I turn and see Sabrina walking toward me in a crisp two-piece suit, a professional smile plastered perfectly in place. I know it’s her. I remember her from the video call where she confirmed the meeting with Anna.
“Ms. Sabrina,” I greet as she stops in front of me.
“How lovely to see you,” she says, surprised, though her polished smile never slips.
I give a slight nod.
“The interview you gave was absolutely perfect,” she adds, her smile softening. “Why don’t you come into my office for a coffee and tell me how I can help you?”
“Save the coffee.” A faint smile touches my mouth, never reaching my eyes, as the words slide off my tongue. “I was thinking another interview might be in order. Something more in depth. Is Anna available?”
“Ah, unfortunately, Anna is on leave for two days.”
My brow furrows. “Leave?”
“Yes,” she replies, her voice tinged with polite regret. “But I can assign another journalist to continue the piece.”
“No.” I cross my arms over my chest, my stance unwavering. “It’ll be Anna. Or no one.”
Something flickers across her face. Curiosity, or maybe suspicion, but she doesn’t question me. Instead, almost toocasually, she says, “I’m afraid, Mr. Hayes, I won’t be able to call Anna. She’s on emergency leave.”
My jaw tightens, the muscles ticking with tension. “What the hell happened to her?”
“She’s fine,” Sabrina answers carefully. Then, after the briefest pause, she adds, “It’s her daughter. She’s admitted to the hospital.”
For a split second, the word around me tilts. I don’t breathe, my pulse hammering against my ribs.
Anna has a daughter.
Blood roars in my ears as a train of thoughts crashes through my mind… fear, disbelief, questions, all colliding at once.
“Daughter?” The word grinds out of me, my jaw clenched so tightly the ache shoots up my cheek. Sabrina blinks, taken aback by the look on my face.
“Yes,” she replies slowly, cautious now, as though weighing every word.
My fists ball at my sides, every muscle coiling, ready to snap at anything within reach. My Anna. My wife. My ex-wife, I remind myself bitterly, the word tasting like poison on my tongue.She has a child. With another man?
Rage and jealousy hit me so sharp I can almost taste blood.
But then, suddenly like a lifeline thrown in the dark, her words from that night slam back into me.She hadn’t been with anyone since the divorce.
Dragging in a deep breath, I shove the fury down and lock it behind a wall of ice as I inquire slowly, “How old is her daughter?”
Sabrina hesitates only a moment. “She turned two this spring.”
Two.I quickly do the math.
Everything inside me stills, like the world has paused just long enough for the truth to sink in. My pulse roaring in my ears.It’s mine. I have a daughter.
I can feel it deep in my bones, every heartbeat, every breath echoing the truth I never anticipated but now can’t ignore.
“Mr. Hayes, are you okay?” Sabrina’s voice cuts in, careful.
I nod once, though my jaw feels carved from stone. “Which hospital?”
“City Center Hospital.”
“Thanks,” I bite out, already heading toward the door.
