Chapter 6 - The Paper Trail of Lies
Arthur Hollis’s eyes flickered—just for a fraction of a second—with genuine panic. It was a tell Tristan had seen across a hundred corporate negotiations. Whenever his father was holding an empty hand, his left eyelid gave a faint, imperceptible flutter.
"This is an indignity to the family name," Arthur snarled, slamming his cane against the wet pavement. "Tristan, get in the car. Sabine is waiting at the venue coordinator’s office. If you step through those hospital doors, I will convene an emergency board meeting this evening and strip you of your executive powers."
Tristan looked at his father. For thirty-five years, he had lived under the shadow of this man. He had attended the schools his father chose, studied the degrees his father approved of, and agreed to marry the woman his father deemed politically advantageous. He had sacrificed his own instincts, his own happiness, all for the preservation of an empire.
And in exchange, his father had stolen the first three years of his son's life.
"Convene the meeting," Tristan said, his voice dropping into a deadly, chilling quiet.
Arthur went rigid. "What did you say?"
"I said convene the meeting," Tristan repeated, stepping past his father without another glance. He walked directly to Rosalie’s side, knelt down in the rain, completely uncaring that his thousand-dollar suit was soaking through, and held out his hand to the little boy. "Hey, Leo. Mind if I walk inside with you and your mom?"
Leo looked up at Rosalie, seeking permission. Rosalie, her eyes bright with unshed tears, gave a small, encouraging nod. The boy reached out his small, warm hand and slipped his tiny fingers into Tristan’s large, scarred palm.
Tristan felt something break open inside his chest—a sudden, blinding surge of fierce, protective love that washed away three years of numbness. He stood up, towering over his father’s security team. "If any of your men follow us inside, Father, I will have the hospital security detain them, and I will personally call the district attorney. Don't test me today."
They walked through the sliding glass doors into the warm, bright lobby, leaving Arthur Hollis standing alone in the rain, his face twisted in fury.
Inside the clinical testing room, Dr. Elena Morales, a respected pediatric geneticist, oversaw the procedure. Two cotton swabs were rubbed against the inside of Leo’s cheek, followed by two swabs from Tristan. The samples were sealed in tamper-evident envelopes, signed by all three adults, and registered under a rush order.
"Results will be ready in thirty-six hours," Dr. Morales said professionally. "Direct delivery to both parties simultaneously via encrypted portal."
As they stepped back out into the covered parking garage, Tristan stopped beside Rosalie’s car.
"I need to show you something," Rosalie said quietly. She opened her purse and pulled out a worn, folded envelope that had yellowed at the edges. "I kept this because I wanted to show it to Leo when he was older, to prove that I didn't abandon his father without a fight."
Tristan took the envelope with trembling fingers. Inside was a handwritten letter addressed to him, dated three days after the disastrous meeting in the Hollis Tower. It was filled with her tears, her pleas, begging him to look past the lawyers, begging him to meet her at their favorite diner near the pier just once.
May you like
"I gave this to Sabine," Rosalie whispered. "She came to my apartment that night. She told me you were too broken up to see me, but that she would make sure you read it. She told me... she told me you read it, laughed, and tossed it into the fireplace."
Tristan stared at the letter, his vision blurring with tears of pure rage. "I never saw this. I swear on my life, Rosalie. I never saw this."
