Chapter 3

I stared at the name and let out a cold laugh.

Sienna reached out to decline the call.

But I snatched the phone first.

"Answer it."

"Let me hear what kind of urgent, professional business an investor has with you in the middle of the night."

Sienna yanked the phone out of my hand.

She didn't use force, but she was fast.

Fast enough to show how terrified she was that I might actually answer it.

The call timed out.

Mike immediately tried to smooth things over. "It's business. You shouldn't poke your nose into things you don't understand."

I looked at him. "Mike, you seem to know so much. Did Xavier Vance teach you that?"

Mike's face stiffened.

Sienna lowered her voice, warning, "Leo, that's enough."

"Enough?"

I looked around the house, seeing all the things that belonged to Xavier Vance.

The crib, the perfume, Mike's ring.

Even the brand-new humidifier on the coffee table had Xavier Vance's name floating over it.

This house suddenly felt completely foreign to me.

The next morning, Sienna personally dismantled the crib.

She promised she would order a new one.

Mike stood nearby, muttering about how dramatic and troublesome I was.

I ignored him.

Just as the wooden boards were being moved to the door, a delivery courier arrived.

"Sienna? I have a local delivery from Mr. Vance."

The courier handed over a sleek, white gift box.

Floating above it were the words:

"Owner: Xavier Vance."

Sienna's expression shifted. "Give it to me."

But I tore the packaging open before she could reach it.

Inside was a set of baby silver bracelets.

If you didn't know where they came from, they would look like a very decent, elegant gift.

But engraved on the inside were two words:

Jonah.

My son's name.

I had never made his name public.

I looked up at Sienna. "How does he know our baby's name is Jonah?"

Mike quickly chimed in. "Sienna probably just mentioned it casually during business chats."

I stared at him. "Do you usually discuss your grandson's name with corporate investors, Mike?"

Mike shut his mouth.

Sienna reached for the box. "I'll handle this."

I didn't let go.

"Handle it how? By thanking him on my behalf? Telling him not to spend so much next time?"

Her forehead creased with deep frustration. "Do you have to be this sarcastic and bitter?"

Suddenly, I threw the silver bracelets onto the hardwood floor.

A sharp, metallic clang echoed through the room.

Mike roared, "Leo! You're out of your mind!"

The silver bracelets rolled to Sienna's feet.

She looked down at them but didn't pick them up.

I said coldly, "My son doesn't wear things bought by outsiders."

Sienna closed her eyes.

"Xavier Vance is not an outsider."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she froze.

The living room became dead silent.

I looked at her, my heart sinking inch by inch into a dark abyss.

"Not an outsider?"

She wanted to backpedal, but I didn't want to hear it anymore.

I turned, walked into the nursery, and scooped Jonah up into my arms.

Sienna blocked the doorway. "Where are you going?"

"Back to my parents' house."

She stepped closer to block me.

"The baby stays here."

I looked up, my eyes cold. "Say that again."

Her voice was tight and low. "He's too small. Traveling is bad for him."

I looked down at Jonah.

He was a tiny, soft bundle. There was no label hovering over him.

He didn't belong to anyone.

He was his own person.

But the new blanket wrapped around him had a glaring, painful line of text floating above it:

"Owner: Xavier Vance."

A wave of icy chills washed over me.

Xavier Vance's reach had already wrapped itself around my son.

That afternoon, while Mike was taking a nap, the nanny quietly slipped a business card into my hand.

"Leo, I shouldn't be saying this, but you need to be careful."

The card read:

Aura Haven Premium Maternity & Infant Care Center.

Managing Director: Xavier Vance.

My fingers clenched around the card so hard they turned white.

The nanny whispered, "I was sent here by that center. Sienna told me to only follow Mr. Vance's instructions."

I looked at her. "Do you know who I am?"

Her face flushed. "You... you are Sienna's husband."

"Then why don't you listen to me?"

She looked down, unable to meet my eyes.

"You weren't the one who signed the contract."

I let out a bitter laugh.

So in this house, I couldn't even get the nanny to listen to me.