The Day I Walked Away My Empire Began novel Chapter 48

“Yes,” Lucie bit out, her voice icy and sharp.

Steven let out a heavy sigh, then handed her a crisp sheet of paper. “What if I told you the hospital made a mistake? Would you believe me?”

He pressed the document into her hands. “This is Cody’s latest blood test. See for yourself.”

Lucie took it, suspicion flickering in her eyes. She unfolded the report.

Her breath caught. Cody’s blood type was O.

“…No. That’s impossible. This has to be a fake.”

Steven’s gaze was steady, almost unshakeable. “He had the test done this morning. If you don’t believe it, I’ll call the doctor here right now. They can redo everything in front of you.”

She shook her head, voice trembling. “No. I saw it myself at the children’s hospital. The report said Type A.”

“That was a mix-up,” Steven replied smoothly. “The nurse switched Cody’s sample with another child’s. The report was printed wrong.

“I’ve brought the doctor and the lab tech who did the test. They’re waiting outside. You can ask them yourself.”

Lucie stared at him, her world spinning off its axis.

She wanted to call him a liar. Wanted to scream.

But his certainty sent a ripple of doubt through her resolve.

“Then what about you?” Her words trembled with accusation. “Why did you lie to me? You showed me your blood test too. What’s real, Steven? What’s a lie?

“Please, Steven. I’m begging you. Stop lying to me.”

He stared at her, eyes wide with boyish sincerity. “I’m not lying. I honestly can’t remember my blood type. Tell you what—let me get tested again right now. I swear I’ll remember it this time.”

Just being close to him now made her nerves jangle, her instincts screaming a warning.

“No. We need to face this, Lucie. I don’t want you lost in suspicion or for this misunderstanding to keep growing between us.”

Steven leaned closer, sincerity radiating from every word. “Once you’re out of the hospital, let’s both take some time off. We’ll take Cody and go to Europe for a few weeks. Just us. We’ll find our happiness again. Remember what it’s like to really be a family.”

He played the perfect husband to the hilt.

But Lucie saw the truth lurking beneath his polished act.

A man who’d clawed his way to the top of the underworld, who’d survived blood and betrayal—he knew better than anyone how to wear a mask.

The most dangerous dragons are the ones who know exactly how to hide their claws.