Chapter 5 Shadows in the Hallway

Chapter Five: Shadows in the Hallway

Ethan stepped inside like a man approaching sacred ground.

The apartment was modest. Lived-in. Walls painted a soft gray, a child's drawings taped along the hallway. One in particular stopped him cold.

A blue crayon figure with big hands. A stick-figure woman with curly hair. A little boy in the middle, smiling wide...

And next to him, a figure drawn in fading red.

No face. Just the word: "DAD?"

Ethan stared at it, throat closing. "He doesn't even know me."

Alessia crossed her arms. "Why would he?"

He turned to her slowly. "Why didn't you try harder to tell me?"

Her jaw clenched. "I did, Ethan. For months. Your number changed. Your email bounced back. And when I showed up at your office, they told me you'd transferred overseas."

"I never-" He stopped. Ran a hand through his hair. "My father. He must have-"

Alessia stepped closer, fury flashing in her eyes. "Exactly. Your precious image. Your damn inheritance. That mattered more than me."

"I was trying to protect you."

She shook her head. "Don't you dare spin this into nobility. You left me pregnant, scared, with nothing but a hospital bill and a broken heart."

He fell quiet. There was no excuse he could give her that didn't sound like a weak man running.

"I didn't know," he said again. "About Luca. If I had-"

"You didn't want to know."

Silence.

And then, a small voice.

"Mommy?"

They both turned.

Luca stood at the end of the hallway, rubbing his eyes. Hair sticking up. Dinosaur pajamas wrinkled. He looked between them, confused.

"Who's that?" he asked sleepily.

Alessia knelt. "Hey, baby. You're supposed to be sleeping."

"I heard yelling."

Ethan knelt too, but kept a little distance. His voice shook. "Hi, Luca."

The boy blinked up at him. "Do I know you?"

Ethan swallowed. "Not yet. But I... I'm someone very special to you."

Luca looked to his mom, frowning. "Mommy, is he a stranger?"

Alessia paused.

Then stood. "Luca, this is Ethan. He's... he's your dad."

The words fell heavy between them.

Luca looked back at Ethan, eyes narrowing with curiosity.

"You don't look like a dad."

Ethan let out a breath of shaky laughter. "I probably don't feel like one either."

Luca stepped forward cautiously. "Do you like dinosaurs?"

Ethan blinked. "Yeah. Yeah, I used to love them."

"What's your favorite?"

"Velociraptor."

Luca grinned, suddenly animated. "Me too! They're fast and smart and dangerous."

Ethan chuckled. "Just like you, huh?"

Alessia's breath hitched. It was nothing. Just a moment. A smile. A shared spark.

But it was everything.

Luca reached for his hand.

And Ethan looked like he might shatter.