FATIM

I decided to go with my assistant today to Harris's company. I actually wanted by any chance to have a talk with Elena. I am her stepdad afterall. I do not like this thing that she lacks a good relationship with her mother. Regardless of the many mistakes her mother has made, I know leaving her was the biggest one. But Patrick raised her good. She is a good, little girl with respect and ambitions. I have seen her in meetings since she has started working with Justin.

"Cindy, could you please call Cario to come down here." I command my assistant who heads straight to it. "Earl should probably start a relationship with Justin to give him advice on how to run a company. Look at how well managed this place is even without his presence. You'd swear the boss is around." I continue to myself as I am looking at the obediently working employees.

"Mr Fatim." Cario shows up, always looking glad to see me. "How are you this day? I see you've brought yourself personally this time." He continues.

"I am fine, Cario. My aim on coming here is to see Elena." I head straight to the point. "Is she by any chance here?" I ask.

"Right, Elena. She is probably in Mr Harris's office. I'll send someone to get her just now." As Cario is about to utter another word, I cut him off.

"That's okay, I know the way. I'll head there just now." I suggest. "Cindy, you can do whatever you want for the time being. I'll be back in no time." I make my way to the elevator in my tucked suit as I fix my tie.

Cannot approach as a careless stepfather already. I need to show why her mom chose me over her dad. I am soon in the elevator and to the seventh floor, which I reach after five minutes. Soon, I am walking straight to Justin's office which I am very much familiar with.

I was about to knock until I found the door wide open and Elena was on a call.

"You could've shipped her or something. I told her she can never get between me and you but she still had to see it for herself." Elena says to the caller as she giggles and her soft leading voice tells me that she is talking to no one but Justin.

I smile but I cannot eavesdrop for any much longer. I decide to clear my throat as I take my sit before Justin's office chair she is sitting on, and she startles as she turns to me.

"Oh, sorry. Let me call you back later." She ends her call. "HI, Mr Fatim!" She exclaims shook of course as she puts her phone away.

It is at this moment that when she puts her phone in her purse, the moment she reaches for her purse, a birthmark reveals behind her ear. A birthmark I have never been aware of until now that has me shook and like I am about to run out of breath. A cross that has ran from generation to generation in the Cross family that goes with the tiniest Star at its bottom, both in black.

When you do not know, you would say its a tattoo but it actually is not. Our greatest of greatest grandfather was one of the best scientists, and in the times of slavery, he invested a way that the Cross family would identify one other after the slavery. He made sure that whatever he was using, became a part of a person's gene so that the Cross that represented him and that star that represented his wife who stood by him always would always be passed from one generation to the next.

I have it too. Earl who is my oldest son has it too. Everyone in the Cross family has it. Where does Elena get it? It looks exactly like mine, situated at the exact position and side. I begin to be filled with confusion as I even stand up and walk away without saying a word.

"Mr Fatim." Elena yells but I have long exited the door.

I head to the first floor with the elevator as I find Cindy chatting with Cario and I just pass them as I am filled with this anger and confusion. Rebecca has got a lot of explaining to do.

"Cindy, let's go." I say as I am already headed for the door.

I get in the car as my chauffeur is already waiting for me, and I direct him to take me straight home.

"Mr Fatim. Is everything alright?" Poor worried Cindy asks.

"I'm not fine at all, Cindy. Get me a bottle of my favorite whisky." I say as we have reached my house and I head to my office room.

The first thing I do when I get there is take off my jacket and throw it away. I unbutton my shirt a little as I sit on my office chair and dial Rebecca's phone numbers.

"HI, honey. Miss me already?" Rebecca answers the call.

"Who is Elena's father?" I ask firstly.

She giggles, "What do you mean? Isn't Patrick Elena's father?" She asks. "Honey, are you okay? Have you been taking you stress medication?" She continues and I scoff as I have a mouth full of whiskey Cindy just brought and I wince as it goes down my throat.

"Don't lie to me, Rebecca!" I shout, even smashing the glass upon the wall in my office. "I am going to ask you one last time. Who is Rebecca's father?" I cannot hide my fury anymore.

The thought of it is just driving me insane. Rebecca could be capable of doing such? That girl has the family birth mark. The only birthmark that makes a Cross different from everyone else in this entire world.

"Elena is Patrick's daughter, Fatim." Rebecca continues to manipulate my feelings.

"Okay, I'll find the truth for myself then and when I do, you woman are going to be sorry. I'll fly to Paris just to get you." I end the call. "CINDY!" I yell.

Cindy comes rushing to my office, definitely frightened by my emotions. I have never been like this my entire life, neither have I ever felt such rage inside me. Hiding a whole human being is not as small as hiding that you are actually married or something.

"Yes, Mr Cross." When Cindy becomes this professional, I know I have scared her off.

I take a sigh on noticing her scared expression as I breath in and out severally. Calm down Fatim. You will get to the bottom of this.

