Chapter 489

“You worked at The Grand Monarch to earn money?” Nathaniel’s voice came out low and gravelly. “I…”

Sophia lowered her head, guilt washing over her. “Back then, I had just returned to Westchester. Finding a job was nearly impossible without a university degree. When I saw The Grand Monarch was hiring and the position was out of sight in the kitchen, I took it. I wasn’t thinking of anything else. I just wanted to wash dishes in the back. I never went anywhere else in that place, but…” Her mind drifted back to that night five years ago. Her gaze grew distant, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “A friend of mine got terrible food poisoning on Valentine’s Day. She begged me to deliver a room service order to the penthouse. I tried to refuse, but she said the guest was demanding it urgently. If it was late, her pay would be docked. So…”

“I planned to leave immediately after dropping off the food, but the suite door was slightly ajar. I had no idea it was you inside. I only meant to pull it closed. But when I reached for the handle, you…” Sophia’s words trailed off. She kept her head down, shame and guilt burning on her face.

Nathaniel’s eyes darkened to obsidian. That night, he had been drugged. The woman he had dragged into that room was…

Could it truly have been Sophia all along?

Sophia was Oliver’s biological mother?

The woman he had spent five years searching for was right here.

Seeing his stormy expression, Sophia grew anxious. She had always been afraid of him. “Mr. Blackwood, I’m not asking for anything. I know my place. I quit that job and left Westchester right after it happened. I thought I would never trouble you again. I never wanted to be connected to you. But then… I discovered I was pregnant.” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t even know until he was already five months along…”

She continued, the words thick with shame and regret. “No one would have believed I was innocent. My body has always been weak. My cycles were irregular. My family was poor. I couldn’t afford proper medical care in Westchester. For the first five months, I thought I was just sick. I never imagined… It wasn’t until I felt movement that I realized…”

She paused, her hand instinctively moving to her lower abdomen. “I considered an abortion. I didn’t want to cause you more trouble. But the doctor said the fetus was fully formed. He was five months old. He was moving…”

“I genuinely… I truly grew to love him. He was innocent. So I was selfish. I decided to keep him. I wanted to raise him on my own. I never intended to bother you, but…” Her voice broke completely.

Nathaniel’s expression was impenetrable, darker than a moonless night.

Sophia’s voice became a ragged, hoarse whisper. “I never expected… the baby would be stillborn. The doctor told me he was already gone when he was delivered…”

“I only saw him once before they took him away. He was so tiny. So pitiful. Like a little kitten. My heart shattered… I wanted to save him… But I couldn’t…” A sob ripped from her throat.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. Her shoulders shook with the force of her breathless, gut-wrenching sobs.

Nathaniel remained with his back to her. He hadn’t turned around once. He couldn’t begin to fathom what she had endured. Giving birth alone. A difficult labor. The death of her child. While he felt no love for her, he was undeniably the cause of all her suffering.

After several minutes, Sophia’s sobs subsided. She wiped her tears away, her movements shaky. “Mr. Blackwood, I’m not telling you this to get anything from you. I’ve survived the hardest part of my life. I never wanted to cause you more trouble. The only reason I’m here today is that I have no other choice. I’m begging for your help.”

She took a shaky breath. “Vivienne found out. She made me tell you everything. She wants to destroy your relationship with Isabella. I didn’t want to do it. All I want is to live a peaceful life with my parents. But she forced me. She made me take a drug. She said she’d never give me the antidote if I told you the truth…”