Chapter 88 *
Third Person POV
Damon walked out of the hospital room. His jaw was clenched so tight it hurt.
He headed down the hallway. Past nurses. Past doctors. Past people who took one look at his face and moved out of the way.
Found an empty consultation room at the end of the corridor. Stepped inside. Locked the door behind him.
He pulled out his phone. Scrolled through his contacts.
Found the name he was looking for.
Dr. Chen.
His thumb hovered over the call button.
Part of him wanted to drive over there. Handle this in person.
The old-fashioned way.
But that would take time. And right now, he needed answers.
He pressed call.
The phone rang. Once. Twice.
Three times.
Damon's jaw clenched tighter with each ring.
Pick up the fucking phone.
On the fourth ring, someone answered.
"H-hello?" Chen's voice came through. Shaky. Uncertain.
Like he already knew this call was coming.
Damon didn't waste time with pleasantries.
"You can't even run a fucking pregnancy test right?"
Silence on the other end.
"I—I can explain—"
"You told me she was pregnant." Damon's voice came out low.
"Mr. Wolfe, please, if you'll just let me—"
"She's not pregnant." He could feel the rage building. "There was never a baby."
"I know. I know and I'm so terribly—"
"You know?" Damon laughed. A harsh sound with no humor in it. "You know?"
His free hand curled into a fist.
Chen was breathing hard on the other end. Damon could hear it.
"The test results were positive. The hormone levels—"
"Fuck your hormone levels." Damon's voice dropped lower. "You're supposed to be a professional. A doctor. And you couldn't tell the difference between a real pregnancy and a false one?"
"Her genetic makeup is unusual. I tried to tell you that. The markers don't present the way they should in normal—"
"Don't give me excuses."
"I am... I am so sorry." His voice was shaking.
"People have died for less."
The threat was implicit.
Chen went very quiet.
"I understand. I understand you're angry. You have every right to be."
"Damn right I do." Damon paused.
"If you make another mistake..." Damon let the sentence trail off. Let Chen's imagination fill in the blanks.
"I understand." Chen's voice was barely audible.
"Do you?" Damon leaned back against the concrete wall. "Do you really understand what I'm capable of?"
No response.
"I've built an empire on making problems disappear, Chen. Do you know how easy it would be to make you disappear?"
"Please—"
"How easy it would be to make your family disappear?"
"Mr. Wolfe, I have children—"
"I know you do." The words came out flat. Matter-of-fact. "I know everything about you. Where you live. Where your kids go to school. What route your wife takes to work every morning."
Chen made a sound. Something between a gasp and a sob.
"So when I tell you to get it right this time, I need you to understand what's at stake. Not just for you. For everyone you care about."
"I... I understand."
"Good."
Damon pushed off the wall. Started pacing. Three steps one way. Three steps back.
The rage was still there. Still simmering just below the surface.
"There's something else you need to know." Chen's voice had changed slightly. Still scared but more urgent. "About Mrs. Wolfe's genetic compatibility with you."
Damon stopped pacing.
"What about it?"
"The fact that she even showed false pregnancy symptoms... that's significant."
"Get to the point."
"Her body responded to your genetic markers. That doesn't happen with ordinary DNA." Chen was talking faster now. "The genetic match between you two is extraordinarily high. Higher than I've ever seen. Which means..."
Chen trailed off.
"Which means what?"
"Which means a successful pregnancy is still possible. More than possible. Likely, even."
The words hit Damon like a physical blow. He closed his eyes.
Good news.
Was it?
Or was it just another way for fate to fuck with him?
"Run the tests. All of them. I want a complete genetic workup. I want to know exactly what we're dealing with."
"Of course. I'll start immediately."
"And Chen?"
"Yes?"
"If you're wrong about this... if you give me false hope again... there won't be a third conversation. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Chen's voice was barely a whisper. "I understand."
"Good."
Damon hung up.
He shoved the phone back in his pocket.
Took a breath.
Then he turned and headed back toward Scarlett's room.
She was probably wondering where he'd gone. Probably worried.
He needed to see her. Needed to see with his own eyes that she was okay.
That she was still his.
Because Chen was right about one thing.
The genetic match between them was extraordinary.
And Damon was going to make damn sure no one—not terrorists, not fate, not even biology itself—was going to take her away from him.
Not now.
Not ever.