Chapter 2 - The Predator’s SmileThe silence in the hallway was so absolute you could hear the distant hum of the hospital’s central air conditioning.
Derek Morrison looked like he had just seen a ghost. His meticulously gelled dark hair suddenly seemed out of place against his pale, sweating forehead. He released Brittany’s arm—almost instinctively, as if distancing himself from her would save him—and took a nervous, shuffling step forward.
"Mr. Moretti," Derek stammered again, his voice pitching higher with every syllable. "I... I didn't know you were visiting the hospital. Is everything alright? Did your family...?"
"My family is fine, Morrison," Luca interrupted, his tone chillingly polite. He slid his hands into the pockets of his tailored trousers. "In fact, my family just grew by one."
Derek blinked, his brain clearly struggling to connect the dots. He looked at Luca, then at me, then at the nurse behind the desk who was desperately trying to make herself invisible.
"I... I don't understand," Derek mumbled, wet lips parting.
"Of course you don't," Luca said smoothly, stepping slightly closer so that he towered over Derek by a full three inches. "Men with the intelligence of a goldfish rarely do. You see, Morrison, you made a grave miscalculation today."
Brittany, recovering from her initial shock and unable to stand being sidelined, stepped up beside Derek, her chin raised with that familiar, venomous entitlement.
"Excuse me," Brittany chimed in, forcing a sweet, sugary tone that didn't reach her cold eyes. "I don't know who you think you are, mister, but Derek and I have important business to attend to. We're leaving. And Emma here was just throwing a pathetic little tantrum because Derek refused to fall for her baby-trap."
The moment the words left Brittany’s mouth, the temperature in the hallway dropped to absolute zero.
The bodyguard standing behind Luca didn't even move, but his massive frame tensed like a coiled spring. Luca didn't raise his voice, but the look he cast at Brittany made her step back involuntarily, her hand instinctively dropping back to protect her pregnant belly.
"If you ever," Luca whispered, each word falling like a lead weight, "speak to the mother of my child with that kind of filth again, I will have your father's textile company liquidated by nightfall, and your precious little boutique stripped down to bare concrete before the sun rises."
Brittany’s face turned the color of chalk. "You... you can't—my father's company—!"
"Try me," Luca replied softly.
Derek panicked, grabbing Brittany’s shoulder and shoving her behind him. "Mr. Moretti, please! She didn't mean—we didn't know! We didn't know the child belonged to... to you!"
"She doesn't belong to you, Morrison. That much is certain," Luca said, turning his gaze back to the birth certificate resting on the counter. He picked it up by the corner and held it out toward Derek. "Take a look. Read it aloud. Let the letters form in your tiny brain."
Derek’s trembling hand reached out. He took the paper. His eyes scanned the document, moving past my name, past the baby's birth weight, down to the designated line for the father.
Father: Luca Moretti.
Derek let out a sharp gasp, dropping the paper as if it were burning hot iron. It fluttered down and landed face-up on the polished linoleum floor.
"This... this is illegal!" Derek shouted, his panic completely overtaking his professional composure. "You can't just put your name on someone else's kid! Paternity fraud! Falsifying government records! I'll sue! I'll go to the police! I'll—"
"You'll do nothing of the sort," a new, cold voice echoed from down the hall.
We all turned. Striding toward us with crisp, authoritative clicks of expensive heels was the hospital's Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Sterling, flanked by two legal counsels carrying thick leather portfolios.
Dr. Sterling didn't even glance at Derek. He walked straight past him, stopped in front of Luca Moretti, and gave a respectful, formal nod.
"Mr. Moretti," Dr. Sterling said smoothly. "My apologies for the delay. The legal team has reviewed the expedited acknowledgment of paternity and guardianship filing. Everything is fully notarized, encrypted in the state registry, and legally binding under emergency decree provisions."
Derek stared at the CEO, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "Emergency decree? What are you talking about?! She’s my girlfriend—well, ex-girlfriend! That’s my child!"
Dr. Sterling finally turned his head, looking at Derek with the kind of clinical detachment one might reserve for a laboratory rat.
"Mr. Morrison, according to the hospital registry and the verified legal documents filed three minutes ago by Mr. Moretti's legal representation, you have zero legal standing, zero biological claim, and zero right to be on this floor," Dr. Sterling said crisply. "Security is already escorting your vehicle off the premises. If you remain in this building for another sixty seconds, you will be arrested for trespassing and harassment."
"This is insane!" Derek shrieked, lunging forward as if he wanted to grab the birth certificate himself.
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Before he could take another step, Luca's bodyguard was there—a wall of solid muscle blocking his path, a heavy hand resting casually on Derek’s chest, pushing him back three staggering paces.
"Walk away, Morrison," Luca said quietly, turning his back on them and stepping closer to me. "The air is getting foul."
