.”
And as she held him close, her heart thrummed with a fierce certainty: together, they might survive this storm—if only they let each other in.
As Ana leaned forward to turn off the bedside lamp, something caught her eye — a faint corner of an envelope jutting out from under the door.
She frowned. No one had knocked.
Quietly, she crossed the room and picked it up. Unmarked. No name, no address.
She hesitated. Her heart drummed louder than the machines. She opened it.
Inside was a single photograph — grainy, but unmistakable.
Her. Cassian. The hotel room. Four years ago.
And scrawled in block letters on the back:
“Secrets always cost. Some cost everything.”
Ana’s blood ran cold.
Who would have this?
How did they find her?
Her fingers trembled
as she slipped the photo back into the envelope, her breath shaky.
She turned slowly to look at Noah, fast asleep.
Whoever sent this… wasn’t finished yet.
- Writer
