He was watching Mia sleep through the glass.

“She’s going to be okay,” I told him.

He turned.

His eyes immediately dropped toward my stomach again.

Then he finally asked the question.

“Is that baby mine?”

I placed my hand protectively over my belly.

“Your daughter needs you tonight. That’s where your attention should be.”

His voice softened.

“Caroline, please.”

I said nothing.

“I didn’t know.”

I looked directly at him.

“You didn’t exactly make it easy for me to tell you.”

His shoulders lowered.

“I was afraid.”

“I know.”

“Leaving you was the worst decision I’ve ever made.”

Before I could respond, movement came from Mia’s room.

The Question That Silenced the Room

Mia was awake.

When we entered, she looked from me to Gavin.

Then she smiled.

“Daddy?”

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

She pointed toward my stomach.

“Is the baby in Dr. Caroline’s tummy my little brother?”

Gavin froze.

He looked at me.

Mia waited innocently for an answer.

I could have avoided the question.

But she deserved honesty.

“Yes, Mia,” I said gently. “He’s your little brother.”

Her face lit up.

“Really?”

I nodded.

Gavin gripped the side of her bed.

For several seconds, he couldn’t speak.

Then his expression changed.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I stared at him.

“I tried.”

His eyebrows pulled together.

“What?”

“I called you twice.”

He shook his head.

“I never got those calls.”

“Because my number was blocked.”

His expression became confused.

I continued.

“Then I received a letter from an attorney telling me to stay away from you and your family.”

Gavin looked genuinely stunned.

“What attorney?”

Now it was my turn to pause.

“The attorney representing you.”

“Caroline, I never hired anyone to contact you.”

Before I could answer, the door opened.

The Woman With the Diamond Ring

A stylish woman stepped inside carrying a designer handbag.

Her name was Vanessa Caldwell.

I recognized her immediately.

Not because I had met her before.

Because her name had appeared on the documents sent to me months earlier.

Vanessa stopped when she saw me.

Her expression hardened.

“Gavin, why is she here?”

Before either of us could respond, Mia excitedly announced:

“Vanessa! Dr. Caroline is having my baby brother!”

Vanessa’s face changed instantly.

Gavin noticed.

So did I.

He slowly turned toward her.

“You knew Caroline was pregnant?”

Vanessa recovered quickly.

“She was trying to pull you back into her life.”

I stared at her.

“I never asked Gavin for money, a house, or anything else.”

Vanessa crossed her arms.

“You would have eventually.”

Gavin’s voice became unusually quiet.

“How did you know she tried to contact me?”

Vanessa didn’t answer.

That silence told us enough.

I took out my phone.

Months earlier, I had scanned the legal letter before placing the original in a secure file.

I opened the document and handed my phone to Gavin.

He read it once.

Then again.

His expression grew increasingly troubled.

At the bottom was an authorization that appeared to carry his signature.

Gavin looked up.

“I didn’t sign this.”

Vanessa immediately reached toward the phone.

I moved it away.

“You blocked my number, didn’t you?”

She remained silent.

Gavin stared at her.

“Vanessa?”

Finally, she spoke.

“I was protecting your family.”

“From what?”

“From her coming back and turning everything upside down.”

I almost laughed at the irony.

The person claiming to protect his family had kept him from knowing he was about to have a son.

The Secret Inside Her Bag

Voices had grown loud enough that a nurse stepped into the room.