Chapter 5 The Truth In The Alley

The truth in the Alley

I wasn't planning to follow Vanessa.

In fact, I had just left the café after meeting with Mr. Cole. My mind was still full of numbers, hidden accounts, and the anger I felt every time I remembered Damian telling me my life would be miserable without him.

But then I saw her.

Vanessa.

She stepped out of a black car across the street, dressed elegantly as always, sunglasses hiding her eyes even though the evening sun had already begun to fade. She looked around carefully before walking quickly down the sidewalk.

Something about the way she moved felt strange.

Suspicious.

My instincts tightened immediately.

Vanessa was supposed to be with Damian tonight. She had been showing off everywhere on social media like she owned his world.

So why was she here alone?

I hesitated for only a moment before quietly following her.

She turned into a narrow street between two tall buildings. The streetlights flickered above us, casting long shadows over the pavement. The place was almost empty, the kind of alley people avoided after sunset.

My heart started beating faster.

Vanessa stopped halfway down the alley.

A man stepped out from the shadows.

I quickly hid behind a large dumpster near the corner, holding my breath as I leaned slightly forward to listen.

The man looked rough tall, with messy hair and a leather jacket. And in his arms...

My eyes widened.

The little boy.

The same boy Vanessa had been presenting everywhere as Damian's son.

The child was half asleep against the man's shoulder, small arms wrapped loosely around his neck.

My chest tightened.

What was going on?

Vanessa crossed her arms impatiently.

"You're late," she snapped.

The man scoffed. "Relax. The kid was sleeping."

Kid?

Not our son.

Not Damian's child.

Just... kid.

A cold chill slid down my spine.

Vanessa pulled a small envelope from her purse and handed it to him.

The man opened it and counted the money quickly.

"Hmm," he muttered. "Still not enough."

Vanessa's voice dropped, irritated.

"You're already getting paid to keep bringing him whenever I need him. Don't push your luck."

My breath caught in my throat.

Paid?

The man shifted the boy on his shoulder.

"You told me the billionaire believed the kid was his," he said with a grin. "If that's true, you should be paying me more. This little acting job is worth a lot."

My stomach dropped.

The world around me felt like it had frozen.

Acting job.

Vanessa sighed dramatically.

"Damian is completely fooled," she said coldly. "Men like him are easy when you give them what they want an heir."

My hands started shaking.

The boy wasn't Damian's.

Everything had been a lie.

The pregnancy story.

The child.

All of it.

The man chuckled. "And the wife?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes.

"That pathetic woman? She's already out of the way, and once she sign and return the divorce papers I'm all in".

My chest tightened painfully.

The man shrugged. "Still. Dangerous game you're playing."

Vanessa smiled slowly.

"Relax. Once Damian marries me, everything he owns will become mine. And by the time he realizes the truth..." she shrugged carelessly "...it will be too late."

My heart was pounding so loudly I was afraid they would hear it.

I pressed a hand to my stomach without thinking.

The life growing inside me felt suddenly heavier with meaning.

Vanessa had destroyed my marriage for a lie.

For money.

For power.

A sudden voice spoke quietly behind me.

"So this... was the truth."

I froze.

My blood ran cold.

I turned slowly.

It was my soon to be ex-husband Damian stood a few feet behind me.

His face was pale.

His eyes were fixed on Vanessa and the man in the alley.

Shock.

Disbelief.

Pain.

Everything was written clearly across his face.

He had heard everything.

Every word.

Vanessa was still speaking, completely unaware.

"Just keep bringing the boy whenever I call," she told the man. "And don't worry about the payment. Once Damian marries me, you'll get much more."

The man laughed. "Good. Because pretending to be a kid's father isn't cheap."

Damian's fists clenched beside me.

I could almost hear his heart breaking.

Suddenly Vanessa turned.

And saw us.

Her smile disappeared instantly.

Her eyes widened in shock.

"Damian...?"

The man holding the boy stiffened.

The silence in the alley became suffocating.

Vanessa's expression changed quickly, panic flashing across her face before turning into anger.

"You-!" she shouted, pointing at me. "You followed me?!"

Before I could react, she stormed toward me.

Her hand lifted sharply.

I knew exactly what she was about to do.

She was going to hit me again.

But this time.

A strong hand grabbed her wrist mid-air.

Vanessa gasped.

Damian.

His grip on her wrist was tight.

Too tight.

"Enough," he said quietly.

His voice was low.

Cold.

Angry.

Vanessa stared at him in disbelief.

"Damian, she's lying!" she cried quickly. "She must have set this up! That man.....he's just...."

"Stop."

One word.

That was all it took.

Vanessa went silent.

Damian slowly released her wrist, but his eyes never left her face.

"You said he was my son," Damian said quietly.

Vanessa swallowed.

"I...."

"The child," Damian continued slowly, his voice shaking slightly, "was never mine."

The man with the boy shifted nervously.

Vanessa's eyes darted around desperately.

"Damian listen..."

"I heard everything."

The words dropped into the alley like a stone.

Vanessa's face went white.

For a moment nobody spoke.

The wind moved softly between the buildings.

The boy stirred sleepily on the man's shoulder.

Then Damian looked at me.

Really looked at me.

For the first time since everything happened.

There was something in his eyes now.

Something heavy.

Regret.

Pain.

Maybe even guilt.

But I felt nothing.

My heart had already hardened.

Vanessa suddenly laughed nervously.

"This is ridiculous," she said quickly. "Damian, you know I love you. That man is lying..."

"Leave," Damian said quietly to the man.

The man didn't argue.

He quickly walked away down the alley, the little boy still in his arms.

Vanessa looked terrified now.

"Damian...."

"Was everything a lie?" he asked slowly.

Vanessa opened her mouth.

But no words came out.

The silence between them felt like a storm about to explode.

And suddenly.

Vanessa's eyes turned toward me.

Cold.

Hateful.

Dangerous.

"This is your fault," she hissed.

Before I could react.

She reached into her purse.

And pulled something out.

Something small.

Something metallic.

My heart dropped.

Because in the dim light of the alley.

I realized it was a knife.

Vanessa smiled slowly.

"If I lose everything tonight," she whispered, "then you will too."

My breath caught in my throat.

And Damian hadn't seen the knife yet.