Chapter 2The "Prized" Son

Jim frantically pulled me aside, his voice a panicked whisper. “Ethan, please, can you just go home for now? There are too many people here.”

“It’s not what you think. Nothing is going on between me and Isabella, I swear. This baby isn’t hers. Please, don’t make a scene. Let me explain later, okay?”

Explain? We were far beyond the point of explanations.

I shoved his hand off me and stormed past him. White-hot rage was pounding in my skull. All I wanted was to drag Isabella out and demand to know what the hell was going on.

CRACK. I kicked the office door open.

The room was empty.

Jim rushed in behind me, still holding the baby. “Ethan, calm down! She’s still in surgery. Whatever it is, can we please just talk about it at home?”

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. “Which home is that, Jim? The one you lived in for six months while you were sleeping with my wife and cooking up a surrogate baby?”

Just then, a little girl ran out from a connecting break room and hugged Jim’s leg.

“Daddy, Mommy went to do surgery. Why isn’t she back yet? She promised she’d take me to the amusement park today!”

My gaze dropped to the little girl.

So, all those late-night “emergency surgeries” Isabella had… she was spending them with her other family. A family with a child old enough to talk.

On the wall hung a framed family portrait. In it, Isabella was holding the same little girl, a gentle, maternal smile on her face. Standing beside her was Jim.

A perfect, happy family of three.

And now, a family of four. All this time, they had been living this life right under my nose, without a shred of guilt.

The absurdity of it all made me want to laugh. I pulled out my phone and made a call.

“I want every piece of dirt on Isabella Felton’s affair. And paternity tests for those two kids. I want every detail. Money is no object.” My voice was ice. “I want her to leave this marriage with nothing.”

Jim heard me, his face twisting in desperation. “Ethan, you can’t! You’ll ruin her! She worked so hard to get where she is. How can you be so cruel?”

I nearly choked on his audacity. “Jim, who the hell do you think you are to stand there and question me?”

His eyes darted around nervously. He took a few steps closer, his entire demeanor softening into a pathetic plea. “Ethan, I’m begging you. Just go home. This has to be a misunderstanding. Don’t let everyone here see you make a fool of yourself.”

He was too close, reaching for my arm. I sidestepped, repulsed by the thought of his touch.

And in that instant, Jim suddenly staggered backward, and the baby in his arms went flying.

“AH! My baby!” he screamed, scrambling on the floor toward the crying infant. He pointed a shaking finger at me. “Ethan, how could you be so heartless?! Just because I wouldn’t give you my wife, now you’re trying to kill my child?”

The nurses rushed in, followed by doctors and patients’ families who had heard the commotion.

“Is he crazy? Attacking a newborn? Someone call security! Call the police!”

The little girl burst into tears, screaming, “You’re a bad man! You hurt my daddy! You tried to kill my brother!”

Just then, a familiar voice cut through the chaos. “What is going on here?”

The moment Jim saw her, he scrambled to his feet. “Isabella! Thank God! If you hadn’t come, he would have killed us!”

Isabella rushed forward, scooping the baby into her arms. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” she soothed. “Let’s just talk about this calmly.”

Then she looked up and saw me. The color drained from her face.

Jim seized the moment. “Isabella, save our baby! Ethan’s gone mad! He tried to kill our son!”

Isabella’s head snapped toward me. She stormed over and kicked me, sending me sprawling to the floor.

“Ethan, who gave you the nerve to harm my son?” she spat, her voice dripping with venom. “This is a hospital, not your personal playground!”

She leaned down, her face a mask of fury. “Or do you not care about your mother anymore? The one rotting away in the ICU? Because I can have her dragged out here for you to see.”