"Call me Caesar and tell him that it is urgent, now." I calmy say, and Cindy nods as she makes her way out.

Only smoke is left of escaping my noise at this moment.

ELENA

Okay...that was strange.

I stand up from Justin's chair as I take my purse and head out. I feel like I have been walking for hours. I say my goodbyes to Cario and the rest of my colleagues whom I am forge with, and I head to the private parking spot using the elevator.

As soon as I get there, as I am about to open my car and get in, a sudden headache reaches me unexpectedly. I groan as hard as I can as I even drop my car keys while I now have my hands on my head.

"Ouch!" I scream.

It comes running, a young man who is probably in his late twenties or almost in his late twenties. He offers me a hand as he gives me his bottle of water.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asks, and I have a drink of some water and nod slowly as it seems like the headache was just a passerby. "Let me get this for you." He continues as he bends over.

He is a white guy. Hair, dark brown, brown darkened eyes and kind of muscular. As he bends, I notice something on him, right behind the earlobe.

"Thank_you..." I spell out as I am shook.

He hands me over the car keys back and I take them still gazing at his neck to an extend that he notices and he chuckles. He has got a radiant smile, as beautiful as his eyes if I may say. But the birthmark on his neck. He touches it, and I slowly stretch my arm heading for mine and I watch his smile slowly fade as he puts on a shook expression.

"You have the same birthmark." He utters, and my heart starts to race of confusion. "Wait, what is your name?" He continues.

I feel like I am about to run of oxygen. I hold my chest as I start to breath heavily and everything start to turn blurry as seconds pass and the next thing I feel light and darkness hit my eyes as I have fainted.

...

Beep, beep, beep.

I open my eyes slowly to the sound of the hospital monitor operating beside me. The first image I see is the guy from earlier.

"What happened? Why am I at a hospital?" I interrogate. The guy seems so worried as he even sighs and smiles at my waking up.

"You fainted, but you're okay. It didn't affect your pregnancy." He states, and my eyes widen up.

Pregnancy!

"I am pregnant?" I ask.

"What do you mean you're pregnant? Of course you're pregnant..." He pauses on seeing the shook expression on my face. "Don't tell me you weren't aware." He continues, and tears start to form in my eyes.

I shake my head, and he slowly approaches me as he hugs me. Okay, I am hugging a stranger and I feel so safe in his arms. My mind comes to senses as the whole fact that he is a stranger keeps ringing and I reach out of the hug as I wipe away my tears.

"I'm sorry, thanks again..." I try to say but then remember I have not gotten his name yet.

"Earl Cross." He ends my sentence.

"Thanks, Earl. I should be on my way now, my dad is probably flattered." I say as I stand up and remove the trip from my skin. "I wonder how am I going to break this off to him." I continue as I sneeze and chuckle unbelievably.

I head to the door of the ward.

"Nurse! I am awake." I yell by the hallway.

EARL

After making sure that Elena whom I got her name from the nurses was okay and her chauffeur got her, I headed to my car and took out a loud sigh after closing the door.

What on earth was that? She has got the same birthmark, exactly it. Could this mean something. I reach out my phone as I search her, and it is at this moment that it rings a bell in my head that she is the face of HCP.

"I have that latest magazine here somewhere. Kris was just going through it in the morning." I utter to myself as I check around the car for the magazine.

When I finally get it, I gaze at the picture of Elena placed on its surface. She's got mom's eyes. I know mom once got pregnant when I was five. I remember correctly. When she was almost going to give birth, I nursed her through the meetings my dad went but she was also barely with dad and I. She left exactly on her maternity period. When she came back after three years, assuming she was here yo stay, I was eight. I remember asking her where my little sister was and she told me she died, that she was too young and could not survive.

Tears fill my eyes from the memory. I scream as loud as I can as I hit my head against the steering wheel of fury. I need to get to the bottom of this. This way, I head home driving at a high speed. The first thing I do is step down the car with the magazine in my hand as I head straight to my father's office.

"Dad!" I yell as I barge in, and then throw the magazine on his table before him. "We need to talk." I continue.

He looks up at me. Why is drinking during the week? I ask myself as I notice the whiskey bottle on his table, but no whiskey glass. He then looks at the magazine and lifts it up to his eyes.

"You met her too?" He asks. Now I am shook. I chuckle.

"What do you mean I met her too? Was I supposed to meet her?" I yell.

"Shh." My dad says as he stands up, placing his index finger on his mouth. I breath out heavily to calm down.

"She has the birthmark. I saw it with my own two eyes." I release. "What is going on dad?" I ask.

"You and I are in the same position in this. I am getting to the bottom of it as we speak. Caesar has a plan to get the DNA results ran. You just go home, relax with your wife and kid and we'll talk tomorrow when I have the DNA sample." My dad states, patting my back and I nod.

Okay...I trust my dad. But I am keeping the news paper.