Chapter 4

I called my father.

The moment the call connected, Mike barged into the room and snatched the phone right out of my hand.

"Are you trying to run to your daddy and complain again?"

I stood up. "Give me my phone back."

Mike hid the phone behind his back. "Even if the kid has your last name, he is still a part of our family. You can't just run off to your parents' place every time you throw a tantrum."

I reached out to grab it.

He stepped back aggressively.

I was a grown man, but he was an elder, so I couldn't use brute force. In the scuffle, my foot caught on something. I tripped and slammed hard into the bedframe. The sharp pain made my vision go black for a second.

Jonah woke up from the impact, and his loud, startled cries instantly filled the room.

Sienna walked through the front door just in time to see me clutching the bedframe in pain, while Mike held my phone.

Her expression changed. "Mike! What are you doing?"

Mike immediately played the victim. "What did I do? He wanted to take the baby away, and I was just trying to stop him! Is that a crime now?"

Sienna walked over to support me. "Where did you get hurt?"

I shoved her hand away.

"Give me my phone."

She took it from Mike but didn't hand it over to me right away.

"Leo, we need to talk."

I stared at her. "Talk about Xavier Vance?"

Her face darkened. "Do you have to drag him into literally everything?"

"Am I the one dragging him in?"

I pointed toward the nursery, my voice shaking with rage.

"The crib is his. The blanket is his. The nanny is his. The ring on your father's finger is his. Even you belong to him!"

"Sienna, tell me. What else in this house doesn't belong to him?"

A flash of panic finally crossed her eyes.

It wasn't out of guilt.

It was because I had hit the nail right on the head.

That night, she was on the phone in her study.

The door wasn't fully closed.

Holding Jonah, I stood in the hallway and heard her lowered, hushed voice. "Keep the evaluation report on hold. Don't let him find out."

I couldn't hear what the person on the other end was saying.

Sienna interrupted irritably, "Xavier, don't push me."

"I told you, I will handle the baby's situation."

My entire body went rigid.

Jonah shifted in my arms, and I instinctively covered his ears.

In the study, she spoke again. "The guardianship agreement is just a backup plan. I don't actually plan on executing it."

Backup plan.

Those words felt like a needle stabbing straight into my throat.

I took a step back, and my heel bumped against a storage bin.

The study door swung open instantly.

Sienna stood in the doorway, her face turning pale in a second.

I stared at her.

"What evaluation report?"

"And who is the baby you're planning to 'handle'?"

She took a step toward me. "Leo, it's not what you think."

I backed away.

"Then what is it?"

Her jaw clenched. "The company is facing a massive crisis. Xavier invested a lot of money to save it. He is a control freak; he likes to arrange everything in advance."

"And?"

"I never wanted to hurt you."

I burst out laughing.

"You guys are doing a psychological evaluation on me. A stay-at-home dad taking care of our baby. You are secretly evaluating me. You placed a spy nanny to watch my every move, and you are preparing a guardianship transfer agreement."

"Sienna, and you have the audacity to call that 'not wanting to hurt me'?"

Her face was white as a sheet.

At 3:00 AM, while she was deep asleep, I quietly took the keys from her coat pocket.

I unlocked the safe. Inside, there was only a single manila envelope.

Floating over the envelope were the words:

"Owner: Xavier Vance."

I tore it open.

The first document was an equity pledge agreement.

The second was a personal loan contract.

The title of the third document made my blood boil.

Pre-Divorce Child Custody and Settlement Plan.

The clauses were written with absolute precision.

After the divorce, our son Jonah would be placed in the sole custody of his mother, Sienna.

Leo is suffering from emotional instability and is deemed unfit to care for an infant independently.

And at the very bottom, there was a handwritten note.

As the sole sponsor of Jonah's growth trust fund, Mr. Xavier Vance reserves the right to participate in the child's education, healthcare, and lifestyle arrangements.

My fingers trembled so violently I could barely hold the paper.

He didn't just want Sienna.

He wanted my son.