Chapter 13
Cassian
I set the phone down with deliberate care. The result confirmed what I'd known in my bones since seeing Leo's photo—he was mine. But now I had proof. Legal, irrefutable proof.
And with proof came power.
I stood from my desk and moved to the windows overlooking Manhattan. Somewhere out there, five miles away in Brooklyn, Isla was probably awake too. Probably panicking. Probably researching custody lawyers and wondering how to fight me.
She couldn't. Not successfully.
But I didn't want a fight. I wanted my son. And the fastest way to ensure that was to bring them both under my protection.
I pulled up my contacts and called Marco.
"Results?" he answered immediately.
"Confirmed. He's mine." I checked my watch. "Is the Morrison penthouse ready?"
"Finished yesterday. Full security protocols installed—cameras, reinforced locks, panic buttons. The third bedroom is set up for a child." Marco paused. "You're really doing this? Bringing them in?"
"They'll be here later this morning." I'd already made the decision last night, watching Leo sleep, seeing how vulnerable they both were in that small apartment. "I need a car at her building. Ten a.m. And Marco? Discretion. No one outside our inner circle knows about the boy. Not yet."
"Understood. What about Matteo? He's been asking questions—"
"Let him ask. By the time he figures out what's happening, Leo will already be protected." I moved to my desk, pulling up a message to Isla. "Anything else?"
"Brooklyn docks. Matteo made another move last night. Talked to three supervisors."
My jaw tightened. "And?"
"Two stayed loyal. Jenkins is wavering."
"Handle Jenkins. And increase security around the Morrison building. I want to know everyone who comes within a block of it."
After hanging up, I opened a new message to Isla. My fingers hovered over the screen for only a moment before I typed:
Results confirmed. Leo is my son. Car will pick you up at 10 a.m. We have matters to discuss.
I hit send. No explanation. No room for negotiation.
Today, everything would change.
The elevator doors opened at 10:07 a.m. to the Morrison building's penthouse, and there she was.
Isla stepped out first, Leo's hand clutched tightly in hers. My son wore his blue dinosaur jacket and carried that worn T-rex—Rex—against his chest. Isla looked exhausted, dark circles under her eyes, her other hand gripping a small dinosaur backpack.
"You're late," I said, keeping my voice level.
"Traffic." Her tone was flat. "And I had to pack."
I couldn't take my eyes off Leo. Seeing him in the daylight, in my space, made him more real than even last night. He looked around the penthouse with wide eyes, taking in the floor-to-ceiling windows, the modern furniture, and the vast open space.
"Wow," he breathed. "It's so big, Mama."
"Yes, baby. Very big." Isla's voice was strained.
I moved toward them slowly, crouching down to Leo's level. "Good morning, Leo."
"Morning, Mr. Cassian!" His face brightened with recognition. "More trucks here?"
Despite everything, I felt my lips twitch. "Even better. Would you like to see?"
"Yes, please!"
I stood and gestured down the hall. "This way."
I led them to the third bedroom—the one my team had spent the past week transforming. I opened the door, and Leo gasped.
The room was painted a soft blue with white clouds.
A proper bed with safety rails sat against one wall, covered in a dinosaur-print comforter.
Bookshelves lined another wall, filled with picture books.
And in the corner sat an elaborate wooden train table with tracks already set up, complete with bridges, tunnels, and a tiny village.
"Trains!" Leo released Isla's hand and ran forward. "Mama, look at trains!"
Isla stood frozen in the doorway, her face pale. "When did you?"
"I had it prepared before last night." I kept my voice neutral. "I've been planning this since I discovered he existed."
Her eyes snapped to mine. "You've been planning to take him?"
"To protect him." I gestured to the room. "This is his space. Safe. Secure. Everything he needs."
"Except his real home." Her voice was tight.
"This is his real home now." I moved closer, lowering my voice so Leo wouldn't hear. "The DNA results were conclusive. Leo is my son. My heir. And he belongs here, where I can keep him safe."
"Safe from what?"
I glanced at Leo, happily running trains along the tracks, oblivious to our conversation. "From people who would use him to get to me. From anyone who'd see a Barone child as leverage."
Fear flickered in her eyes. "What kind of enemies do you have, Cassian?"
"The kind that require me to protect my family." I held her gaze. "This building has security you can't imagine. Guards. Cameras. Protocols. Your apartment in Brooklyn has a standard lock and a doorman who lets anyone through with a smile."
"So what—we just move in? Today?"
"You already are moving in. Your belongings are being packed as we speak." At her shocked expression, I added, "I sent a team to your apartment an hour ago. They're being very careful with Leo's things."
"You sent people into my home without permission?"
"I sent people to retrieve belongings from a property you're vacating." I kept my tone even. "The lease is in your name. I had your signature."
