Chapter 3

Alex stood by the window, city lights dancing in his cold eyes, though none of their warmth touched him. He was like a god gazing down at the mortals below, or a predator lying in wait in the shadows, eager for blood and death.

He picked up the intercom on his desk, his voice calm and steady. "Louis, come in."

Within seconds, the study door opened. A young man in a black suit, lean and muscular as a cheetah, strode in. It was Louis Grant, Alex's most trusted personal assistant and head of security. He moved with confidence, his eyes sharp, and gave a slight bow. "Mr. Meyer."

"Look into it," Alex ordered, not bothering to turn around.

Louis replied instantly, already knowing what needed to be done. "Understood. I'll pull Ms. Mills' communication, travel, and financial records from the past three years, plus track all of her movements in the nine months before her son was born.

"I'll pay special attention to any overlap with Matt Dunn during that period." His words were fast and decisive. Obviously, he already knew what to investigate and had a direction.

Alex gave a slight nod—that was all the confirmation Louis needed. Alex never questioned Louis's efficiency or skills.

Time slipped by in dead silence. The only sound in the room was the rapid tapping of Louis's keyboard, each keystroke echoing like a countdown drumbeat.

Alex still stood with his back to Louis, staring into the night outside, an unlit cigarette resting between his fingers—not even sure when he had picked it up.

About an hour later, the tapping finally stopped.

"Mr. Meyer." Louis broke the silence, his voice carrying a note of seriousness. "I've got the results."

Alex turned around slowly, his gaze as sharp as a blade, locked straight onto Louis.

Louis turned the laptop screen around towards Alex, displaying several neatly compiled files and surveillance logs.

"Bobby's due date was August 15th, three years ago," Louis said, his voice flat, just stating the facts. "Based on that, the conception would have happened sometime in mid to late November of the year before."

He pointed to a few key lines on the screen. "I focused on that time frame. From November 17th to 20th the year before, Ms. Mills went to Emore City alone, claiming it was for a bachelorette party.

"During the same period, Matt Dunn's private jet records show he also flew into Emore City. They both stayed at the same hotel—the Charm Hotel—and booked the Starry Night suite for three nights straight."

"Starry Night," Alex repeated the name, a cold, humorless smile tugging at his lips. What a fitting name. The stars witnessed all their filth.

Louis kept going, pulling up an enlarged security camera shot. "This is from the hotel's surveillance system, timestamped 1:22 AM on November 19th." The image was a little blurry, but Alex could clearly make out a man and a woman in the hallway.

The woman was wearing a sultry nightgown, her figure unmistakable—it was Stella. She was leaning intimately into the arms of a tall man in a bathrobe; his head was turned toward her, arm wrapped around her waist, murmuring against her ear.

The man's profile was unmistakable—it was Matt Dunn himself. Together, they walked straight toward a room door.

"During that very same window," Louis went on, pulling up another file, "your records show you were in Entarticum on a month-and-a-half expedition, cut off from the world as you investigated glaciers and polar energy projects.

"Here's an official fax from the Entarticum station." The document on screen bore the research station's seal.

"And Ms. Mills' explanation to you at that time..." Louis paused, bringing up a chat screenshot. "She wrote, [Honey, the signal here is terrible. My girlfriends are going wild, so I might not be able to text you back right away. Love you.]

"The message was sent at 11:05 PM on November 19th."

Beneath that message was a photo Stella sent—several women in pajamas, laughing and squeezed together for a group selfie on a hotel bed, the background deliberately framed to give away nothing about the location.

In it, Stella's smile was radiant, her eyes innocent—not a hint of anything amiss.

Alex stared at Stella's perfectly staged photo, and then at the security feed showing her and Matt heading into a room. The sheer irony practically exploded off the screen.

Alex's eyes bored into those two screenshots, a hurricane of fury brewing behind them. The frozen wastelands of Entarticum, the harsh crackle of the research station's radio, him working in the dead cold while missing his wife and son—all of that now seemed like a joke.

"Good," Alex rasped. He shut his eyes tight for a second, then reopened them. His gaze was now filled only with a killing intent colder than Antarctica itself. "Keep going."

"Yes, sir," Louis went on, typing rapidly. "When I dug into Ms. Mills' undisclosed accounts, I uncovered several massive, mysterious transfers in the last two years—adding up to around 7.5 million dollars.

"The funds were routed through a maze of cross-border transactions, all landing in offshore shell companies. Chasing it all the way back, the original source points to a subsidiary under Dunn Group focused on import-export trade."

Louis pulled up a tangled web of financial flows on the screen.

"There's more," Louis said, his voice going colder. "After Bobby was born, Ms. Mills made repeated trips alone to Spencer Children's Hospital out on the west side, claiming to be visiting a friend's child.

"But according to internal surveillance and the nurse's logs, Ms. Mills actually headed straight into the VIP intensive care unit. During those times, the only long-term patient there was Mr. Dunn's mother, Hannah Dunn, who was admitted for heart issues.

"For every visit, Stella stayed forty minutes to an hour, and Mr. Dunn was almost always present."

On-screen, surveillance stills from the hospital hallways flicked past, showing Stella slipping into the ICU with practiced ease, exchanging hushed words with Matt near a patient room.

There was even one shot where Matt reached out and softly brushed a stray lock of hair from Stella's forehead.

With a sharp snap, Alex crushed the unlit cigarette between his fingers, bits of tobacco and cotton filter falling through his fingers.

Each piece of evidence was like a branding iron, scorching shame onto his heart. First, the ice of Entarticum, the fake message, the secret hotel hookup, the dirty money, and now, Stella bringing his "son" to visit her lover's hospitalized mother.

For three years, Alex—a man who ruled a vast business empire and could crush industries with just a word—had been played by Stella and Matt like a total fool. He'd raised someone else's kid, all while thinking he had the perfect family.

Rage burned wildly in his chest, nearly destroying the last shreds of his sanity. But Alex drew in a long, freezing breath, forcing down the murderous urge.

He couldn't lose it yet, not now. What he wanted was utter ruin. He wanted to watch them fall straight into the deepest hell when they were riding high.

He slowly opened his hand, letting the broken cigarette fall onto the expensive carpet. Then, with deliberate force, he ground the remains into the plush fibers with the tip of his polished shoe, each movement slow and heavy—as if he were crushing someone's bones.

"Hannah Dunn at Spencer Children's Hospital right?" Alex murmured, his eyes as dark as the abyss. "I seem to recall her heart condition is rather dire, isn't it?"

Louis caught on instantly, his eyes flashing with understanding. "Yes, Mr. Meyer. Her condition is very serious. She's been waiting for a suitable heart donor."

"Oh?" Alex's eyebrow lifted, a chilling, merciless smile curving back onto his lips. "How unfortunate."

He turned back to the window, staring out at the dazzling yet frigid lights of the city.

His voice drifted out, soft as a sigh yet carrying the weight of a final decree. "Let the hospital know—if a donor heart for Mrs. Dunn ever becomes available, no matter the level, no matter the price, notify me immediately."

He paused, then added, "Anonymously ensure any such organ is donated to a truly 'healthy' child who needs it more—never to her."

Louis felt a chill run through him and instantly lowered his head in deference. "Understood. I'll follow up myself."

Alex said nothing more. The study was blanketed in a deathly silence, broken only by the never-ending glow of the city outside. His tall frame cast a long, suffocating shadow beneath the lights—like a piece of the night itself, threatening to swallow everything whole.