[Elena's POV]

Caleb drove the armored sedan with terrifying, silent speed.

I sat in the back, watching the Manhattan skyline blur into a dark, rain-slicked smear.

The heavy document folder rested on my lap. The City Hall paternity acknowledgment.

I had read the thick parchment four times during the ride. I kept tracing the specific clause at the bottom, the one reclassifying any threat to my child as an act of high treason against the Velgrave.

The iron gates of the Marlowe estate opened ...