Chapter 23. The Truth - V

“His… final words?” Hailey said slowly.

Luther nodded. “I told him that I would do anything to make it up to him. I begged him for forgiveness and asked him not to die on me yet.

“But I knew. We both knew. He was running out of time. He was already bleeding out, and the life was slowly fading from his eyes,” he whispered.

Hailey felt a stray tear run down her cheek. “Oh… father…” she murmured.

“I can still remember the sound of his strangled voice as he told me what he wanted from me,” Luther said quietly. “He asked me… to take care of his wife and his newborn daughter.”

Hailey felt a lump rise in her throat. “He… did that?”

“Yes. At that time, Nina… Mason’s wife, and your biological mother… She had already given birth to you and was unconscious at the hospital, resting,” Luther said. “And I… I never knew. It turned out that Mason, after recovering from his illness, accompanied his wife during the last days of her pregnancy before returning to the hotel