Chapter 14 - Christian’s Desperate Plea
Christian’s knees gave out. He collapsed back into his chair, burying his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with violent, racking sobs.
"Althea, please..." he begged, his voice muffled by his palms. "Take the estate. Take the ships. Take the money! I don't care about the fortune anymore! Just... just let me be their father. Let me see Alexander. Let me hold Seraphina. She has my mother's eyes, Althea! You cannot keep my own children from me!"
Althea walked over to the desk, her expression devoid of pity.
"Where was that paternal devotion when Vanessa showed you her first ultrasound?" she asked, her voice quiet but lethal. "Where was your love when you stood in this very room and told me that a woman who cannot give an heir has no place in your bed?"
"I was blind! I was manipulated by my father and Marcus!" Christian cried, looking up, tears streaming down his hollow cheeks. "I was weak, Althea! I admit it! But they are my blood! The law recognizes biological paternity! You cannot deny me visitation!"
"The law recognizes biological paternity when the father signs the birth certificate," Althea countered, leaning down until her eyes were level with his. "On their birth certificates, registered in Geneva, the father is listed as unknown. You abandoned me while pregnant. You never provided a single franc for their prenatal care, their birth, or their upbringing. And under Swiss international law, an abandoned mother with full financial sovereignty has absolute custody."
"I'll fight you in court!" Christian threatened desperately, his voice cracking. "I will spend every penny I have left to challenge you!"
"With what money, Christian?" Althea asked, a bitter smile gracing her lips. "Your personal accounts were frozen three hours ago under suspicion of insider trading related to Marcus’s forged contracts. You don't have enough capital left to hire a public defender, let alone an international custody lawyer."
Christian froze.
The door to the study opened again, and this time, Althea’s head of security stepped in, carrying four-year-old Alexander and holding little Seraphina by the hand.
Christian gasped, his face lighting up with a desperate, wild hope. "Alexander... Seraphina... my babies..."
He dropped to his knees on the carpet and reached out his hands toward them. "Come here... come to Papa..."
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Alexander looked down at the weeping, broken man on the floor. The little boy took a half-step back, tightening his small hand around the security guard’s tailored sleeve.
"Mama," Alexander asked clearly, his voice echoing in the quiet study. "Who is the sad man on the floor?"
