The Billionaire's Forgotten Wife
Chapter 75: The Other Man

Chapter 75: The Other Man

Andrew blinked. "I’m sorry what did you just say?"

Zeke let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "She’s my daughter."

Andrew’s mouth opened slightly, then closed again, completely thrown off. Without thinking, he stepped closer to the hospital bed, as if needing to get a better look at the child’s face.

He stared at her, eyes narrowing in recognition.

"Wait... I’ve seen her before," he said slowly. "At the cafe. With Cassidy. The day I told you about. I saw her with a few other kids. She was one of them."

He turned back to Zeke, eyes growing wider as the pieces started falling into place. "Wait... she’s your daughter? Yours and Cassidy’s?" He looked at Claire again, now with a whole new understanding.

"But why is she here? Why is she like this? What happened?"

Zeke took a deep breath, his jaw tightening as he looked down at Claire.

"There was a shooting," he said quietly. "At a cafe. She got caught in it."

Andrew’s face fell. "Shit..."

"She was hit," Zeke continued, his voice low and rough. "Lost a lot of blood. They had to operate right away. She’s stable now, but still unconscious."

Andrew looked back at Claire, his expression softening. The beeping of the monitors filled the silence for a few moments.

"And all this time..." he murmured, shaking his head slowly. "You had a daughter. With Cassidy."

Zeke didn’t respond right away. His gaze stayed fixed on Claire.

"I didn’t know," he finally said. "Not until last night."

Andrew turned sharply toward him. "You just found out?"

Zeke gave a small nod. "Yeah. I didn’t know she was pregnant. Cassidy never told me."

Andrew looked like he wanted to say more, but instead, he simply said, "I’m sorry. I really hope she wakes up soon."

Zeke nodded, his jaw tense, but his expression grateful.

Andrew glanced around the room, then asked, "So... where’s Cassidy?"

Zeke replied, "She stepped out for a bit."

Andrew nodded slowly.

***

Cassidy had stepped out of Claire’s room to call Xavier.

She didn’t feel comfortable making the call inside, not with Zeke still sitting beside Claire. It felt too personal, too complicated. So she found a quiet corner just outside the VIP ward and stood there for a moment, trying to collect herself.

Before dialing, she took a deep breath, preparing for what might follow.

She knew Xavier would be upset. She hadn’t told him about Claire until now, and he had every right to feel hurt. If she had contacted him yesterday, he would have rushed to the hospital without a second thought.

But that was exactly why she hadn’t.

Everything had happened so fast. She hadn’t been thinking clearly. And when Zeke showed up, overwhelmed, desperate to understand what happened to Claire, Cassidy hesitated. She didn’t want to make things worse.

Especially after the confrontation at the mall.

Zeke had been angry, pushing her for answers about Xavier. Demanding to know who he was to her. The frustration in his voice had left Cassidy unsettled. She wasn’t sure how things would unfold if Xavier and Zeke crossed paths. She didn’t want any misunderstandings to escalate while emotions were still high.

And so she waited.

Now, standing in the hallway with her phone in hand and her heart beating just a little faster, she finally tapped Xavier’s name and brought the phone to her ear.

Xavier picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hi, Cass..." he said, his voice warm but a little surprised.

"Are you busy?" Cassidy asked softly.

"No, not really," he replied. "Just working on some prep for the new restaurant. Why? What’s going on?"

There was a pause. Cassidy hesitated, biting the inside of her cheek.

"It’s Claire," she said finally. "She’s in the hospital."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

"What? How?" Xavier’s voice sharpened, worry creeping in. "What happened? Is she okay? What hospital? Is she sick?"

Cassidy took a breath. "She was... she was shot. It happened yesterday. She’s stable now, but she lost a lot of blood. We’re at St. James Hospital. VIP wing."

There was a beat, and then Xavier’s voice rose, alarmed. "She was what? Shot? How the hell did that happen?"

He didn’t even wait for her to respond.

"I’m coming. I’ll be there as soon as I can."

Cassidy let out a long breath after the call ended, lowering the phone slowly.

She stared at the screen for a moment, then looked down the quiet hallway.

She knew Xavier would come quickly. And part of her was relieved, Claire needed him too. But another part of her was nervous.

She wasn’t sure how Zeke would react.

She trusted Xavier, he wouldn’t cause a scene, not in front of Claire. But Zeke? She didn’t know. Not really. Not when it came to things like this.

He had every right to be upset, to feel betrayed. But she couldn’t predict how he’d respond when the man who’d been by Claire’s side all these years walked through that door.

"I just hope this doesn’t make things worse," she whispered to herself.

Then, quietly, she turned and walked back toward Room 305. She spotted Andrew near the foot of Claire’s bed, holding his laptop bag as if he had just finished a task.

Andrew looked up at her and gave a small nod.

Cassidy nodded back.

Zeke, still seated beside Claire, glanced briefly at Andrew.

"You can go back to the office," he said. "I trust you can handle things while I’m here."

Andrew gave a simple nod in return, then turned and walked out of the room without a word.

The door clicked shut behind him, and silence settled once more.

"Are you hungry?" Zeke asked.

From the sofa by the window, Cassidy shifted slightly and said, "No. Clara will bring us breakfast."

Zeke nodded. "Alright."

He glanced at Claire, then back at Cassidy. "Just let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay."

Half an hour later, a soft knock sounded at the door of Claire’s hospital room.

Zeke, still seated by the bed, looked up and said, "Come in," assuming it was Clara bringing breakfast.

But when the door opened and he saw who was standing there, his body tensed.

Xavier.

Their eyes met and in that instant, both men froze.

Recognition hit them at the same time.

Zeke stood slowly, his expression unreadable. Xavier took a step forward, his jaw tightening as he stared back at the man connected to two people closest to him.

***