Chapter 1 - The Morning He Chose AppearancesVictoria Harrington had imagined the birth of her first child a thousand different ways.
Victoria looked toward their daughter.
“She was born this morning.”
“I know.”
“She has not even been alive for six hours.”
Daniel finally turned.
His expression carried polite impatience, the same expression he used when an employee asked a question he considered unnecessary.
“You are in a private hospital suite. Nurses are checking on you constantly. Your father paid for the best room in the building.”
“That is not the point.”
“Then what is the point?”
Victoria stared at him.
She could not believe he needed to ask.
“The point is that your wife just gave birth to your daughter.”
Daniel sighed.
“I cannot cancel every responsibility because you are emotional.”
The word entered her like a blade.
Emotional.
As though childbirth had made her unreasonable.
As though wanting her husband beside her was some selfish demand.
Daniel placed the keys in his pocket.
Victoria noticed the small movement immediately.
“Why are you taking my car?”
“My sedan is being serviced.”
“You could use a driver.”
“I need your car.”
He adjusted his cuff.
“It makes the right impression.”
Victoria’s car had been a gift from her father.
A black luxury vehicle Daniel loved borrowing whenever he needed to look more successful than he felt.
She had once laughed about it.
Now the request felt different.
He was leaving his wife and newborn daughter so he could impress strangers with property that was not his.
“What impression does it make when you leave your family hours after the birth?”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“Do not start this today.”
“I did not start anything.”
“I have spent the last twelve hours beside you.”
“You spent most of them answering emails.”
“I was there.”
Victoria looked at the baby.
Daniel had taken several photographs after the delivery.
Not for himself.
For social media.
He asked a nurse to retake one because the first photograph made him look tired.
That should have told her everything.
Still, some part of her had hoped fatherhood would change him.
Daniel walked toward the door.
“I will bring something back for the baby.”
“She does not need a gift.”
“What does she need?”
Victoria lifted her eyes.
“Her father.”
For one moment, discomfort crossed Daniel’s face.
Then he buried it beneath irritation.
“You knew my career mattered when you married me.”
“I thought we mattered more.”
Daniel opened the door.
“I will be back tomorrow morning.”
He left before she could answer.
The door closed softly.
That quiet sound broke something inside Victoria.
She looked toward the bassinet.
Her daughter slept with one tiny hand near her cheek.
A hospital identification bracelet circled her ankle.
Victoria reached through the opening and gently touched the baby’s fingers.
“I am sorry,” she whispered.
The baby curled her hand around Victoria’s finger.
Tears filled Victoria’s eyes.
She had spent four years defending Daniel.
Her father never trusted him.
Her friends called him ambitious.
Her mother, before she passed away, called him hungry.
Victoria mistook hunger for determination.
She believed Daniel wanted to build a life with her.
Now she understood that he wanted access to the life surrounding her.
The Harrington name.
The Harrington properties.
Her father’s influence.
Her car.
Her money.
Even the hospital carried her family name.
Daniel had always behaved like it belonged to him.
Victoria reached for her smartphone.
Her thumb hovered over her father’s name.
For years, she avoided involving Richard in her marriage.
She wanted to prove she could make her own decisions.
She wanted Daniel to succeed without anyone claiming Richard had built him.
But independence did not mean protecting a man from the consequences of neglect.
Richard answered on the first ring.
“Victoria?”
She could hear the concern immediately.
“Dad.”
“What happened?”
Her voice almost broke.
Then she looked at her daughter.
The tears stopped.
“Daniel left.”
Silence.
“He took my car to an investor dinner.”
Another silence.
Richard had always been dangerous when quiet.
“Are you and the baby safe?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need me there now?”
Victoria looked toward the closed door.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“What do you need?”
Her answer came calmly.
“Tonight, I want him gone.”
Richard did not ask whether she was certain.
He knew his daughter.
“When I arrive, the decision will already be protected.”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“Thank you.”
“Rest.”
“I will handle the rest.”
She ended the call.
For the first time that morning, Victoria felt something stronger than heartbreak.
Clarity.
Daniel believed he had simply borrowed a car.
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He had no idea that by the time he returned, the marriage, the apartment, his company funding, and the future he thought belonged to him would already be changing.
Richard sẽ đến bệnh viện với những bí mật ông đã giấu để bảo vệ con gái, và Victoria sẽ phát hiện Daniel chưa từng xây dựng sự nghiệp bằng chính sức mình.
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