CHAPTER 3 – THE MAN WHO STOLE EIGHT YEARS
I didn't sleep that night.
Not even for a minute.
The city stretched beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse, glowing beneath the Manhattan skyline like a living thing.
Normally, the view calmed me.
Tonight, it felt meaningless.
Because somewhere in the guest suite down the hall, two seven-year-old boys were sleeping.
My sons.
The words still refused to feel real.
Every few minutes I found myself walking past the partially open door just to look inside.
Lucas slept on his stomach.
Noah slept curled beneath the blanket.
Exactly the way I used to sleep as a child.
The sight hit me every time.
Seven years.
Seven birthdays.
Seven Christmas mornings.
Seven years of scraped knees, lost teeth, bedtime stories, and school plays.
Gone.
Not because they never happened.
Because they happened without me.
I stood there longer than I should have.
Then a voice spoke quietly behind me.
"You've checked on them six times."
Emma.
I turned.
She stood at the end of the hallway wearing one of my spare sweatshirts.
Her dark hair was pulled back loosely.
She looked exhausted.
Yet somehow more at peace than she had the previous day.
I glanced back toward the boys.
"Seven."
A small smile touched her lips.
The first genuine smile I had seen from her in years.
"They'll still be there in ten minutes."
"I know."
But I checked again anyway.
Emma laughed softly.
And for one brief moment, the years between us seemed to disappear.
Then reality returned.
Victor Kane.
The accident.
The threats.
The lost years.
My jaw tightened instantly.
Emma noticed.
"You're thinking about him."
I nodded.
Because I couldn't stop.
Victor Kane had stolen more than time.
He had stolen choices.
The chance to be a father.
The chance to be a husband.
The chance to build the life Emma and I once dreamed about.
And now he was free.
Walking around somewhere.
Breathing.
Existing.
The thought made my blood boil.
Emma stepped closer.
"Alex."
I looked at her.
"Don't do anything reckless."
That almost made me laugh.
I had spent my entire adult life being disciplined.
Controlled.
Strategic.
But something had changed the moment two little boys ran into my lobby calling me Daddy.
For the first time in years, this wasn't business.
This was personal.
The next morning started with DNA results.
I hadn't requested them.
Emma had.
Years ago.
The documents sat waiting on my desk when I arrived at headquarters.
I stared at the folder for several seconds.
Then opened it.
PATERNITY PROBABILITY: 99.9999%.
Lucas Sterling.
Noah Sterling.
My sons.
Legally.
Biologically.
Undeniably.
A strange sound escaped my throat.
Not quite a laugh.
Not quite a sob.
Something in between.
Margaret quietly entered my office.
My assistant rarely looked emotional.
Today she did.
"Congratulations."
I swallowed hard.
"Thank you."
Her eyes softened.
"You deserve this."
I wasn't sure I did.
But I knew one thing.
I wasn't losing them.
Not now.
Not ever.
The intercom buzzed.
Margaret answered.
Then immediately looked toward me.
Her expression changed.
"What is it?"
She hesitated.
"Security found someone."
The room went silent.
My instincts activated immediately.
"Who?"
Margaret swallowed.
"Victor Kane."
Everything inside me went still.
Not rage.
Not fear.
Something colder.
Much colder.
"Where?"
"Main lobby."
I stood.
The elevator ride felt exactly like the one yesterday.
Except now I wasn't confused.
Now I was furious.
The doors opened.
And there he was.
Victor Kane.
Older.
Thinner.
But unmistakable.
Standing beneath the Sterling Industries logo.
The same place my sons had stood twenty-four hours earlier.
Life had a cruel sense of symmetry.
Victor smiled when he saw me.
I didn't.
Not even slightly.
"Alexander."
His voice sounded smooth.
Confident.
Like a man who believed he still mattered.
I stopped several feet away.
Security remained close.
Watching.
Waiting.
Victor looked around the lobby.
Impressed.
"You've done well."
I stared at him.
"You tried to kill me."
The smile faded slightly.
Several employees froze nearby.
Victor sighed dramatically.
"Straight to business."
"You threatened my family."
Another sigh.
"That's a complicated conversation."
"No."
My voice remained calm.
Dangerously calm.
"It's actually very simple."
The lobby had become completely silent.
Nobody was pretending to work anymore.
Victor glanced around.
Then back at me.
"I came to help."
For the first time, I almost laughed.
Help.
The word sounded absurd coming from him.
"I know who's coming."
Something changed.
A flicker.
Small.
But real.
I noticed it immediately.
Fear.
Victor was afraid.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"Who?"
He hesitated.
Then said a name I had never heard before.
"Sebastian Volkov."
The air shifted.
Not because I recognized the name.
Because Victor reacted to it.
People don't fear names.
They fear people.
"What about him?"
Victor swallowed.
The confidence was beginning to crack.
"He's the reason your accident happened."
My pulse slowed.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Because anger had finally become focus.
"Explain."
Victor looked around again.
Then lowered his voice.
"Not here."
I studied him carefully.
Every movement.
Every expression.
Every lie.
For the first time, I noticed something surprising.
Victor wasn't acting like a predator.
He was acting like prey.
An hour later we sat inside a private conference room.
Lawyers present.
Security present.
Witnesses present.
Victor requested all of them.
Almost as though he feared being alone.
The realization unsettled me.
Because if Victor Kane was scared...
Who exactly had frightened him?
Victor leaned forward.
His hands trembled.
Actually trembled.
"I didn't order the accident."
Silence.
"You admitted it."
"I lied."
My jaw tightened.
"Why?"
"Because I wanted Emma gone."
The honesty was disgusting.
But believable.
Victor looked ashamed for the first time.
"I thought if she left, you'd sell your shares."
I stared at him.
"That's insane."
"I know."
His eyes dropped.
"I was desperate."
Then came the bombshell.
"The accident wasn't supposed to happen."
The room fell silent.
Victor swallowed hard.
"Volkov arranged it."
Every instinct screamed.
Truth.
At least part of it.
Victor continued.
"He wanted your technology company."
My stomach tightened.
Sterling Industries.
Of course.
Money.
Power.
Control.
Always the same motivations.
Victor looked directly at me.
"You were never the target."
"What?"
"The company was."
Cold moved through my veins.
Victor's voice shook.
"When the accident failed..."
He paused.
"...Volkov disappeared."
I leaned forward.
"And now?"
The answer came immediately.
"He's back."
The room fell silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
Every instinct told me not to answer.
Instead, I pressed accept.
A deep voice filled the room.
Smooth.
Cultured.
Dangerous.
"Mr. Sterling."
My blood ran cold.
The voice continued.
"I believe you and I have unfinished business."
Every person in the room froze.
Victor looked terrified.
Absolutely terrified.
The voice chuckled softly.
Then said seven words that changed everything.
"I've finally found your children."
The line disconnected.
Silence exploded through the conference room.
I slowly lowered the phone.
For one terrifying moment, nobody breathed.
Then I stood.
Not as a CEO.
Not as a billionaire.
Not as the founder of Sterling Industries.
As a father.
And for the first time in my life...
I understood exactly how far I was willing to go to protect my family.
Outside the conference room window, Manhattan glittered beneath the afternoon sun.
Beautiful.
Busy.
Unaware.
Because somewhere in that city, a man had just declared war.
And he had chosen the worst possible target.
A father who had already lost eight years.
May you like
A father with no intention of losing another day.
TO BE CONTINUED...
