Adrian stood up.

That single movement silenced half the room.

Serena immediately grabbed his wrist.

—Adrian, don’t.

He looked down at her hand.

She slowly released him.

Then he walked toward me.

Six years ago, I had imagined this moment a thousand times.

Sometimes he was furious.

Sometimes he demanded answers.

Sometimes he simply looked at me with that cold expression and said the child had nothing to do with him.

But I had never imagined facing him beneath hundreds of cameras.

Adrian stopped beside me.

The journalists exploded.

—Mr. Feng, did you know about the pregnancy?

—Is the child yours?

—Did Miss Jiang hide your child for six years?

He ignored every question.

His eyes stayed on me.

—Is it true?

My manager stepped between us.

—Mr. Feng, Elena doesn’t have to answer—

—I’m asking her.

His voice wasn’t loud.

It didn’t need to be.

I looked at him.

“Yes.”

Something changed in his face.

Barely.

But I saw it.

Adrian had always been terrifyingly good at hiding emotion.

That night, for the first time, he failed.

“How old?”

I tightened my fingers around my trophy.

“Five.”

His jaw hardened.

Then came the question I had feared for six years.

“Is the child mine?”

Cameras pushed closer.

I could already imagine tomorrow’s headlines.

I took a breath.

“This isn’t the place.”

Adrian laughed once.

There was no humor in it.

“You disappeared for almost a year after leaving me. Now a video appears showing you eight months pregnant, and you think I’m going to wait politely?”

Serena finally reached us.

“Adrian.”

She forced a smile toward the cameras.

“This is obviously someone trying to create rumors tonight. Don’t fall into their trap.”

Then she looked at me.

“Elena, say something. Tell everyone the child isn’t his.”

I stared at her.

Something about her expression bothered me.

She wasn’t curious.

She was afraid.

And suddenly, I remembered something.

Six years ago.

The hospital.

I had been sitting alone with the pregnancy report in my bag when Serena unexpectedly appeared.

She had smiled and told me Adrian was attending an engagement dinner arranged by both families.

Then she showed me photographs.

Adrian beside her.

Their parents together.

A ring box on the table.

That was the night I decided not to tell him.

But there was one detail I had forgotten until now.

I had never told Serena I was at that hospital.

So how had she found me?

I looked directly at her.

“Why are you so certain the child isn’t his?”

Her smile froze.

Adrian turned toward her.

“Elena,” Serena said quickly, “don’t twist my words.”

“I’m not.”

I stepped closer.

“I’m asking why you seem more nervous than he does.”

The reporters went wild.

Serena’s face turned pale.

Adrian’s gaze sharpened.

“What happened six years ago?”

“Nothing!”

Her answer came too quickly.

I almost laughed.

There it was.

The crack.

Before anyone could continue, my assistant pushed through the crowd and grabbed my arm.

“Elena.”

She looked terrified.

“We need to leave now.”

“What happened?”

She held up her phone.

Another post had appeared.

This time it wasn’t an old video.

It was a photograph taken that morning.

My son walking through the gates of his school.

His face was clearly visible.

Below it was a caption:

THE SECRET SON OF ELENA JIANG.

My blood went cold.

“No.”

I grabbed the phone.

Someone had posted his school.

His schedule.

Even the neighborhood where we lived.

I forgot Adrian.

I forgot Serena.

I forgot the award in my hand.

“My son.”

I turned toward the exit.

Adrian caught my wrist.

“Where is he?”

I pulled away.

“Don’t touch me.”

“If someone exposed the child because of me, my security team can protect him.”

“I protected him perfectly well for six years.”

His expression darkened.

“From everyone?”

I stared at him.

“Especially from you.”

That hurt him.

I saw it.

But I didn’t have time to care.

My phone rang.

The school.

I answered immediately.

“Hello?”

The teacher sounded panicked.

“Ms. Jiang, several reporters appeared outside. We moved your son into the administration building, but—”

A noise interrupted her.

Then another voice came through the phone.

“Mom?”

My knees almost gave out.

“Baby, I’m coming. Stay with your teacher.”

“Mom…”

His voice trembled.

“There are people outside saying they know my dad.”

I closed my eyes.

“Ignore them.”

Then he whispered something that made me completely still.

“But one lady came inside.”

My heart stopped.

“What lady?”

“She said she knows you.”

I looked up.

Across the ballroom, Serena was gone.

Her chair was empty.

So was her handbag.

I turned toward Adrian.

He followed my gaze.

His face changed instantly.

My son’s next words came through the phone.

“She said her name is Serena.”

Adrian took out his phone and started walking.

But before he could make the call, my son whispered one final sentence:

“Mom… she says she brought something that proves who my father is.”