Dr. Sophie Vale did not sleep well after reviewing Alex's scans.
He had worked with unusual cases before, discreet ones that never entered public medical records, but nothing like this had ever crossed his table. He replayed the ultrasound image repeatedly on his office monitor long after closing hours, fingers steepled beneath her chin as professional curiosity slowly gave way to remembrance, she obviously couldn't keep this to herself for long unless THEY would find out and probably kill her, something of this calliber shouldn't be kept under wraps, it was that heavy.
"Poor boy" she muttered as she took up her phone and started swiping through her contacts, she felt sorry for Alex, because she knew very well that she was plundering him into a world of hurt and danger. She saw the contact
"Rodrigo"
The connection settled uneasily in her chest. Years ago, during private contractual work funded through anonymous corporate channels, she had signed confidentiality agreements tied indirectly to the Rodrigo syndicate. They financed medical research quietly, aggressively, and always through intermediaries who never appeared twice.
She glanced at Alex files again and saw something inscribed on the Emergency contact bar, he had filled in a number she knew too well and she gasped as realization settled on her, one of the Rodrigo brothers had gotten him pregnant, she scoffed...who knew that one of them would ever be into men.
Which meant one thing.
If this anomaly existed within someone connected to them, withholding information would be far more dangerous than revealing it.
By midnight, she had already made the call.
**
Antonio looked irritated when the doctor was ushered into the estate study.
Raphael looked worse. He was unnecessarily furious fiddling a pistol In his hand.
Neither brother appreciated being summoned under vague urgency, especially by a civilian trembling slightly beneath the weight of armed guards and polished marble intimidation. The study doors shut behind Dr. Vale with a heavy finality, and candlelight flickered across Antonio's composed face as he adjusted his glasses.
"You insisted this could not wait," Antonio said calmly, though impatience threaded beneath his tone. "You have five minutes before I decide you wasted them."
Raphael leaned against the desk, arms folded, eyes sharp with suspicion. "You better not be here asking for funding."
Dr. Vale swallowed and placed a sealed folder carefully on the table.
"This concerns an acquitance of one of you ...Alexander."
The atmosphere changed instantly. Antonio's fingers stilled.
Raphael straightened.
"What about him?" Raphael asked first, his voice already edged with tension.
The doctor hesitated, suddenly aware that they had done it afterall, disbelief would sound safer than truth. Still, he opened the folder and slid several printed scans forward.
"I conducted medical examinations two weeks after his departure from the estate," he began carefully. "The findings indicate… gestational development."
Antonio blinked once.
Raphael frowned and what seemed like the longest momnt Neither spoke.
"I'm sorry," Antonio said after a moment, his tone polite but dangerously quiet. "Repeat that."
Dr. Vale cleared his throat. "Alexander is pregnant."
Raphael laughed.
It burst out of him suddenly, harsh and incredulous, as though the statement itself insulted logic. He pushed away from the desk and ran a hand through his hair.
"That's funny," he muttered. "That's genuinely funny. Men don't get pregnant."
He paced towards the doctor and raised a fist preparing to make impact with her face,
Antonio did not laugh, but disbelief hardened his expression. "Doctor," he said evenly, "if this is some attempt at manipulation—"
"It is medically verified," Vale interrupted, sliding the ultrasound images closer. "Hormonal panels, tissue scans, genetic mapping. He possesses functional uterine structures that appear congenital. Development is consistent with approximately four weeks of pregnancy."
Silence fell heavily across the room.
Raphael dropped his hand and stepped backward first, snatching the scan from the table. He stared at the grainy image as though willing it to reveal a trick. His jaw tightened slowly.
"This could be fabricated," he said, though uncertainty crept into his voice.
Antonio rose from his chair and approached, studying the documents with frightening focus.
Evidence.
Real evidence.
"You're telling me," Antonio said slowly, "that a biological male is carrying a child."
"Yes."
"And you are certain."
"I would stake my license and life on it."
Raphael's breathing grew uneven. "That's impossible."
Dr. Vale hesitated before adding quietly, "Impossible does not mean nonexistent."
Antonio's gaze darkened as realization began assembling itself piece by piece. Six weeks. Timing aligned too precisely to ignore. His stomach tightened, not with fear but calculation.
Ownership entered the room before anyone voiced it.
Raphael spoke first.
"…Whose is it?"
The question lingered between them like loaded steel.
Antonio did not answer immediately. His mind replayed fragmented memories he wished buried. Raphael's expression shifted almost simultaneously, understanding dawning with equal horror.
Both men looked at each other.
Recognition struck.
Raphael's voice lowered. "Might be any of us"
The doctor shifted uncomfortably as the temperature of the room seemed to drop several degrees.
Raphael laughed again, though there was no humor this time.
Antonio closed the folder slowly, decisively, as though sealing fate itself.
"Where is he now?" he asked.
Dr. Vale hesitated only briefly before answering. "I can provide the address."
Raphael's eyes sharpened instantly.
Antonio nodded once.
"Do so."
The doctor slid a written note forward, and Antonio accepted it without hesitation. The moment his fingers touched the paper, something changed in his posture. Shock faded. Strategy replaced it.
Raphael noticed.
"You're already thinking like he belongs to us again," Raphael said quietly.
Antonio met his gaze without denial.
"He carries a Rodrigo heir," Antonio replied. "Whether he wishes it or not."
Raphael exhaled slowly, conflicted emotion flashing across his face before something darker settled in its place.
It was protection....it was Obsession..
That feeling settling into him again that he almost switched his personalites once more. He tt
"Prepare the car," he instructed.