Chapter 8 - The Father Who Returned for the Cameras
Two weeks later, Noah and Lily were still receiving care in the NICU.
They were gaining weight slowly. Noah no longer needed breathing support, while Lily had begun gripping Audrey’s finger whenever she heard her mother’s voice.
Audrey spent nearly every hour beside them.
Silas visited each morning.
He rarely entered without carrying something unnecessary. One day it was a pair of stuffed rabbits almost as large as the babies. Another day it was a miniature train set they would not be able to use for years.
“You know they cannot play with these,” Audrey said.
“I am planning ahead.”
“You planned seventeen years ahead with my first trust account. Look how that turned out.”
Silas became quiet.
Audrey immediately regretted the remark.
“I’m sorry.”
“No,” he said. “You are right to be angry with me too.”
“With you?”
“I believed protecting you meant controlling every risk. When you resisted, I withdrew too far because I wanted you to return on your own.”
“I thought you were disappointed in me.”
“I was frightened for you.”
Silas looked through the glass at the twins.
“We wasted years misunderstanding each other.”
“Then we shouldn’t waste any more.”
Their reconciliation was interrupted when Dominic arrived at the hospital with a photographer.
He had contacted several entertainment reporters, claiming that Audrey’s wealthy family was preventing him from seeing his children.
Security stopped him in the lobby.
Dominic raised his voice so the cameras could hear.
“I am their father. She cannot keep me away because her grandfather is rich.”
Audrey watched the scene through a security feed.
Mara stood beside her.
“He wants public sympathy,” Mara said.
“Can he see them?”
“The court has not prohibited contact. But because he previously attempted to remove documents from your bed and disrupted the NICU, the hospital can require supervision.”
“Then arrange it.”
Mara looked surprised.
“You want him near them?”
“I want him to have no excuse. Let the truth speak for itself.”
Dominic was allowed into a family consultation room, accompanied by a nurse and security officer. The babies remained in their bassinets because removing them for a publicity display would have been medically inappropriate.
When Dominic entered, the cameras remained outside.
Without an audience, his concern disappeared.
“How long until they can leave?” he asked.
“The doctors cannot give an exact date,” Audrey replied.
“I need a photograph with them.”
“No.”
“My lawyer says public opinion matters.”
“They are not public relations tools.”
Dominic looked toward the tiny infants.
“They barely look like babies.”
Audrey’s expression changed.
The nurse looked away in disgust.
Dominic realized his mistake.
“That isn’t what I meant.”
“You may leave.”
“I have rights.”
“And responsibilities. You have not paid any medical costs, asked about their conditions, or attended a single meeting with their doctors.”
“Your grandfather owns the hospital. He can pay.”
Audrey stood between Dominic and the bassinets.
“You will never use wealth as an excuse to avoid loving them.”
Dominic left without touching either child.
The nurse documented every statement he made.
Outside, reporters asked why the visit had ended so quickly.
Dominic claimed Audrey had forced him to leave.
The next morning, the hospital released a brief statement confirming that Dominic had been offered a supervised visit and had ended it after fewer than ten minutes.
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Public sympathy disappeared.
For the first time, Dominic discovered that cameras could record failure as easily as success.
