Chapter 3: The Night Everything Changed
For the rest of the flight, neither Griffin nor I spoke.
Not because we had nothing to say.
Because we suddenly had too much.
The message sat between us like a loaded weapon.
*You finally found out about Leo. Now ask Vivienne what happened the night he was born.*
Those words had been carefully chosen.
Someone wanted Griffin confused.
Someone wanted me afraid.
And whoever sent it knew exactly where to strike.
Because there was one night I had spent five years trying to forget.
The night Leo was born.
I turned toward the window, watching the endless white clouds beneath us.
My reflection stared back.
A woman who looked calm.
Controlled.
Almost untouched.
But inside, memories were clawing their way back.
The hospital lights.
The cold hallway.
The sound of Griffin's voice on the phone.
The moment I realized I was completely alone.
"Vivienne.""
I didn't answer.
"Look at me.""
I slowly turned.
Griffin was holding the phone in his hand, but his attention was no longer on the message.
It was on me.
"What happened that night?""
My throat tightened.
"You really don't remember?""
His expression shifted.
A flash of pain crossed his face.
"I remember you telling me you didn't want me there.""
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because that was what he believed.
The story he had carried for five years.
I looked at him.
"That isn't what happened.""
"Then tell me what happened.""
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
After everything.
After all those years.
He was finally asking.
Not accusing.
Not assuming.
Asking.
"The night Leo was born," I said slowly, "I called you.""
His eyebrows pulled together.
"No, you didn't.""
"I did.""
"Vivienne, I have my phone records.""
"Do you?""
That stopped him.
I leaned closer.
"Did you ever actually look at them?""
His silence answered for him.
I knew Griffin.
He trusted numbers.
Contracts.
Data.
Evidence.
But when it came to me, he had trusted his pain more.
"I called you at 2:13 in the morning," I said.
His eyes narrowed.
"That was the night of the storm.""
I nodded.
"Yes.""
The memory returned.
The worst storm Meridian City had seen in years.
Rain hitting the hospital windows like thousands of tiny stones.
The power flickering.
My hands shaking as nurses prepared me for an emergency delivery.
I had been terrified.
Not of giving birth.
Of doing it without him.
"I called you eleven times.""
Griffin looked confused.
"Eleven?""
"Yes.""
"Why didn't I see them?""
"Because someone deleted them.""
His face changed.
Again.
That same realization.
That same horrible possibility.
"Who?""
I looked away.
"I don't know.""
"But you have a guess.""
I didn't answer.
I didn't need to.
Griffin understood.
"Vivienne.""
His voice became serious.
"Tell me.""
I sighed.
"There was someone who had access to your phone records.""
"Who?""
"Your assistant.""
The cabin suddenly felt smaller.
Griffin's eyes hardened.
"Marcus?""
I nodded.
Marcus Hale had worked for Griffin for almost ten years.
He was the man who organized his schedule, handled private communications, and knew every detail of Griffin's life.
He was also the person who told the world I had betrayed Griffin.
The same person who gave interviews about how "devastated" Griffin was after discovering my supposed affair.
The same person who somehow always seemed to be standing beside Griffin when decisions were made.
"I don't understand," Griffin said.
"You will.""
My voice was quiet.
"But first, you need to understand something.""
"What?""
"When you found those messages between Daniel and me, you didn't discover a betrayal.""
I looked directly at him.
"You discovered someone's plan.""
Griffin didn't speak.
"Daniel and I found evidence that someone inside Ashworth Global was stealing from the company.""
His jaw tightened.
"How much?""
"At first, we thought it was a few million.""
"And?""
"It was much bigger.""
The silence stretched.
"How big?""
I hesitated.
"Big enough that someone was willing to destroy our marriage to stop us.""
Griffin stared at me.
Then he looked toward Leo.
His expression softened.
Just for a second.
"Was I supposed to know?""
I swallowed.
"Yes.""
The answer hurt him.
I saw it.
"You were supposed to know everything.""
My voice cracked slightly.
"I was supposed to sit beside you in that penthouse and show you every document. I was supposed to tell you I was pregnant and watch your face when you realized we were having a baby.""
A tear threatened to escape.
I blinked it away.
"But instead, you looked at me like I was a stranger.""
Griffin lowered his eyes.
"I thought I knew you.""
"No.""
I shook my head.
"You thought you knew what someone told you.""
He didn't argue.
That was new.
Griffin Ashworth never backed down.
Except now.
Now he looked like a man searching through the ruins of his own memories.
The plane began descending.
The seatbelt sign turned on.
Passengers started waking up.
But neither of us moved.
Finally, Griffin spoke.
"I want to meet him.""
I looked at him.
"What?""
"Leo.""
The word sounded strange coming from him.
Like he was afraid to say it too loudly.
"I want to meet my son.""
My chest tightened.
"You've already met him.""
"No.""
His eyes moved to Leo.
"I mean really meet him.""
I looked at my son.
He was asleep now, his head resting against the window.
Peaceful.
Completely unaware that the man sitting beside him was the person he had asked about for years.
"I don't know if that's what he needs.""
Griffin looked back at me.
"Then tell me what he needs.""
The question surprised me.
Because five years ago, he never asked.
"He needs stability.""
"I can give him that.""
"Money isn't stability.""
His expression hardened slightly.
"I know that.""
"Do you?""
The old tension returned.
But this time, something was different.
He wasn't angry because he was offended.
He was angry because he knew I was right.
"My son grew up without me," he said quietly.
"Yes.""
"Because you kept him from me.""
The words came out before he could stop them.
And immediately, he regretted them.
I saw it.
The apology forming.
The realization.
But I spoke first.
"Because you chose to leave before you knew he existed.""
Griffin went completely silent.
The plane landed twenty minutes later.
The moment the doors opened, the world rushed back in.
Phones.
Voices.
Footsteps.
Reality.
I gathered our bags quickly.
I needed distance.
I needed air.
I needed time to process the fact that the man I had spent five years trying to forget had just discovered he had a son.
But Griffin followed.
"Vivienne.""
I kept walking.
"Vivienne, wait.""
I stopped near the airport exit.
Slowly, I turned around.
For years, I had imagined this moment.
The moment Griffin learned the truth.
I imagined anger.
I imagined disbelief.
I imagined him demanding explanations.
I never imagined regret.
But that was exactly what I saw.
"I need to talk to Marcus," he said.
I frowned.
"Why?""
He looked down at his phone.
A new message had arrived.
His face changed as he read it.
This time, he didn't hide it.
"What does it say?""
He handed me the phone.
My hands went cold.
Because the message wasn't from an unknown number anymore.
It was from someone saved in his contacts.
Someone I knew.
Someone who had been standing close to Griffin all these years.
The message read:
*You should have listened to me five years ago. Now your son knows who you really are.*
Below it was a name.
Marcus Hale.
I looked up.
Griffin was staring at the screen.
And for the first time since I met him...
He looked completely lost.
"Marcus sent this?"" he whispered.
I didn't answer.
Because another notification appeared.
A photograph.
A photograph taken only minutes earlier.
A photograph of me.
Of Griffin.
And of Leo walking through the airport.
Someone had been watching us.
Someone had been waiting.
May you like
And underneath the picture was one final message.
*The boy was never supposed to survive.*