"I never signed—" She stopped, realization dawning. "You forged my signature."
"I had it replicated from your employment contract." Not technically a lie. "Isla, this isn't a negotiation. You and Leo are moving in today. You can make this easy and stay with him, or you can fight me and lose him anyway."
"You'd really take him from me?" Her voice broke. "He's two and a half years old, Cassian. He needs his mother."
"Then be his mother. Here." I softened my voice slightly. "I'm not trying to separate you from him. I'm trying to keep you both safe. Protected. This is the only way."
"By controlling where we live? What we do?"
"By ensuring my son grows up safe." I gestured around the penthouse. "You'll have your own room. Your own space. You keep your job—you're still my assistant. Nothing changes except your address and your son's security."
"Everything changes," she whispered, looking at Leo.
"Yes," I agreed. "It does. But it changed the moment you decided to keep him from me. This is me correcting that mistake."
She flinched.
I moved to the doorway of Leo's room. "Leo, would you like to see where you and your mama will sleep?"
He looked up from his trains. "We're sleeping here?"
"Yes. This is your new home."
"Forever?"
The question caught me off guard. "Yes. Forever."
"Okay!" He returned to his trains without another thought, the simplicity of childhood making everything easy.
Isla looked like she might cry.
I showed her to the second bedroom—smaller than mine but still spacious, with its own bathroom and a view of Central Park. Her suitcases were already there, delivered by my team.
"This is yours," I said. "You can decorate it however you want. Change anything."
She stood in the doorway, not entering. "And if I say no? If I take Leo and leave?"
"Then I file for emergency custody Monday morning." I let the words sink in. "I have resources you can't match, Isla. Lawyers who specialize in this. A name that carries weight in family court. What do you have?"
The truth of it showed on her face. She knew she couldn't win.
"I could run," she said quietly.
"Where?" I stepped closer. "How far do you think you'd get with a toddler? How long before I found you?" I paused. "And what kind of life would that be for Leo? Always running, always hiding, never stable?"
"You're threatening me."
"I'm stating facts." I held her gaze. "I don't want to fight you, Isla. I want to co-parent our son. But I will not be shut out of his life again. Not for one more day."
She looked toward Leo's room, where he was singing to himself as he played.
"For Leo," she finally said, her voice hollow. "I'll do it for Leo."
"Good." I checked my watch. "Your things will be completely moved by this evening. I've arranged for dinner to be delivered at six. Leo's bedtime is eight, correct?"
She nodded numbly.
"Then we'll maintain his routine." I moved toward the door. "I have a few calls to make. Make yourselves comfortable. This is your home now."
I left her standing there and returned to my office, closing the door behind me.
My phone buzzed immediately. Marco.
"They're in?"
"Yes." I pulled up the security feeds, watching as Isla slowly entered Leo's room, crouching beside him. "What's the status on Matteo?"
"Quiet. Too quiet. He knows something's changed, but he doesn't know what."
"Keep it that way." I watched Leo show Isla something about his trains, her forcing a smile for his sake. "And Marco? The Morrison building—I want the security upgraded again. Facial recognition on every entrance. No one gets in without clearance."
"That's extreme even for you."
"I have something to protect now." I glanced at the monitor showing my son. "Spare no expense. I want this building impenetrable."
"Understood."
After hanging up, I sat back in my chair, watching the monitors. Isla sat on the floor with Leo, helping him build a train track, her movements mechanical but present.
She was here. They both were. Under my roof. Under my protection.
Now I just had to keep them safe.
And deal with Matteo before he figured out what I was protecting.
My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number. I opened it.
Interesting real estate acquisition. The Morrison building must have cost a fortune. - M
Matteo.
My jaw clenched. He knew. Not everything, but enough to be suspicious.
I typed back: Investment property. Nothing more.
His response came immediately: Of course. Though I hear you've been spending a lot of time there lately. New project?
I didn't respond. Engaging would only feed his curiosity.
Instead, I called Marco back.
"Matteo just texted me about the Morrison building."
"Fuck." Marco's voice was tight. "He's fishing."
"He's circling." I pulled up the security feeds again, watching Leo play. "Increase the perimeter. I want to know if he comes within three blocks of this building."
"Done. Anything else?"
"Find out who's feeding him information. Someone on our payroll is talking."
"I'll handle it."
I hung up and stared at the monitors.
Matteo was getting too close. And if he discovered Leo—
I stood and moved to Leo's room, standing in the doorway unnoticed. He was showing Isla how to make the trains go through the tunnel, his small voice explaining the rules with complete seriousness.
This was what I was protecting. This small person who didn't know his father was dangerous, who didn't know the world wanted to use him as a pawn.
I'd do whatever it took to keep him safe.
Even if it meant going to war with my own blood.