(Daniel's POV)
Daniel didn't breathe.
He forgot how.
The file sat open in front of him, the words too clear, too sharp like they were carved into his skull instead of printed on paper.
Lily Carter.
Age: 5.
Diagnosis: rare genetic blood disorder.
Recommendation: immediate donor match parental.
Parental.
His jaw tightened.
That word didn't just sit there.
It pointed at him.
Claimed him.
His fingers curled slowly against the desk as something heavy settled in his chest.
"She didn't tell me…" he said under his breath.
Of course she didn't.
Why would she?
He leaned back in his chair, staring at nothing, but all he could see was Evelyn.
Not the woman she had become.
The girl she used to be.
Soft eyes. Stubborn mouth. The kind of quiet strength that didn't need attention to exist.
The kind that made him stay.
The kind that made leaving feel like tearing something out of himself.
His chest tightened.
"She was pregnant…"
The words sounded wrong out loud.
Unfamiliar.
But the more he thought about it
The more everything started to connect.
The night he left.
The way she had held onto him.
The way her voice had trembled, like she was trying to say something but didn't know how.
His jaw clenched.
"Damn it."
He pushed up from the chair and started pacing, restless energy crawling under his skin.
He had spent years watching her from a distance.
Making sure she was safe.
Making sure no one touched her.
Making sure the past stayed buried.
But this
This wasn't something he could watch from afar.
A child.
His child.
And she had carried that alone.
Raised her alone.
While he
His steps slowed.
While he stayed away.
"Protected her," he corrected himself quietly.
That was the excuse.
The reason he told himself over and over again.
That leaving was necessary.
That disappearing was the only way to keep her alive.
Because his world
His family
Didn't forgive weaknesses.
And Evelyn?
She had been his biggest one.
His chest tightened harder.
But now
Now it didn't feel like protection.
It felt like abandonment.
And that truth sat heavier than anything else.
He stopped pacing, gripping the edge of the desk.
"She needed me," he muttered.
And he wasn't there.
Not when she found out she was pregnant.
Not when she went through it alone.
Not when she gave birth.
Not when his daughter
His throat tightened.
His daughter.
The word felt strange.
But it also felt right.
Too right.
Like something that had always belonged to him, even if he didn't know it yet.
He shut his eyes.
And just like that
The memory came back.
Evelyn stood in the doorway, her hair a little messy, her expression soft in a way she never showed anyone else.
"You're late," she said.
He smirked, stepping inside. "Missed me?"
She rolled her eyes. "I don't miss you. I just don't like waiting."
He stepped closer without thinking.
"You're a bad liar."
"I'm not lying."
"Yeah?" he murmured, his hand brushing her arm lightly. "Then why do you look at me like that?"
She didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
Because the way her eyes dropped to his lips said everything.
The space between them shifted.
Thick.
Heavy.
His hand slid up slightly, resting at her waist.
Her breath hitched.
"Daniel…" she whispered.
The way she said his name
Soft.
Careful.
Like it mattered.
Like he mattered.
He leaned in slowly.
Not rushing.
Never rushing with her.
Because moments like this?
They stayed.
Her hand came up to his chest, fingers curling into his shirt like she needed something to hold onto.
Their breaths mixed.
Close.
Too close.
He was just about to kiss her
Daniel's eyes snapped open.
The memory cut off.
Sharp.
Incomplete.
Just like everything else.
He exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair.
"That's not the one I should be remembering," he muttered.
But it was the one that stayed.
Because it was simple.
Before everything went wrong.
Before the lies.
Before the night that changed everything.
Before he had to leave.
His chest tightened again.
And then
Another image came.
Uninvited.
Unstoppable.
Evelyn.
But different.
Sitting on a hospital bed.
Tired.
Pale.
But holding something small.
Fragile.
A baby.
His breath caught.
He hadn't been there.
But he could see it anyway.
Too clearly.
The way she would have looked down at the child.
The way her expression would have softened.
The way her fingers would have brushed over tiny cheeks with so much care it almost hurt to imagine.
"Hey…" she would have whispered.
"I've got you."
His chest tightened painfully.
Because that moment
That moment should have been his too.
But it wasn't.
Because he wasn't there.
Because he left.
Because he had no choice.
His jaw clenched.
"I didn't choose that," he said under his breath.
It had been forced.
Every bit of it.
The threats.
The pressure.
The warning that loving her made her a target.
And targets?
Didn't survive.
"I kept you safe," he muttered.
But the words didn't feel strong anymore.
Not now.
Not after this.
Not after Lily.
He turned back to the desk, staring at the file again.
Lily Carter.
His daughter.
Sick.
Needing him.
And she didn't even know he existed.
Something inside him shifted.
Quiet.
But final.
"That changes now."
His voice was low.
Certain.
Because there was no version of this where he stayed away anymore.
Not when her life was on the line.
Not when Evelyn
His gaze dropped slightly.
She wouldn't ask.
He knew that.
Knew her pride.
Knew her anger.
Knew the way she would rather struggle alone than come to him.
And that?
That was his fault too.
"Of course she won't call," he said.
Which meant
He had to go to her.
But not like this.
Not suddenly.
Not recklessly.
Because the moment he stepped back into her life
Everything would explode.
And not just between them.
For everyone watching.
For everyone waiting.
For everyone who would use her
Use Lily
To get to him.
His expression hardened.
"Not this time."
He had spent years keeping her safe from a distance.
Even if it meant staying away.
But now?
Distance wasn't protection anymore.
It was a risk.
He had already seen it.
The way someone had been watching her.
Following her.
Too careful to be random.
Too patient to be harmless.
His fingers tapped lightly against the desk.
Thinking.
Planning.
Because he couldn't just show up and say
I never left. I never stopped loving you. And that child you raised alone? She's mine.
Yeah.
That would go badly.
A quiet breath left him.
"She'd shut me out."
And she'd have every right to.
So no.
He needed a way in.
A reason she couldn't ignore.
Something controlled.
Something careful.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"There's always a way."
There had to be.
Because walking away again?
Was not an option.
Not anymore.
He picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts.
Stopped.
Then called.
It rang once.
Twice.
Then
"Yeah?" a voice answered.
"I need information," Daniel said calmly.
A pause. "That doesn't sound good."
"It's not."
Another pause.
Then, "Who?"
Daniel's gaze dropped back to the file.
To her name.
To his daughter.
"Evelyn Carter," he said.
"And the child with her."
Silence.
Then
"You're getting involved."
It wasn't a question.
Daniel's expression didn't change.
"I already am."
A slow exhale came through the line. "You know what that means."
Yeah.
He did.
It meant attention.
Enemies.
Danger.
It meant dragging them into a world he had tried to keep them away from.
But that world was already closing in.
And he wasn't going to stand back and watch.
"Just get me everything," Daniel said quietly.
"No mistakes."
Another pause.
Then
"Alright."
The line went dead.
Daniel lowered the phone slowly.
The room felt different now.
Heavier.
Like something had shifted.
And maybe it had.
Because this
This was the moment everything changed.
He walked toward the window, looking out into the dark.
Somewhere out there
She was awake.
Thinking.
Fighting herself.
Trying to decide whether to reach out to him.
His jaw tightened slightly.
"You don't have to," he murmured.
Because he was coming to her.
Carefully.
Quietly.
But he was coming.
His gaze darkened.
"And this time…"
He didn't look away.
"I'm not leaving."
Across the street from Evelyn's house
A shadow shifted.
Still watching.
Still waiting.
And now
Not the only one.