51

Jarek Strong was sitting at his desk when a distraught and emaciated Suzanne arrived at his office, holding her belly and with red-rimmed eyes.

"Good heavens, dear! What happened?" he stood up abruptly, running to assist her. "James, call the doctor immediately!"

"I-I'm fine," she whispered, holding back sobs. "I didn't know who else to turn to, Mr. Strong."

"Shhh, calm down," he took her arm and carefully sat her in a chair. "Now tell me what happened. What did that idiot grandson of mine do to you?"

She looked at him with tears in her eyes, feeling foolish for still crying at this hour, even after crying all night.

"He…" she began, and told him everything in detail, making the old man furious.

"I swear I'm going to disinherit him! Damn brat," he shouted angrily, pacing back and forth. "Did he really say that to you? To get rid of my great-grandchild?"

"That's what he did. He said either I do it, or he would…" her voice broke, but she made a tremendous effort to recover. "Mr. Strong, I want to ask you a huge favor. I want to see my family first, but I don't have the means…"

"Don't worry about that, dear, I'll give you everything you need and more," he gently wiped a tear from her cheek. "I'm sorry for all of this. I should have taken you out of that place sooner…"

"No," she interrupted, shaking her head. "It was better that it happened this way, because if I had left back then, it would be worse."

"So you're decided…"

"You said this would happen and I still had hope…" she stopped, closing her eyes. "I would like to return all your dirty money, but I've spent part of it…"

"Suzanne, you're carrying the greatest joy of my life in your womb," he smiled, his eyes moist. "I want you to trust me. We'll make that idiot Nathan regret every tear he's made you shed."

"Th-thank you, Mr. Strong," she murmured, grateful.

The old man grimaced seeing her so depressed and quickly made arrangements for her to stay a few days in Ireland, where he knew she had family and could at least get some respite from this nightmare.

He wasn't sure Nathan wouldn't show up there, but if he did, he wouldn't let him carry out his intentions.

He was determined to protect that baby and its mother above all else, not repeating the same mistake he had made in the past with Nathan's mother.

***

It had been five days since Nathan Strong's return to London.

Five days without her. It had become pure torture, not knowing where she was or if she was alright. The only thing that made him feel slightly less miserable was knowing that the child was still alive.

He had even considered asking his grandfather for help, but he knew that he wouldn't tell him anything, especially if she had become his protégé.

"No, I have to do this alone and get my woman and my child back," he thought determinedly, feeling a huge lump in his throat.

She had left to protect their child, to protect him from himself. That thought caused him immense pain, knowing that she feared him and had called him a monster.

It was true, but she hadn't meant it.

Shortly after, he had hired the best detective in London to locate her, since Charles wasn't available at the moment.

That's why he was calling him now, not caring that it was midnight, he needed to know if he had found Suzanne's whereabouts.

"This is Strong," he said without hesitation.

"Mr. Strong, it's midnight," said Steven Parker, not very pleased.

"I don't care what time it is, I'll pay you double your fee. I want news," he said seriously.

"I'm sorry to inform you that there are still no clues about Miss Suzanne's whereabouts. We don't have any information about her, just her name, and that's not much help."

"You promised you would find her," Nathan growled.

"And I will, but you'll need to be patient. In cases like this, it's very difficult to find someone without crucial information to start from," the detective cleared his throat. "If we knew which country she's from or what city she lived in before coming here, things would be very different."

"So I'm supposed to just sit and wait?" he squeezed the bridge of his nose, frustrated. "Damn it, she's pregnant, do you understand? I need to find her as soon as possible."

"I'm sorry, sir, but for now, all you can do is wait," said the detective.

Nathan hung up without saying goodbye, feeling defeated and utterly frustrated.

The great Nathan Strong had vanished; now he was just a man in love, fighting to find the woman of his life.

He knew she had returned to her homeland, but he didn't know where that was. He had never asked her, but he knew she wasn't English.

In a fit of desperation, he grabbed his keys and left the mansion, heading to his grandfather's house. He knew he was the only one who could give him answers.

"The question is whether the old man will want to," he thought, angry and sad.

The tires of his car screeched on the asphalt, alerting the servants of the main Strong mansion, where Jarek widened his smile, knowing what was coming next.

"Will he come angry or beg? We shall see."

As always, his grandson burst in like a storm, ignoring the greetings and warnings of the staff. He only wanted to see the old man, who was calmly sipping a cocktail in his comfortable armchair.

"Grandfather!"

"Well, well, Nathan," the old man laughed, amused. "I don't think you've ever visited me so frequently. What brings you here today?"

Nathan knew that throwing tantrums wouldn't get him anywhere, and he had to appeal to the compassionate side of his grandfather, hidden deep within his being.

"Please, I know you know where Suzanne is," he pleaded with a choked voice. "Tell me where she is. I'll go and beg for her forgiveness on my knees if I have to. I'll take responsibility and settle down as you've always wanted..."

"Too late, Nathan," his grandfather interrupted, taking a sip of his drink. "Suzanne is very well hidden, and besides, she doesn't want to know anything about you. As she wrote in that letter, move on with your life and leave her alone."

His words turned him to stone. Was the letter his idea?