C6 Chapter 6: A father's right

Alexander Hayes had never been a man who waited for answers.

He bought companies before his competitors knew they were for sale. He negotiated deals while other men were still deciding whether to enter the room. And when he wanted something, he found a way to get it.

Yet one question had haunted him for five years.

Why had Elizabeth Carter disappeared?

And why did her little girl have his eyes?

He stood beside the floor-to-ceiling windows of his Manhattan office, phone pressed against his ear.

“I need the name of Grace Carter’s school,” he told his assistant.

There was a brief silence.

“Sir, may I ask why?”

“No.”

“Of course, sir.”

Alexander ended the call and stared at the city below.

He knew he was crossing a line. Elizabeth had made it painfully clear that she wanted him away from her daughter.

But if Grace was his child, he couldn't simply pretend she didn't exist.

Not anymore.

---

At ten thirty that morning, a black Mercedes pulled up outside a private elementary school on the Upper East Side.

Alexander stepped out, adjusting his jacket.

He had informed no one of his destination. Not his assistant, not his family, and certainly not Elizabeth.

The school administrator greeted him with polite uncertainty.

“Mr. Hayes? We weren't expecting you.”

“I understand. I'm here to ask about Grace Carter.”

The woman's expression changed slightly.

“Grace?”

“Yes. I'd like to know a little about her.”

“I'm afraid we can't release a student's private information without authorization from her parent or legal guardian.”

Alexander respected the answer, even if it frustrated him.

“I'm not asking for her records. I only want to see her.”

“Is there a reason her mother hasn't arranged a visit?”

The question landed harder than he expected.

Because he didn't have an answer.

Not one he could prove, anyway.

Before he could respond, a burst of laughter came from the playground.

Alexander turned.

A group of children hurried across the yard, chasing a red ball. Among them was a little girl wearing a yellow cardigan, her dark curls bouncing as she ran.

Grace.

He recognized her immediately.

She stumbled, caught herself, and laughed when another child offered her a hand.

Something tightened in Alexander's chest.

He had attended countless charity galas for children. He had donated millions to hospitals and schools. He had listened to executives talk about family values while signing contracts worth more than most people would earn in a lifetime.

But standing outside that playground, watching one little girl laugh, he felt strangely powerless.

Grace looked up.

Their eyes met through the fence.

For a moment, she simply stared at him.

Then her face brightened with recognition.

“Daddy's friend!”

Alexander froze.

A teacher approached her. “Grace, do you know that man?”

Grace shook her head.

“No, but he looks like somebody who should be my daddy.”

Alexander forgot how to breathe.

The teacher gently guided Grace back toward the other children, unaware that her innocent words had just shattered the last of his doubts.

He wasn't leaving without answers.

But he wouldn't frighten the little girl to get them.

Not today.

---

Elizabeth was reviewing fabric samples in her small design studio when her phone rang.

It was Grace's school.

Her stomach tightened.

“Hello? Is Grace okay?”

“She's perfectly fine, Mrs. Carter,” the administrator assured her. “However, a gentleman came by this morning asking about Grace. He identified himself as Alexander Hayes.”

The fabric samples slipped from Elizabeth's fingers.

“He did what?”

“He asked to see her. We didn't release any information, but Grace saw him through the playground fence.”

Elizabeth closed her eyes.

Five years.

Five years of careful decisions, sleepless nights, and quiet prayers that the past would stay where she had buried it.

And now Alexander had found his way to Grace's school.

“What did Grace say to him?”

“She called him her daddy's friend. Then she said he looked like somebody who should be her father.”

Elizabeth's heart lurched.

Of course she had said that.

Grace asked questions about her father more often these days. Elizabeth had answered as honestly as she could without revealing the truth.

But children noticed things adults wished they wouldn't.

“Thank you for telling me,” Elizabeth managed.

She ended the call and gripped the edge of her desk.

Alexander was getting too close.

She had known this day might come, but knowing something was possible didn't make it easier when it happened.

Her daughter was her entire world.

And Alexander Hayes had the power to turn that world upside down.

---

That evening, Elizabeth arrived home earlier than usual.

Grace was sitting on the living-room rug, arranging her stuffed animals in a neat row.

“Mummy!” she exclaimed. “Guess what happened at school!”

Elizabeth forced a smile as she set down her handbag.

“What happened, sweetheart?”

“I saw a man who looked like the pictures of Daddy in my storybook.”

Elizabeth's fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.

“Did you?”

Grace nodded enthusiastically.

“He was tall, and he had nice hair. He looked serious, but I think he might be funny if he smiled more.”

Despite her anxiety, Elizabeth almost laughed.

