Blake POV:
The bitter taste of regret lingered on my tongue, a constant, nauseating reminder of my monstrous deeds. My empire, my legacy, my perfect life-all shattered by my own hand. The phone in my pocket buzzed, jolting me from my self-flagellation. It was Chyna. She was crying, hysterical.
"Blake! You have to come home! Orion, he's... he's choking! He can't breathe!"
My heart seized, a sudden, primal fear overriding all other emotions. My son. My only son, the one for whom I had sacrificed so much. I jammed the phone back into my pocket and sped home, ignoring all traffic laws, my mind a blur of terror.
I found Orion blue in the face, struggling for breath, Chyna sobbing incoherently beside him. Without a moment' s hesitation, I scooped him up, performing the Heimlich maneuver instinctively, then raced him to the emergency room.
Hours later, the doctors confirmed Orion was stable, a piece of a toy lodged in his throat. Chyna, her face streaked with tears, collapsed into my arms, sobbing. "Oh, Blake, I was so scared! I don't know what I would do without you!"
Her voice, usually so comforting, now grated on my nerves. I patted her back, my gaze fixed on Orion, who was now sleeping peacefully in his crib. I felt a profound sense of relief, but also a simmering resentment towards Chyna. Why was she so helpless? Why hadn't she known what to do?
Just then, my phone buzzed again. It was Marcus. "Sir, I have an update on the investigation into Ms. Hatfield's past."
My blood ran cold. The thought, unbidden, had already begun to form in my mind: Could Chyna have been lying about everything? Had she orchestrated other "accidents"?
"What is it, Marcus?" I demanded, my voice tight.
"Sir, we ran a more thorough background check, as you requested. It appears Ms. Hatfield has a history of... embellishment. Her claims of being the guru's 'destined partner' are entirely fabricated. She paid him a substantial sum to endorse her, to create a false prophecy. And the twins, sir... a paternity test conducted discreetly reveals that neither of the boys is yours."
The phone slipped from my grasp, clattering loudly on the sterile hospital floor. The words echoed in my head, a deafening roar. Not yours. Fabricated prophecy. Paid him. My world, already fractured, imploded entirely.
Chyna, who had been listening, her face draining of color, stammered, "Blake, I... I can explain! It was for us! For our future! I just wanted to give you what you deserved!"
I stared at her, my vision blurring with a red haze of rage. Explain? Explain that she had lied about everything? That my entire life, my every monstrous action, had been based on a perverse lie? That the children I had sacrificed Amelia for were not even my own?
I pushed her away, a cold disgust churning in my gut. "Get out," I snarled, my voice low and dangerous. "Get out of my sight. Don't let me ever see you again."
Chyna, sensing the absolute finality in my tone, stammered a few more pathetic excuses, then fled, leaving me alone in the silent, sterile room. My mind, now stripped bare of all illusions, began to frantically piece together the horrifying truth. The miscarriages. Amelia's garden. The spiritual cleansing. Had Chyna orchestrated it all? Had she driven Amelia away, knowing I would be distracted by the "destined" children? The thought was a sickening realization, tearing at my soul.
I stumbled out of the hospital, the fresh air doing nothing to clear the suffocating fog in my mind. I called Marcus. "Find Chyna. Confine her. And then, find Amelia. Spare no expense. Bring her back. I need to talk to her." I needed to beg for forgiveness. To explain. To atone for my unforgivable sins.
The days that followed were an agonizing blur. My entire network, my vast resources, were mobilized. Private investigators, international search agencies, every contact I possessed-all searching for Amelia. But she had vanished without a trace, a ghost in the wind. It was as if the earth had swallowed her whole.
My office, once a symbol of my power, became a cage of despair. I paced constantly, barking orders, throwing things, my rage and frustration spiraling out of control. My subordinates, terrified, scattered at my approach.
Then, a chilling thought emerged from the chaos. Amelia hadn't just disappeared. She had been helped. Someone, somewhere, had intentionally hidden her from me.
I immediately knew who. My mother. Kyleigh.
I returned to her estate, the grandeur of it now mocking my brokenness. She was in her study, as serene as ever, a book in her hand.
"You helped her, didn't you?" I demanded, my voice hoarse. "You hid her."
Kyleigh closed her book, her gaze calm, unwavering. "Yes, Blake. I did. She needed protection. From you."
"But why?" I cried, the desperation in my voice raw. "She's my wife! I need her! I've made a mistake! I need to apologize, to make things right!"
"Mistake?" Kyleigh's voice was sharp, a cutting blade. "You call orchestrating her miscarriages a 'mistake,' Blake? You call destroying her garden, subjecting her to a barbaric ritual, and leaving her for dead a 'mistake'? You call basing your entire life on a fabricated prophecy and raising another man's children a 'mistake'? You destroyed her, Blake. Completely. And you almost destroyed yourself in the process."
Her words, though harsh, were a painful truth. My chest tightened, a suffocating pressure. I doubled over, clutching my stomach, a wave of nausea washing over me. The pain was unbearable, a physical manifestation of my profound guilt.
Kyleigh watched me, her gaze softening slightly. "She's safe, Blake. Far away. Somewhere you'll never find her. She deserves peace. And you, my son, deserve to face the consequences of your actions." She paused, her voice hardening again. "Your actions have brought scandal to our family, Blake. The truth about Chyna, about the paternity of her children, is about to break. Our company, our legacy, everything you so desperately sought to protect, is on the brink of ruin."
My mind went blank. Scandal. Ruin. The words echoed in my head, a terrifying prophecy of my own.
"I am temporarily suspending you from all corporate duties," Kyleigh continued, her voice firm. "You will remain at the estate for now. And understand this, Blake. You will not pursue Amelia. Ever again. She is free. And you have lost her, completely and irrevocably."
