Chained by our past

Chapter 7

Isla Calloway prided herself on never losing control.

She had built Calloway Tech from nothing, made billion-dollar deals that left seasoned executives speechless, and crushed competitors without so much as breaking a sweat. Power was her language, control was her armor, and precision was her weapon.

But nothing—not corporate takeovers, not high-stakes negotiations—had prepared her for Lucas Reyes demanding custody of their son.

She sat at the head of the long conference table in Calloway Tech’s executive boardroom, staring at Lucas across from her. He was calm, unreadable, dangerous—and she hated that it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Between them sat a thick folder containing the legal documents he had just slid across the table like a goddamn business deal.

She hadn’t even opened it yet.

She didn’t need to. She knew exactly what it contained.

A custody agreement.

Her nails dug into the sleek mahogany surface of the table. "You’re not serious."

Lucas leaned back in his chair, his expression cool. "Oh, I’m very serious."

Her jaw clenched. "Leo barely knows you. You’ve spent a grand total of three hours with him. And now you think you can just waltz into his life and demand custody?"

Lucas didn’t flinch. "He’s my son, Isla."

Her heart skipped a beat, but she ignored it. She wouldn’t let him see that his words got to her.

"Leo has a stable life," she continued, voice sharp. "He has routines. Security. A home."

"And now he has a father," Lucas said simply.

His words struck a nerve. Isla’s breath caught for half a second before she recovered. "A father who was absent for four years."

Lucas’s expression darkened. "Because I didn’t know, Isla. Because you kept him from me."

She knew this fight was coming—had been bracing for it—but hearing the accusation out loud still felt like a punch to the ribs.

"You don’t get to turn this on me," she snapped. "You left without a word—"

"You left," Lucas interrupted, his voice dangerously low. "You disappeared before I could even find out who you were."

Isla’s fingers curled into a fist. "And you never tried to find me."

Lucas exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Dammit, Isla, how was I supposed to find you? I didn’t know your last name. I didn’t even know what city you lived in. I searched for you, but you were gone."

A sharp silence stretched between them.

For the first time, Isla saw it.

The raw frustration in his eyes. The undeniable truth in his voice.

Lucas had been looking for her.

And she had been the one to disappear.

The weight of it settled in her chest, heavy and suffocating. But she couldn’t afford to dwell on it. That was the past.

Right now, the only thing that mattered was Leo.

And she would not let Lucas upend his life just to satisfy his guilt.

"I’m not handing Leo over to you," she said finally, voice like steel.

Lucas’s gaze didn’t waver. "I’m not asking you to."

She narrowed her eyes. "Then what do you want?"

Lucas leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. "Shared custody."

She laughed, a sharp, humorless sound. "You expect me to let you take Leo from me for half the time? Take him where? To your penthouse? To your office while you run your company?"

Lucas’s jaw tightened. "I have just as much a right to be in his life as you do."

"Not if it disrupts his stability," she shot back. "Leo doesn’t even know you, Lucas. He’s four. He doesn’t need his entire world turned upside down just because you suddenly want to play dad."

A muscle ticked in his jaw. "You think I’m doing this just to prove a point?"

"Aren’t you?" Isla folded her arms. "This feels a lot like another power play from the great Lucas Reyes."

Lucas’s eyes flashed. "This isn’t about power, Isla. This is about my son."

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The tension between them crackled like wildfire, dangerous and unpredictable.

Isla forced herself to breathe.

"You want to be in Leo’s life?" she finally said. "Fine. We do this on my terms. Slowly. No custody battles, no legal threats. You can see him, but only when I say so, and only in a way that doesn’t disrupt his routine."

Lucas studied her, his jaw tight. "You think you can control this?"

She lifted her chin. "I can. And I will."

A long, suffocating silence filled the room.

Then, finally, Lucas exhaled. "For now," he said, his voice quiet but firm.

Isla narrowed her eyes. "What does that mean?"

Lucas stood, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. "It means I’ll agree to your terms for now, but don’t think this is permanent. Leo deserves a real relationship with his father. And eventually?"

He met her gaze, his expression unreadable.

"He’s going to get one."

Later that night, Isla sat at the edge of Leo’s bed, running her fingers through his soft curls as he curled up with his stuffed dinosaur.

"Mama?"

"Yes, baby?"

Leo yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Is Daddy coming again?"

The question caught her off guard.

She had expected Leo to be hesitant, confused, maybe even overwhelmed. But instead, he had taken to Lucas easily—too easily.

"Yes," she murmured. "He’ll be back soon."

Leo’s face lit up with pure excitement. "Can we play dinosaurs again?"

Her heart squeezed. "I think he’d like that."

Leo grinned, then snuggled deeper into his blankets. "Okay."

Isla watched him drift off, her chest tight.

This was happening. Lucas was here to stay.

And she had no idea how to protect her heart from him.