Chapter 4 - THE LETTER MY HUSBAND NEVER WROTE
Nicholas Cross stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets.
He looked almost amused.
"Well," he said, glancing at the photograph, "I suppose there's no point pretending anymore."
Gabriel crossed the room.
"Start talking."
Nicholas glanced toward the children.
"Lower your voice. You'll frighten them."
That stopped Gabriel.
For all his faults, Nicholas knew exactly where to press.
Gabriel stepped back.
"Then speak quietly."
Nicholas entered the lounge and closed the door.
At fifty-one, he was seven years older than Gabriel, with the same broad shoulders and sharp features.
But where Gabriel intimidated people through silence, Nicholas preferred charm.
He could make a threat sound like a favor.
"Claire," he said warmly. "You look well."
I stared at him.
"You knew about my pregnancy."
"Yes."
"And my sons?"
"Yes."
"For five years?"
His smile disappeared.
"Yes."
I felt as though something inside me had snapped.
"You came to my mother's funeral."
Nicholas lowered his eyes.
"I remember."
"You hugged me. You told me Gabriel would have been there if things had been different."
"Claire—"
"You saw my children standing beside her coffin."
He said nothing.
"You knew those boys were his, and you let them believe their father didn't want them."
Nicholas finally looked uncomfortable.
"I was trying to prevent a much worse situation."
Gabriel moved toward him.
"What situation?"
"Your enemies, Gabriel. The people who would use children to reach you."
"Then you should have told me."
Nicholas gave a bitter laugh.
"You were drowning in business problems. You'd just destroyed your marriage. You were drinking too much and threatening half the city."
Gabriel didn't deny it.
"And you think that justified stealing five years from me?"
"I think it kept three little boys alive."
I stepped between them.
"Don't use my children to defend yourself."
Nicholas looked at me.
"I paid for Mateo's emergency treatment."
"And I'm grateful somebody helped him. But I never asked you to hide him from his father."
"I didn't believe Gabriel could protect them."
"That wasn't your decision."
For a moment, Nicholas's expression hardened.
Then he glanced at the folder.
"You shouldn't have opened that file, Miriam."
The older woman lifted her chin.
"I have a responsibility to the families this foundation serves."
"You have a responsibility to its board."
"Those responsibilities aren't mutually exclusive."
Nicholas smiled thinly.
"Careful."
Something about that single word made me understand why Miriam had hesitated earlier.
She wasn't just worried about paperwork.
She was afraid of him.
Gabriel noticed, too.
"Nicholas, did you threaten her?"
"Don't be dramatic."
"Answer."
Nicholas spread his hands.
"I reminded her that confidentiality matters."
Serena suddenly spoke.
"Gabriel, please. Nicholas wasn't the only person involved."
Everyone turned.
She looked at me, then at the children.
"I knew Claire was pregnant. I knew there were three babies. But Nicholas told me he'd explained everything to you."
Gabriel stared at her.
"You told me Claire had left the country."
"I was told she'd requested privacy."
"By Nicholas?"
She nodded.
"Then why didn't you ask me?"
Serena's eyes filled.
"Because I didn't want you going back to her."
The honesty surprised me.
There it was.
Not a misunderstanding.
Not a noble sacrifice.
Jealousy.
A woman who had helped destroy my marriage admitting she had been terrified I might reclaim what she'd taken.
Gabriel looked away.
For the first time, Serena's tears seemed to have no effect on him.
I reached into my purse again.
There was something else I'd carried for five years.
A folded letter on expensive cream stationery.
The Cross family crest was embossed at the top.
I handed it to Gabriel.
"I received this six weeks before the boys were born."
He read silently.
His expression changed with every line.
Your attempts to contact Mr. Cross have become disruptive.
Mr. Cross has no interest in assuming responsibility for any children resulting from your previous marriage.
Further communication will be treated as harassment.
The letter concluded with instructions to stay away from all Cross-owned properties.
Gabriel looked up.
"I never wrote this."
"I know that now."
His eyes shone.
"Claire, I would never have said I didn't want my own children."
"You said you didn't want your wife anymore. It wasn't difficult to believe the rest."
The words landed between us.
Gabriel lowered the letter.
He didn't defend himself.
He couldn't.
Nicholas cleared his throat.
"That correspondence came from the family legal office. At the time, there were concerns about Claire's intentions."
"What intentions?" Gabriel asked.
Nicholas hesitated.
"Financial claims. Public exposure. Possible custody disputes."
"I hadn't even given birth," I said.
"There were rumors."
"Rumors you invented?"
He didn't answer.
Julian approached carrying his drawing.
"Mommy?"
I knelt.
"Yes, baby?"
He held up a lighthouse surrounded by three little boats.
"This one's Leo. This one's me. This one's Mateo."
"And who's in the lighthouse?"
Julian pointed to a small stick figure.
"You."
My throat tightened.
Gabriel crouched beside us, keeping a respectful distance.
"That's a nice picture."
Julian studied him.
"Do you have a house?"
Gabriel blinked.
"Yes."
"Does it have a lighthouse?"
"No."
"Then how do you find your way home?"
Gabriel looked at me.
For a terrible moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he answered.
"I guess I haven't been very good at that."
Julian nodded solemnly.
"You need a light."
I hugged my son.
When he returned to his brothers, Gabriel remained on one knee.
I remembered another evening, seven years earlier.
Our wedding anniversary.
He'd given me an antique silver pocket watch that had belonged to his father.
Engraved inside were the words:
Always find your way home.
I'd returned it with my wedding ring when we divorced.
I wondered whether Gabriel still had it.
Miriam quietly approached.
"There's something else you both need to know."
Nicholas's eyes narrowed.
"Miriam."
She ignored him.
"Three days ago, the foundation received a request for certified financial records concerning the Cross family trust. Nicholas instructed my department to prepare supporting material."
Gabriel stood.
"Why?"
Miriam looked toward Nicholas.
"Because the trust requires a review when previously undisclosed direct descendants are formally identified."
Nicholas's jaw tightened.
"Our father's estate arrangements are complicated."
Gabriel stared at him.
"Then why keep my children secret?"
"Because you've never understood what it takes to keep this family standing."
Before Gabriel could answer, Noah appeared in the doorway.
He carried a sealed court envelope.
"Boss. This was delivered to your office an hour ago. Your assistant brought it over when she heard about the gala."
Gabriel opened it.
I watched his face change.
"What is it?" I asked.
He handed me the papers.
They concerned Leo, Julian, and Mateo.
An emergency family court petition had been filed that afternoon.
It alleged that I was an unfit mother.
It requested immediate temporary custody of all three boys.
And at the bottom of the application was the name of the petitioner.
Gabriel Alexander Cross.
My hands began trembling.
I looked at the man I'd once loved.
"You're trying to take my sons?"
Gabriel stared at the signature.
May you like
Then he lifted his eyes toward Nicholas.
"That's not my handwriting."
