Chapter 117

• Damien burst through the door of Charlotte's office, his heart pounding in his chest, a storm of emotions swirling within him. The hum of the fluorescent lights filled the room, but it was the sudden tension that electrified the air. He hadn’t expected to find her there—in the hushed stillness of the late afternoon, with most of their colleagues gone for the day—yet there she was, framed by the chaos of paperwork and cluttered files that was her workspace.
• Charlotte looked up from her desk, her confusion palpable. Her eyes widened, and she instinctively straightened in her chair. “Damien?” she stammered, her voice a mix of surprise and concern, the words spilling from her lips as if she were grasping for some sort of understanding. “What’s wrong? Why are you—?”
• “I’m his father. You lied to me.” His voice thundered in the enclosed space, sharp and unyielding.