Chapter 296

Lucy's POV

"They showed me a small grave, told me my daughter was buried there," Victor's voice trembled. "I later discovered that grave contained another abandoned premature infant from the same ward. But at the time, I believed it completely."

I felt dizzy, the story was absurd yet carried a terrifying ring of truth.

"I left America for Europe. Years later, I rebuilt my business. But inside, I was empty." He took a deep breath. "Last year, I ran into that doctor by chance in London. I thanked him for trying to save my daughter."

Victor lifted his head, looking directly into my eyes. "But he was shocked and asked why I'd abandoned my child. He told me you hadn't died—when he realized I wasn't coming back, he gave you to a kind couple for adoption. He also gave them the watch as your keepsake."

The watch. My brain suddenly flashed back to my grandmother on her deathbed—clutching my hand desperately, trying to tell me something, her eyes full of unspoken words and regret.

My hands shook violently as I fumbled with my phone, barely able to hold it steady as I dialed my uncle Robert's number.

"Lucy?" he answered, sounding surprised.

"Uncle," my voice was so tight it was barely recognizable, "tell me the truth. Was I adopted?"

A long silence filled the line, broken only by my uncle's heavy breathing.

"TELL ME!" I was practically shouting.

"Lucy, listen, we were planning to—"

"Just answer me! Yes or no?"

Another silence, then a deep sigh. "Yes. My sister and her husband adopted you when you were a few weeks old. You were premature, very fragile. A doctor brought you to them, said your biological father never came back."

I felt a wave of vertigo, as if the entire room was spinning. My life is a lie. My identity is a lie. I don't even know who I am.

"What about the watch?" I asked with difficulty, my voice sounding distant even to my own ears. "The one Grandma gave me on her deathbed?"

"It came with you." My uncle's voice was filled with guilt. "Your birth father left it to cover your medical expenses. The doctor gave it to us, said if you ever asked about your biological parents, we should give it to you."

The phone slipped from my numb fingers. Ethan caught it, said a few brief words to my uncle, then hung up.

I felt like I'd been punched hard in the chest, unable to breathe. Twenty-three years of lies. I thought I knew who I was, but I was wrong.

Slowly, I raised my head to look at Victor—my father—really seeing him this time. We had the same eyes, the same eyebrow shape, the same jaw line. Oh my God, it's true. He really is my father.

"I have a father," I whispered, the thought so alien it made me dizzy. Tears blurred my vision, my heart filled with conflicting emotions—anger, shock, confusion, and a strange sense of relief, like finding a missing puzzle piece.

Victor nodded, his own tears flowing freely. "My little girl," he choked out. "My Lucy."

He hesitantly opened his arms, and I stood there, overwhelmed by emotions I'd never experienced before. My body reacted before my brain could, taking one step forward, then another, until I finally collapsed into his embrace.

His hug was almost suffocating in its intensity, but I didn't pull away. I felt the rise and fall of his chest, smelled a scent both foreign and somehow familiar. Is this what having a father feels like?

"I've been looking for you for so long," he whispered in my ear, his voice breaking. "Every day, I wondered if you were alive, if you were okay."

I couldn't speak, could only hold him tighter as tears soaked his suit. Twenty-three years of emptiness suddenly had answers—why I always felt like I didn't fit in, why I was so different from my adoptive parents, why there was always an inexplicable void inside me.

Ethan stood nearby, quietly watching us. When his gaze met mine, he gave me a small smile, his eyes full of support and understanding.

When Victor and I finally separated, he turned to Ethan. "Mr. Storm, I know you've been trying to contact me about Alpine Group."

Ethan straightened, though his eyes still flickered to me with concern. "Yes, we do have urgent business to discuss."

"Your father once destroyed my life," Victor said bluntly. "Because of William Storm's betrayal, I lost everything—my company, my wife, and nearly my daughter too."

I felt a chill. Is this all some revenge plot? Is he using me to hurt Ethan?

But Victor's next words surprised me. "But the sins of the father shouldn't fall on the son." He extended his hand to Ethan. "Meridian Holdings is willing to provide the funding Alpine Group needs. Not as a loan, but as an investment partnership."

Partnership? I felt relief wash over me like a tidal wave. He's not an enemy, he's family.

"That's incredibly generous," Ethan said, clearly surprised.

"It's not generosity," Victor replied, his gaze moving between us. "It's family business. My daughter chose you, Mr. Storm. That makes you family to me as well."

He wasn't just letting go of the past; he was embracing Ethan into this newborn family. This forgiveness, this trust, moved me almost to tears—my father was proving through actions that he wanted to protect not just me, but the man I loved.

Clutching the watch, I no longer felt alone. I have a family now, someone to lean on.

---

As we left the shop together, I felt like I was sleepwalking. In the span of an hour, my entire world has changed. I have a father, a real father.

We walked out onto the busy New York streets, Ethan's arm around my waist, solid and warm.

"Are you okay?" he whispered in my ear, his voice full of concern.

I looked up into his familiar gray eyes, then glanced at Victor walking ahead of us, already on his phone arranging the fund transfer.

"I don't know," I answered honestly, feeling both lost and found at the same time. "But I think I will be."

I have a father. The thought still felt unreal, but something in that hollow place inside me was beginning to fill.