Chapter 4 - The Anchor Pin
Security guards moved to intercept the Admiral, unsure of why the most powerful man in the room was charging toward a junior officer and a child, but Cassian brushed past them as if they were made of smoke.
His intense, stern demeanor was completely gone, replaced by a look of sheer, agonizing shock.
As he closed the distance, the room seemed to hold its collective breath. Eleanor flinched, stepping back, assuming the Admiral was coming to demand an explanation for her horrific behavior.
"Admiral Vale, I apologize for the technical error—" Eleanor began, her voice trembling.
Cassian didn't even glance at her. He dropped to his knees right in front of Liam, ignoring the dust on the polished floor, ignoring the eyes of every military commander in the state.
He was three feet away. His eyes scanned every inch of Liam's face—the shape of his jaw, the faint scar near his hairline, the deep hazel color of his eyes.
"My son..." Cassian gasped, his voice breaking into a ragged sob. "Julian?"
The entire ballroom gasped.
Liam didn't back away this time. The trembling in his hands slowly stopped. His eyes drifted down from the Admiral’s tear-filled face to the golden anchor pin pinned to the lapel of Cassian’s military uniform.
Slowly, hesitantly, Liam lifted his hand. For four months, he had refused to touch anyone or anything without prompting. But now, his tiny fingers reached out and gently touched the gold anchor.
A tiny, choked sound escaped Liam’s throat—the first sound he had made in three years.
"D-Dadd..." Liam whispered, the word fragile and unfinished, yet clear enough to cut through the quiet room.
May you like
Cassian wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him tightly against his chest, weeping openly. "I found you... Dear God, I found you..."
I stood stunned, my heart hammering against my ribs. Beside me, Eleanor looked as though she had been struck by lightning. The child she had just publicly branded a worthless burden was the long-lost son of the Navy’s most powerful Admiral.
