The private elevator doors slid open with a soft, expensive chime, revealing the sprawling expanse of Alexander Sterling's penthouse.
It was less of a home and more of a fortress in the sky. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows offered a dizzying, panoramic view of the city's skyline, the city that Alexander practically owned. The interior was sleek, cold, and minimalist—black marble, dark leather, and brushed steel. It was the exact architectural embodiment of the man himself.
Evelyn stepped out of the elevator, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor. She kept a protective grip on Leo's shoulder, her posture rigidly defensive.
Alexander walked past them, unbuttoning his suit jacket and tossing it casually over a leather armchair. He rolled up the crisp white sleeves of his dress shirt, exposing heavily corded forearms. The predatory grace in his movements made Evelyn's breath hitch entirely against her will.
"Make yourselves comfortable," Alexander said, his voice a low, commanding rumble. He didn't look at them as he walked toward a sleek wet bar to pour himself a glass of scotch. "You're going to be here for a while."
"We are not staying, Mr. Sterling," Evelyn stated, her voice sharp. "I agreed to come up here to avoid a public spectacle in the lobby. Not to become your prisoners."
Alexander paused. He turned around, the crystal glass in his hand catching the dim light. He took a slow sip, his ice-blue eyes locking onto hers. "You are staying, Evelyn. Because Dr. Harris is already here."
As if on cue, a man in a crisp white coat stepped out from the hallway, holding a sterile silver medical case.
Evelyn instantly stepped in front of Leo, her maternal instincts flaring into overdrive. "No. Absolutely not. You are not touching my son with a needle."
"It's a simple buccal swab, Miss Vance," Dr. Harris said gently, though he looked visibly intimidated by the freezing glare Alexander was giving the back of his head. "Just a Q-tip on the inside of the cheek. Completely painless."
"It's not about the pain, it's about the legality!" Evelyn snapped, her eyes blazing as she glared at Alexander. "You cannot forcefully extract his genetic material without a court order!"
Alexander set his glass down on the marble counter with a sharp clack. He closed the distance between them in seconds, his towering frame casting a dark shadow over her.
"I don't need a court order, Evelyn," Alexander whispered, his voice dangerously soft, meant only for her. "I have a multi-million dollar cyber-terrorism case resting in the palm of my hand. I can have federal agents dismantle his little custom-built motherboard piece by piece. Is that what you want for him?"
Evelyn's jaw clenched. She hated how completely trapped she was. She hated the scent of cedar and rain enveloping her. But most of all, she hated that he was right.
Before she could formulate a counterattack, a small hand gently pushed past her leg.
Leo stepped forward, clutching his laptop to his chest. He looked up at Dr. Harris, then at Alexander, his expression completely stoic.
"I consent to the buccal swab," Leo announced calmly.
Evelyn gasped. "Leo, no—"
"However," Leo interrupted, raising one tiny finger to silence the room. "Genomic data is the ultimate unique identifier. It is infinitely more sensitive than financial records. I require a legally binding Non-Disclosure Agreement before extraction."
Dr. Harris blinked, looking at the five-year-old as if he had grown a second head. "A... an NDA?"
"Furthermore," Leo continued, pushing his glasses up his nose, "I will not allow my raw DNA sequence to be stored in your clinic's database if you are using outdated encryption. If your lab's backend retrieval system doesn't operate on an $O(1)$ time complexity using secure hash maps, and if your data isn't encrypted at rest using AES-256, my biological identity could be compromised by a third-party breach."
The penthouse fell into a stunned, absolute silence.
Alexander stared at the boy. The sheer audacity. The terrifying, flawless logic. He wasn't crying, he wasn't hiding behind his mother—he was negotiating database security protocols before taking a paternity test.
A low, dark chuckle suddenly vibrated in Alexander's chest. The sound was foreign to the cold penthouse.
"Give him the NDA, Doctor," Alexander ordered, a dangerous smirk playing on his lips. "And grant him temporary read-only access to your lab's server. Let the boy audit your security architecture."
Dr. Harris looked completely bewildered, but he didn't dare argue with Alexander Sterling. He pulled out a sterile swab. Leo opened his mouth cooperatively, his eyes never leaving Alexander's.
Once the sample was secured in a vial, Alexander dismissed the doctor with a flick of his wrist.
The heavy penthouse doors sealed shut, the locking mechanism engaging with a heavy, final thud.
Leo immediately walked over to the massive glass coffee table, sat cross-legged on the expensive rug, and flipped his laptop open. "I will be compiling the server audit now, Mommy. Do not disturb me for twelve minutes."
Alexander slowly turned his attention back to Evelyn. The amusement vanished from his eyes, replaced by a dark, suffocating intensity.
They were finally alone.
He took a slow step toward her. Evelyn backed up until her spine hit the cold glass of the floor-to-ceiling window. There was nowhere left to run. Alexander placed both hands on the glass on either side of her head, caging her in completely against the backdrop of the glittering city.
"Now," Alexander murmured, his gaze dropping to her trembling lips before meeting her terrified eyes. "Tell me exactly why you vanished from my bed five years ago."