“Can You Be The Father Of My Baby For One Day?” She Asked… And I Said, “Only If You Tell Me Why”
Chapter 2
Olivia lived in a small apartment in a neighborhood Daniel didn’t expect.
It wasn’t luxurious.
It wasn’t even particularly safe.
The building had chipped paint and a broken elevator.
Daniel parked across the street the next morning.
Sophie sat in the back seat, swinging her legs.
“Are we saving her?”
Daniel glanced at her in the rearview mirror.
“We’re helping her.”
“That’s what saving is.”
Daniel smiled.
“You watch too many movies.”
Olivia came outside ten minutes later.
She wore a simple navy dress and carried one small bag.
Nothing about her looked like a billionaire heiress.
She stopped beside the truck.
“Thank you.”
Daniel opened the passenger door.
“Get in.”
She hesitated.
Then smiled.
“You’re very serious.”
“That’s because this is serious.”
She sat.
Sophie leaned forward.
“What’s the baby’s name?”
Olivia touched her stomach.
“We haven’t decided.”
“You should name it something strong.”
Olivia smiled.
“What would you name it?”
Sophie thought.
“Hope.”
Olivia’s eyes filled with tears.
Daniel looked at his daughter.
“Sophie.”
“What?”
“You’re making her cry.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
Olivia wiped her cheek.
“No.”
She laughed softly.
“She didn’t.”
Daniel started driving.
For the first twenty minutes, nobody spoke.
Then he asked,
“What happened?”
Olivia looked out the window.
“My family owns Bennett Medical Systems.”
Daniel nodded.
He had heard of it.
“Your father is the CEO.”
“Yes.”
“And tomorrow?”
“My father is announcing my brother as his successor.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then where do you fit?”
“I don’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father cut me out two years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because I refused to marry the man he chose.”
Daniel glanced at her.
“Who?”
“Ethan Black.”
Daniel knew that name too.
A wealthy investor.
Powerful family.
A reputation for being charming in public and ruthless in private.
“He’s the baby’s father?”
“No.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Then who is?”
Olivia was quiet.
“He was my father’s chief legal adviser.”
“Was?”
“He disappeared.”
“When?”
“Two months after I learned I was pregnant.”
Daniel’s hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“Disappeared how?”
“No phone. No bank activity. No credit card use.”
“Police?”
“My father told me not to involve them.”
“Why?”
Olivia looked at him.
“Because my father said if I talked, I would lose everything.”
Daniel was silent.
“What makes you think your family can take your baby?”
Olivia reached into her bag.
She handed him a document.
A temporary guardianship agreement.
Daniel read it.
The document gave her father the right to seek custody if Olivia was deemed “unstable.”
He looked up.
“You’re not unstable.”
“I know.”
“Then why would they say that?”
“Because I refused to cooperate.”
“With what?”
She stared at her hands.
“My father wanted me to sign over my shares in the company.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does your baby have to do with that?”
Olivia’s voice dropped.
“My baby is the legal heir to my shares.”
Daniel stopped at a red light.
He looked at her.
“That’s why they’re interested.”
“Yes.”
“Not the baby.”
“The shares.”
Silence.
Daniel suddenly understood the request.
Tomorrow’s event wasn’t just a family gathering.
It was a succession ceremony.
If Olivia appeared as a single pregnant woman with no partner, her family could paint her as irresponsible.
But if she arrived with a stable, respectable man claiming to be the baby’s father—
she could fight back.
Daniel nodded slowly.
“That explains part of it.”
Olivia turned toward him.
“There is more.”
He looked at her.
“Your baby’s father?”
She nodded.
“He didn’t leave me.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“He was taken.”
The car suddenly felt too small.
“By whom?”
“I don’t know.”
“You think your family did it.”
“I don’t know.”
“But you suspect them.”
“Yes.”
Daniel stared at the road.
“How long have you believed that?”
“Two years.”
“And you kept quiet?”
“What choice did I have?”
Daniel looked at her.
“You could have told someone.”
“I did.”
“Who?”
She hesitated.
Then whispered,
“My father’s security chief.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“Marcus Shaw?”
Olivia nodded.
“He told me something the night he disappeared.”
“What?”
“He said my baby’s father left evidence hidden somewhere.”
“Where?”
Olivia touched her stomach.
“I don’t know.”
Daniel looked ahead.
Tomorrow’s family ceremony suddenly felt much more dangerous.
He had agreed to pretend for one day.
But he was beginning to suspect that one day might change all of their lives.