“That sounds like quite a description.”

“Do you think he knows my daddy?”

Elizabeth lowered herself onto the rug beside her daughter.

“Why do you ask, sweetheart?”

“Because he looked at me like he knew me.”

The words struck somewhere deep.

Grace picked up a small stuffed rabbit and held it against her chest.

“Sometimes I wish Daddy would come to one of my school events. All the other children have someone cheering for them.”

Elizabeth's throat tightened.

She wanted to promise that everything would be fine. She wanted to tell Grace that her father loved her, even if he didn't know she existed.

But she couldn't make promises on Alexander's behalf.

So she kissed Grace's forehead.

“You have me, sweetheart. And I will always be there cheering for you.”

Grace smiled, but a little disappointment remained in her eyes.

Elizabeth held her daughter close, silently making a decision.

She had to speak to Alexander before he came any closer.

---

Alexander was reviewing a financial report when the receptionist announced that Elizabeth Carter had arrived.

He looked up sharply.

“Send her in.”

The door opened seconds later.

Elizabeth walked into his office with her shoulders squared and anger burning in her eyes.

“You went to my daughter's school.”

Alexander stood.

“I did.”

“You had no right.”

“I didn't ask for her records. I didn't approach her.”

“But you went there without telling me!”

“Because every time I try to get an answer from you, you shut me out.”

“Perhaps you should ask yourself why.”

His jaw tightened.

“I have been asking myself that question for five years, Elizabeth.”

“And I have spent five years trying to build a life for my daughter without you interfering!”

“Your daughter?”

The words escaped him before he could stop them.

Elizabeth went still.

Alexander watched her face carefully.

“Why did you say it like that?” she demanded.

“Because I want to know who her father is.”

“You have no claim to Grace.”

“Then look me in the eye and tell me she isn't mine.”

Silence filled the office.

Elizabeth stared at him.

She could lie. She had lied by omission for five years, telling herself it was the only way to protect Grace.

But standing before Alexander now, she understood how much harder the truth would become to hide.

“Stay away from my daughter,” she whispered.

Alexander's expression hardened.

“Give me one good reason why I should.”

“Because you don't know what your family is capable of.”

For the first time, his anger faltered.

“What does my family have to do with Grace?”

Elizabeth immediately regretted the words.

Alexander stepped closer.

“Elizabeth, what happened five years ago?”

She shook her head.

“You wouldn't believe me.”

“Try me.”

Her eyes shone, but she refused to let the tears fall.

“You think the worst thing I ever did was leave you. You think I took something from you because I didn't love you enough to stay.”

“Didn't you?”

“No, Alexander.” Her voice trembled. “I left because staying would have destroyed us both.”

He stared at her, searching for the woman he had once known.

“And Grace?”

Elizabeth swallowed.

“She deserves a peaceful life. That's all you need to understand.”

“She's five years old, Elizabeth. If she's my daughter, I deserve to know.”

“And what happens when you know?” she asked. “Will you take her into your world? Will your family welcome her? Will you protect her when she becomes an inconvenience?”

Alexander had no immediate answer.

Elizabeth gave a bitter laugh.

“Exactly.”

She turned toward the door.

“Elizabeth.”

She stopped but didn't look back.

“I won't hurt Grace.”

“You don't know that.”

Then she walked out.

Alexander remained motionless long after the door closed.

For the first time, he wondered whether the truth he wanted so desperately might be connected to something far more dangerous than a broken relationship.

---

Across the city, Richard Hayes stood in his penthouse, listening to a phone call.

“You're certain Alexander visited the school?”

“Absolutely,” the voice replied. “And Elizabeth confronted him afterward.”

Richard slowly swirled the drink in his glass.

“So the secret is finally beginning to unravel.”

His mother, Victoria, entered the room.

“What happened?”

“Alexander is investigating the little girl.”

Victoria's expression sharpened.

“Then we have less time than I thought.”

Richard smiled without humor.

“Perhaps it's time we reminded Elizabeth what happens when she refuses to cooperate.”

Victoria approached the window.

“Be careful. If Alexander discovers what we did five years ago, he won't forgive either of us.”

Richard set his glass down.

“Then we make sure he discovers the truth on our terms.”

He reached into his desk drawer and removed an old photograph.

It showed Alexander and Elizabeth together, smiling as if the world belonged to them.

On the back, someone had written a date.

Five years ago.

Richard stared at it for a long moment before slipping it into an envelope.

“Let the game begin,” he murmured.

And somewhere across Manhattan, Elizabeth received a message from an unknown number.

You should have kept your daughter away from the Hayes family. Now it's too late.