Claimed by my ex husbands uncle

Chapter 4

THE SHOCK

LUCIEN'S POV

I haven't been to the Blackwood estate in four years.

Four years. That's how long I've been running from this place. The scandal burned through my life like wildfire. It destroyed everything. It destroyed the people I cared about. But my lawyer called this morning. He said Adrian needed me. He said it was about a divorce settlement. I didn't have a choice.

I arrive at two in the afternoon. The moment my car pulls through the iron gates, I remember why I left. I remember the pain.

The house is all marble and glass. Every room is designed to make you feel small and powerless. Margaret is waiting in the main drawing room. She's sharp. She's merciless. Adrian is there too. He has that smirk. That cruel smirk that means he's done something he's proud of.

"Lucien," Margaret says coldly. "How surprising. We didn't expect you to show your face here again."

"Family business," I say. My voice is flat. I stopped caring about Margaret's opinions a long time ago. "What's this about?"

Adrian's smirk gets bigger. "I finally got rid of Elena. Turns out she was even more useless than we thought."

My chest tightens when he says her name.

Elena.

I haven't let myself think about her. Not really. But that one word brings it all back. The penthouse. The way she looked at me like I was real. The way her body fit against mine like she was always meant to be there. I remember her taste. Champagne and desperation. I remember her tears. I remember the moment she disappeared at dawn without a word.

She was like water slipping through my fingers. Soft. Warm. Impossibly fragile.

I bury it all deep. I won't think about that night. I've replayed it a thousand times already.

"So what do you need from me?" I ask. My tone makes it clear. I want this over fast.

Adrian leans back in his chair. "The divorce is going through. But there are complications."

"What kind of complications?" I ask.

Margaret smiles. That smile is never good. "Elena spent one night with someone. Someone very important. And now she's pregnant."

My entire body goes still.

Pregnant.

"The DNA tests show the child isn't mine," Adrian says. He's watching my face carefully. He's looking for something. "Which means Elena was unfaithful."

The world stops spinning.

Elena is pregnant. The woman I can't stop thinking about is carrying a child. My child. The realization hits me like a punch. It steals my air. It makes my hands shake.

"Why did you have DNA tests done while you were still married?" I ask quietly.

Adrian laughs. That cruel, cutting sound makes my skin crawl. "I had suspicions. Elena was always too cold in bed. Turns out she was just sleeping with someone else."

My hands clench into fists. My nails dig into my palms. But I keep my face neutral. Lucien Blackwood doesn't show emotion. He doesn't let people see that he bleeds.

"Why is this my concern?" I ask coldly.

"Because," Margaret says, and I can hear the smile in her voice, "we need to know who the father is. We need to know if this becomes a scandal. We need to know what Elena is planning."

"That's Elena's business," I say. "Not the family's."

"Everything is the family's business," Margaret replies. Her eyes are sharp as knives. "You should remember that, Lucien. That's why you're here. That's why you'll always be part of us. Whether you like it or not."

The door opens.

Elena walks in.

For a moment, the entire room disappears. She looks different. There's a fragility to her that wasn't there before. I can see exhaustion on her face. It cuts through me. I can see the barely-held-together composure that was cracking the night she kissed me. The night she trusted me with everything.

Her eyes find mine. I watch the moment she recognizes me. Her face goes pale. Her hand moves to her stomach. She does it without thinking. Like she's protecting something precious.

"Mr. Blackwood," her lawyer says. He puts a hand on her arm. "My client is here for the settlement discussion."

Adrian stands up. His smile is pure poison. "Elena, I have a surprise for you. That man you spent the night with? That's my uncle, Lucien Blackwood. I'm sure you two have a lot to discuss."

Elena and I stare at each other.

The moment feels infinite. It feels impossible. Her face is written with shock and fear and something else I can't name.

"What is he talking about?" her lawyer asks sharply.

"Adrian is lying," I say quietly.

"Am I?" Adrian pulls out his phone. He shows the lawyer a DNA report. "This is the child's DNA. I've been collecting samples for years. Insurance, you could say. And look at this. It's a perfect match to me."

My blood goes cold.

He knows.

He's known all along.

"You can't use that," her lawyer says sharply. "That's illegal—"

"That's insurance," Adrian says. He smiles now, and it's the smile of someone who's been planning this for years. "Insurance that Elena knows what happens if she doesn't cooperate. Her affair becomes public. The child's paternity becomes public. Everything becomes very public."

I watch Elena start to fall apart. Right in front of everyone.

"I've been preparing for a long time," Adrian continues. He looks at me with twisted satisfaction. "I knew Elena was wrong for me. I knew something was broken inside her. So I prepared for this."

Margaret stands up. She walks to Elena. She looks at her with absolute disdain. "The question now is who the father is. And whether he has any idea he fathered a Blackwood bastard."

Elena and I look at each other.

I see the exact moment she understands. The penthouse. The night. The way I looked at her like she was the only real thing in the world. She's realizing that the stranger is standing here. In this room.

She's realizing I'm Lucien Blackwood.

The shock on her face turns to betrayal. She feels trapped. She feels like I was part of this. Part of the machinery that's been destroying her all along.

Her hand trembles as she touches her stomach again. Protection. Fear. Rage. All of it is written on her face.

"Well?" Adrian says. He looks between us. He's starting to see it now. The recognition. The shock. The truth. "Does someone want to tell me what's going on?"

"Elena," her lawyer says quietly. "Do you know this man?"

She doesn't answer. She just stares at me. Her eyes are full of fear and something else too. Betrayal. Deep, cutting betrayal.

I finally understand why she ran that morning.

She thought I was a stranger. Someone outside this poisoned family. Someone safe. She had no idea I was part of the machinery that's been destroying her for three years.

She had no idea I'm Lucien Blackwood.

And now she knows.

The look on her face tells me everything. She doesn't just feel shock. She feels betrayed. She feels like the one person who saw her, who understood her, was part of the family that's been hurting her all along.