Chapter 301

As Evelyn and Alexander walked away together, Ethan instinctively moved to follow. Vanessa immediately seized his arm.

"Ethan, even if you despise me, what about our baby? He's innocent. Don't you care about him at all?"

Her voice trembled with desperation.

She gestured around the room. "Look at all the doctors, nurses—even your mother. Everyone is fighting to save him. How can you, his father, be so cruel?"

Ethan gently brushed her hand away.

He settled back into his chair, his expression hardening. "Earlier, Evelyn asked you for Damian’s contact. You claimed you didn’t have it. Was that the truth?"

A flicker of unease crossed Vanessa’s face, but she masked it quickly.

Ethan didn’t catch it.

"Why would I have Damian’s number? Or have you forgotten? Three years ago, Evelyn paid him to kidnap me. He’s my enemy. I loathe him," she said, her tone steady.

Ethan drummed his fingers lightly against the table. "But last night, while you were asleep, I received a call. Guess who it was?"

His gaze locked onto hers, sharp and probing.

Vanessa’s breath hitched.

The air between them thickened with tension.

Ethan leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "He introduced himself as Damian Cross."

Vanessa’s fingers twitched.

She forced a laugh. "That’s impossible. He wouldn’t dare contact you."

Ethan’s lips curved into a cold smile. "Oh, he did. And he had quite a story to tell."

Her pulse spiked.

She swallowed hard. "What… did he say?"

Ethan’s eyes darkened. "Enough to make me question everything."

Vanessa’s grip on the edge of the table tightened.

She had miscalculated.

Badly.

Vanessa's expression darkened instantly.

Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Who told you?"

Ethan smirked, but his eyes remained icy. He studied Vanessa with a piercing gaze. "What do you think?"

Silence stretched between them.

"Vanessa, so you've been secretly communicating with Damian all this time?" His tone sharpened. "Wasn't he the one who tried to abduct you three years ago? Why would you keep in touch with someone like that? Don’t I deserve an explanation?"

Her pulse raced. Lies formed effortlessly on her tongue. "Ethan, it’s not what it looks like! Damian has been harassing me for years. He wouldn’t stop calling!"

Ethan let out a cold laugh.

"Then why didn’t you tell Evelyn when she asked for his number?"

Some truths were better left buried. The more you dug, the uglier they became.

At this point, Ethan couldn’t tell which of Vanessa’s words were real and which were fabricated.

Without another word, he gave her one last disappointed look before turning away.

Vanessa froze, a cold shiver racing down her spine.

Her fingers trembled as she snatched her phone from the nightstand, frantically scrolling through her call logs.

No trace of Damian’s call.

Heart pounding, she dialed his number without hesitation.

The line rang endlessly before a rough, sleep-heavy voice finally answered. "What?"

"Damian, did you call me last night?"

"Hell no."

The words hit her like ice water.

Her stomach twisted. Ethan was testing me.

He had set a trap—checking if she was still in contact with Damian.

Her face paled as the realization sank in. She had played right into his hands.

Despite her claims that Damian had been harassing her, Ethan’s cold, knowing stare when he left told her everything. He didn’t believe a word.

"Seriously? You woke me up at dawn for this?" Damian grumbled before hanging up.

Vanessa’s grip on the phone tightened.

She had just given herself away.

The memory of her near-miscarriage still burned in Vanessa's mind, a searing pain that refused to fade. She turned her fury toward Damian, her voice sharp with accusation.

"What the hell happened last night? The kidnapping was supposed to go smoothly, yet somehow, I ended up being dragged into it too!" Her fingers clenched into fists. "You took my money and failed. Pathetic."

She paced the dimly lit room, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor. Every step echoed her frustration.

"Did you think I wouldn’t notice your incompetence? Or did you just decide to double-cross me?" Her glare could have cut glass.

Damian remained silent, his jaw tight.

Vanessa scoffed. "If you can’t handle a simple job, then you’re useless to me." She leaned in, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "And useless men don’t get paid."

The air between them crackled with tension.

She wasn’t just angry—she was humiliated. The plan had been flawless. Or so she’d thought.

Now, everything was falling apart.

And she refused to be the one left holding the pieces.