Chapter 168 The Cake Shop Revelations
Elena: POV
I sat on the Tube, my hands trembling so violently I could barely grip the overhead rail. The carriage rocked beneath me, each lurch forward feeling like an eternity when all I wanted was to be there now, to have my daughter back in my arms.
Twenty minutes. Lila had been missing for twenty minutes.
The other passengers were just blurs of color and motion, their conversations a meaningless drone beneath the roar of blood in my ears. I stared at the route map above the doors, mentally calculating how many more stops until I could get to her school.
My phone rang.
Alexander's name flashed across the screen.
I answered before the second ring. "Alexander, I'm on my way to Lila's school. We—our daughter is missing. I—"
"What?" His voice cut through, sharp and immediate. "What do you mean, missing?"
"Miss Robertson called. She left Lila alone for just two minutes at the school gate and when she came back—" My voice cracked. "She's gone, Alexander. Someone took her."
"I'm already at your design studio door." I could hear him moving, a car door slamming. "I told you I'd pick you up. Get out here right now."
"I'm on the Tube heading to the school. I couldn't wait, I just—"
"What? Elena, I'm here waiting for you. How are you—" There was a pause, then his voice turned sharp with understanding. "You left without me."
"Alexander, I need to get to her—"
"I'm heading to the school now." His voice was clipped, controlled, but I could hear the hurt beneath it. "We'll find her together."
The train slowed, pulling into the next station. My grip on the rail tightened until my knuckles went white. More passengers shuffled on and off, their faces swimming before my eyes.
My phone buzzed again.
Unknown number.
My heart stopped, then kicked into a violent rhythm that made my vision blur. The phone felt slippery in my sweaty palm.
I swiped to answer, pressing the phone against my ear. "Hello? Who is this? Where did you take my daughter?"
Silence.
"Mom, it's me."
The world stopped. The train noise faded. The other passengers vanished.
"Lila?" My voice came out strangled, barely above a whisper. "Sweetheart, where are you? Are you hurt?"
"Mom, I'm fine." Her voice was steady, almost cheerful, and I wanted to sob with relief. Then she continued brightly, "I'm at Sweet Endings cake shop with the sad uncle."
Ice flooded my veins.
"How did you end up with Julian?" The name felt foreign on my tongue, heavy with implications I couldn't grasp.
"Mom, the sad uncle is a good person!" Lila's voice bubbled with excitement, completely oblivious to my panic. "He showed me your wedding photos! He told me you two should be husband and wife, that you were supposed to live together! And he said he's my real daddy—so does that mean Alexander daddy is... what do you call it... the other man?"
My blood turned to ice. The casual way she said it, like she was discussing her favorite cartoon character.
"Sweetheart, can you put the sad uncle on the phone?"
But the line went dead.
I stared at my phone, my hands shaking so badly I nearly dropped it. Then I quickly typed a message to Alexander with trembling fingers:
Found Lila. She's safe. Sweet Endings cake shop, Ledbury Road, Notting Hill.
I sent him the location pin, then turned and headed for the westbound platform, pushing through the crowd with desperate urgency.
---
The ride to Notting Hill was torture. I sat rigid, my mind spinning with Lila's innocent words, each one echoing in my head like a hammer blow.
He's my real daddy... Alexander daddy is the other man...
What had Julian told her? What photos had he shown her? The questions circled endlessly, making my stomach churn. I pressed my forehead against the cool window, watching London blur past—red buses, black cabs, people living their normal lives while mine imploded.
When the train finally pulled into Notting Hill Gate, I was on my feet before the doors opened, pushing through the crowd, taking the stairs two at a time. My heels clicked frantically against the pavement as I half-ran down the street.
Ledbury Road was lined with pastel townhouses and expensive boutiques. Sweet Endings had a mint-green awning with gold lettering, looking deceptively cheerful and innocent.
Through the large front window, I could see her.
Lila, sitting at a small round table, animated and happy, her legs swinging beneath her chair. She was wearing her school uniform—navy blazer, white shirt, plaid skirt—but her tie was askew and there was what looked like chocolate on her collar.
And across from her—
Julian Sterling.
He was leaning forward, listening to her talk, a leather photo album open between them. He was pointing at something on the page, and she was giggling, covering her mouth with her small hand the way she always did when she found something particularly funny.
My chest constricted. They looked so... natural together. Like father and daughter.
Then Lila looked up and saw me through the window. Her face lit up like Christmas morning.
"Mommy!"
Julian's head snapped toward the door.
Our eyes locked through the glass.
He looked devastated—dark circles under his eyes, stubble covering his jaw, his hair disheveled. His expensive suit was wrinkled, his tie loosened. But it was the expression on his face that made my breath catch.
Relief. Desperate, overwhelming relief. Like he'd been drowning and I was air.
I pushed open the door. The bell chimed cheerfully.
"Mommy!" Lila scrambled out of her chair and ran to me, her school shoes squeaking against the polished floor. "Mommy, you're here! The sad uncle found me and brought me here and showed me pictures of you and him and—"
I dropped to my knees and pulled her into my arms, holding her so tight she squeaked in protest. She smelled like strawberries and vanilla cake, her hair soft against my cheek.
"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
"No, Mommy, I'm fine!" She pulled back, confused by my intensity. "He's nice. He bought me cake and showed me pictures and told me stories about when you were young and—"
"Elena."
Julian's voice cut through her words, low and rough, like he hadn't spoken in days.
I looked up, still kneeling, still holding Lila.
He was standing a few feet away, hands in his pockets, looking like a man barely holding himself together. His eyes were red-rimmed, and there was something broken in his expression that made my heart clench despite everything.
"Mommy, look!" Lila darted to the table and grabbed the photo album, nearly knocking over a teacup in her excitement. "See? That's you and him! You're wearing a white dress!"
My breath caught.
A wedding photo. Me, younger, radiant, standing next to Julian in what looked like a garden.
I looked like I was in love. Completely, utterly in love.
"Elena, I can explain—" Julian started, his voice hoarse.
"You took my daughter," I whispered, standing slowly. "You took her from school."
"I didn't take her," he said quickly. "I found her. She was walking alone on a street, crying. I couldn't just leave her there."
"Mommy, it's true!" Lila piped up. "I was lost and scared and the sad uncle helped me!"
"Lost?" I looked between them, confusion mixing with my anger. "How were you lost? Miss Robertson said you disappeared from the school gate."
"I followed a pretty butterfly," Lila said matter-of-factly. "It was blue and gold and I wanted to catch it for you. But then I couldn't find my way back and I got scared."
The door burst open with such force that the bell nearly flew off its hook.
Alexander stood there, chest heaving, his face a mask of fury. His usually perfect hair was messed, his tie crooked, and there was something wild in his eyes I'd never seen before. His gaze swept the room—Lila, me, Julian.
His expression turned murderous.
Before I could react, before I could say anything—
Alexander crossed the room in three long strides and drove his fist straight into Julian's face.
"You bastard."