The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 38

Chapter 35: The Truth Revealed-1

Caleb POV

I sat in that coffee shop for an hour after Bella left, staring at the cold coffee I’d never touched and replaying our conversation in my head. She was lying to me. I knew it with every fiber of my being.

That child wasn’t Maya’s son. That child was mine, was ours, was the baby I’d told her to abort years ago. I’d seen it in the way her hands had trembled when she’d said she “did what I told her to do,” in the way she’d accidentally called him Tom before catching herself, in the devastation on her face when she’d learned about Grandmother’s death and mentioned

great-grandchildren.

Bella had kept my son from me for years, and I couldn’t even blame her for it. I pulled out my phone and looked at the photo Jade had sent me again. The little boy with my grey eyes and Bella’s smile, holding her hand with complete trust. Tom. She’d named him Tom.

Not Thomas Black. Thomas Hart. My son carried her name, not mine, because I’d forfeited any right to claim him when I’d laughed at Bella’s pregnancy announcement.

I called my assistant James.”I need everything we have on any Maya close to Bella Hart. Full background check, employment history, family information. Specifically, I need to know if she has any children.”

“Sir, we already have that information from when we were tracking Bella’s movements. Dr. Maya doesn’t have any children. She’s single, lives alone, dedicates most of her time to her medical practice and volunteer work at the women’s shelter.”

My chest tightened with certainty. “Send me everything you have on her. Now.”

The files came through within minutes. I scrolled through Maya entire life history, social media accounts showing no children, tax records with no dependents, apartment lease for a one-bedroom unit. Every piece of evidence confirmed what I already knew.

Maya didn’t have a son. Which meant the boy in those photos was Bella’s. Which meant she’d lied to my face this morning. Which meant Tom was mine.

I sat back in my chair, the confirmation washing over me in waves. I had a son. A three-year-old boy who looked exactly like me, who Bella had raised alone, who I’d missed everything about because I’d been a fool.

Part of me wanted to storm to her house right now, demand to meet Tom, insist on my rights as his father. But the larger part, the part that had spent years learning to be better, knew that

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Chapter 35 The Truth Revealed-1

would only push Bella further away.

+25 Points

She’d lied to protect Tom. She’d looked me in the eye and said she’d aborted our baby because she was terrified of what I might do if I knew the truth. And given what I’d said years ago, given how I’d treated her, I couldn’t blame her for that fear.

I called Marcel, my head of security.”I need surveillance increased on Bella Hart and the child. But Marcel, this is critical – they can never know we’re watching. No direct contact, no attempts to get close. I just need to know they’re safe.”

“Understood, sir. May I ask why the heightened concern?”

“Because that child is my son,” I said quietly. “And his mother is lying to protect him from me. Which means I need to prove I’m not a threat before she’ll ever let me near him.”

There was a pause. “Sir, if he’s your son, you have legal rights. We could file for custody, demand paternity testing”

“No.” My voice was sharp. “We’re not doing that. Bella is his mother, she’s kept him safe and loved him for years while I did nothing. I’m not going to traumatize them both by forcing legal action. I’ll earn the right to be in Tom’s life, or I’ll accept that I don’t deserve to be.”

“That’s very… unlike you, sir.”

“I’m trying to be better than I was.” I rubbed my face tiredly. “Just keep them safe, Marcel. Especially from Jade. I don’t trust her not to escalate.”

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