The CEO’s Masked Secret Wife

Liam's POV

Damian's demeanor carried an unsettling weight that made my skin crawl. His usual confidence had cracked, replaced by something that looked dangerously close to panic. When we stepped into his house, the sight of Allen, Adrian, and Noah gathered in his living room sent alarm bells ringing through my head.

"What the hell is going on?" My voice came out sharper than intended, but the tension in the room was suffocating.

"Take a seat, Liam," Damian's tone was measured, but I caught the tremor underneath. I dropped into the nearest chair, every muscle in my body coiled tight. "Remember when we let Hazel go? I had my contact at the precinct run a background check on her."

"Yeah, so what? That's ancient history now." I shrugged, but something in Damian's expression made my stomach twist.

"It should be ancient history," Damian ran a hand through his hair, his composure slipping further. "The investigation came back clean. Hazel's record is spotless, exemplary even. But my guy stumbled onto something else entirely." His eyes found Noah across the room. "He figured out who Leo's biological father is."

Noah's face went white. "Are you serious? I've been trying to track down that bastard since Hazel first told me she was pregnant. I hit nothing but dead ends. Who is he?"

"Wait." Damian held up a hand, and the authority in his gesture made everyone freeze. "Around the same time, Allen walked into my office with his report about that woman you've been hunting for two years, Liam. He found her."

The room tilted slightly. After all this time, all the sleepless nights and endless searches, someone had actually found her. But the way Damian was looking at me made my blood run cold.

"I don't see the connection," Adrian's voice cut through the thick air.

"There's a connection, alright." Damian's words came out like hammer blows. "We never knew the details about how Hazel met Leo's father. None of us really knew the whole story, did we, Evelyn?"

Evelyn shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Hazel only told me she met him at some party. They had one night together, and that was it. I figured you all knew that much."

"But you never knew which party," Noah's voice was barely above a whisper, and when I looked at him, tears were already streaming down his face.

"Exactly." Damian's next words came slowly, deliberately. "Just like you never knew the exact circumstances of how Liam met the woman who's been haunting him for two years."

"No fucking way." Noah was openly sobbing now.

"Someone needs to spell this out for me because I'm completely lost here!" My patience snapped, and my voice echoed off the walls.

Damian looked directly at me, and I saw something like pity in his eyes. "Liam, you met a woman at that masquerade ball the night your parents died. You stepped away to take a phone call, got the worst news of your life, and when you came back, she was gone. You searched everywhere but never found her. You've spent two years looking for her."

The blood in my veins turned to ice. "Yeah, and?"

"Hazel met Leo's father at that same masquerade ball." The words hit me like a physical blow. "The woman you've been searching for, Liam, is Hazel. You're Leo's father."

The world stopped. Everything around me went silent except for the roaring in my ears. I felt tears streaming down my face, but I couldn't form words. The room was tomb-quiet, everyone frozen in shock.

Damian slid two manila folders across the coffee table toward me. My hands shook as I opened them, scanning the detective reports with growing amazement. One detailed Hazel's background, the other documented the search for my mystery woman from the ball.

When I finished reading, I looked up to find everyone watching me with tear-filled eyes, their faces mirrors of my own stunned disbelief.

"It's really her, Damian!" I grabbed the photograph clipped to one of the reports, a grainy shot from the ballroom that night. "This is her! I've been looking for her all this time, and she was right here! And Leo, my God, Leo is my son!" The sobs came harder now, raw and uncontrolled. "I always felt something when I looked at that kid. Now I know why. He's mine!"

I shot to my feet, adrenaline and pure joy propelling me toward the door. "I have to see Hazel right now!"

Noah and Owen moved fast, catching my arms before I could bolt.

"Slow down, Liam. You can't just charge over there and dump this on her. She's in a delicate state right now," Noah's grip was firm.

"What do you mean delicate?" My voice rose to a shout. "First Owen starts acting mysterious about Hazel, now you? What aren't you telling me?"

Noah's face crumpled. "Adrian, get Chl over here. Now."

"I'll call her. Scarlett should come too," Adrian was already pulling out his phone, his expression grim.

"Sit your ass down and wait," Owen's tone brooked no argument. "I'm calling Thea."

Twenty minutes felt like twenty hours, but finally all three women burst through the door, practically tripping over each other in their haste. The worry radiating from them was palpable, and when Chloe's eyes found my face, her expression shifted to something close to terror.

"What happened to Hazel? Noah, where is she?" Chloe's voice was pitched high with anxiety.

"She's fine. She's at the office with Stella," Damian's reassurance did little to ease the tension. "Everyone sit down."

Damian repeated the entire revelation for the women, who stared at me like I'd grown a second head. Their mouths hung open, shock written across every feature.

"Now I want the truth, Chloe. What's wrong with Hazel, and why can't I go to her?" I locked eyes with her, my patience completely shredded.

"Damn it, Sterling!" Chloe's curse cracked like a whip. "This isn't my secret to tell. Hazel's going to murder me."

"Chl, he needs to know. What he has to tell her changes everything. He should understand the situation so he can handle it properly," Scarlett's hand found Chloe's arm, her voice gentle but insistent.

"That's exactly why I called you, Chl. We have to tell him," Noah added.

"Tell me what?" My voice was dangerously low.

Chloe took a shuddering breath, clearly weighing her words. "Do you remember that day with Hazel in the elevator?"

"Of course. It was the last time we were together." The memory still burned.

"Well." Chloe's pause stretched endlessly. "She's pregnant, Sterling."

The earth stopped rotating for the second time in one evening.

"She's what?" Damian and Adrian's voices overlapped in perfect synchronization.

"I'm going to be a father again?" The words came out strangled, and fresh tears began flowing. "Really?"

"Yes, but Hazel's emotional state is extremely fragile right now. The hormonal changes are intense, which is why we're all so worried about her," Owen explained.

"How did you know when I didn't?" I turned to Owen, confusion mixing with everything else churning inside me.

"I pay attention. I've got five nieces and nephews. I know the signs when a woman's carrying," Owen said simply.

"I already have one incredible son, and now there's going to be another baby! I'm going to be a father again!" The joy was overwhelming, spilling out of me in shouts and sobs. "But why didn't she tell me?"

"Because you're engaged to that walking skeleton," Thea's words were sharp as glass.

"Not anymore. You guys don't know yet, do you?" I realized I'd only told Owen and Damian about calling off the engagement. "Owen, Damian, fill them in. I can't think straight right now. All I want is to see Hazel."

"You're staying right here," Damian's tone was final. "I'm calling Stella to bring Hazel here instead."

"That's perfect, Damian," Chloe agreed quickly.

I forced myself to take several deep breaths, fighting for control. "Listen, Scarlett, I know Hazel's been seeing your brother. He seems like a decent guy, but I'm not walking away from my family."

Scarlett's smile was soft and understanding. "My brother is wonderful, Liam. But Hazel isn't seeing him anymore. He went to Texas to spend time with our parents."

When those words hit me, my heart nearly exploded with pure, overwhelming joy.