A little boy smiled back at me—dark curly hair, gap-toothed grin, tiny hands gripping playground swing chains.
"Your son?" The question came out harsher than I intended.
Her silence was confirmation.
I studied the photo more carefully. Isla's smile, her full lips. But his eyes…
My eyes. My jawline in miniature. The same dark hair I'd had as a child. Even the shape of his ears—a Barone trait.
My son.
Ice flooded my veins, followed by white-hot rage.
"How old is he?" My voice came out lethal, controlled.
"Cassian—"
"How. Old."
"Almost three." She whispered it like a confession. "He turns three in July."
July. Conceived—October, almost three years ago. Miami. The petroleum conference.
I'd known she was Celia since the elevator. I'd been investigating her, testing her, waiting to see her angle.
But this? A child?
This I hadn't seen coming.
"His name?" I managed to ask, my grip on the framewhite-knuckled.
"Leo." Her voice trembled. "Leonardo Quinn."
I set the frame down carefully.
"When were you going to tell me?" I asked quietly, dangerously. "About my son."
"Cassian, I can explain—"
"Can you?” My laugh was bitter. "I've been waiting weeks for you to admit who you really are. Celia from Miami. The woman who deliberately sought out a job with me."
I picked up the photo again. "I was patient. Gathering evidence. Waiting for you to come clean."
I set it down hard enough that it rattled. "But this? A child? You weren't planning to tell me at all, were you?"
Confusion flickered across her face. "Weeks?" You've known for weeks?"
"I recognized you the first day. In the elevator. Your perfume. The scent I'd been trying to forget for three years."
All color drained from her face. "You—you knew? This whole time?"
"I had suspicions immediately. Had Marco confirm you were at The Palms Resort the same weekend I was." I moved closer. "I've been investigating you for weeks."
"And you said nothing?" Her voice rose, anger cutting through the fear. "You let me—you slept with me again, knowing—"
"Don't turn this around on me. I'm not the one who's been hiding a child."
"Because I didn't know who you were!" The words burst out of her.
