Chapter 1
There are some moments in life that are so staggering, so life changing in one way or another, that you will always remember them in perfect detail. Where you were when it happened or what the weather was like. What the time was or what you'd eaten for breakfast that morning. Maxwell Lord, sitting alone at his kitchen table eating bacon and eggs, was completely unaware that one of these moments was rapidly approaching him.
It had been a busy week for Max. Lord Technologies was on the brink of developing a new form of x-ray that emitted lower levels of radiation. It was safer and healthier and was going to change the face of medicine. His invention had sprung from his experiments with Kryptonite. At least something good had come out of that mess.
The DEO still watched him like a hawk. Even after everything he'd done to help in the battle against Non, they still didn't trust him. Maybe they were wise not to, given what Major Lane had entrusted him with. He hadn't quite decided what to do with his new toy just yet, but no doubt he would come up with a great idea sooner or later.
His mind had just started to drift towards the plans that still had to be finalised for the new x-ray machine when a knock at the door broke into his thoughts. He let his fork drop to the plate with a clatter, wiped his mouth with a napkin and swallowed the last of his bacon as he rose to answer the door. The knock came again, louder this time, as Max strolled out of his lavish dining room and down the richly carpeted hall.
Max's house was huge, immaculate and well furnished. The cleaners he employed kept it spotless though he never made much mess. In truth, he barely spent much time in the house at all. It was mostly for show, because he could, that Max had a big house. He had no real desire to spend more time than was necessary in the pervading silence, the ever-apparent emptiness.
Finally he reached the front door, a large wooden affair with a brass knocker. The classy kind. He opened it a fraction, peeking out to see who it was. Max didn't often get visitors, let alone at this time of the morning.
'Are you Maxwell Lord?' A gruff voice asked as the door creaked open. Max was surprised to find a burly man in a police officer's uniform standing on his doorstep. He had greying hair and a moustache and, judging by the badge on his chest, was a high ranking officer.
'The one and only. What can I do for you officer?' Max replied in his politest tone. He'd learned recently that it was best to start on the right foot when it came to the authorities. Getting thrown in a cell taught you a few things.
'Mr Lord, I'm afraid there's been an incident that concerns you, but the matter is quite…delicate. It's been requested that you accompany me back to the station as there are a few things that need to be explained.'
Max raised an eyebrow. He noticed the uncomfortable manner in which the officer addressed him, but couldn't fathom what could be so "delicate" a matter that he had to go down to the station before being clued in. The officer waited for Max's reply, fiddling with his belt. Was it just Max's celebrity status that was making the man fidgety?
'Sure,' Max shrugged eventually. 'Just give me one minute.'
The officer nodded understandingly, stepping away from the door as Max went in search of his keys and wallet. Once his essentials were safely tucked away in his pockets he ensured the house was securely locked, his elaborate security system blinking on, and then joined the officer in his squad car.
'The name's Martin by the way,' the man said from the front seat as Max climbed into the back.
'What's this about?' Max asked. 'Is it to do with my company because I assure you, we are completely licensed to-'
'No Mr Lord, it's not your company,' Martin interrupted. 'It's…well, I think it's best you wait till we get there.'
They spent the rest of the drive in silence. Max watched the streets of National City flash by, thinking idly about how close they had come to annihilation only a month ago. Pride and relief that he'd had a reasonable part in preventing Non's attack sat comfortably in the back of his mind and the sight of the city, his city, brought that to the surface.
The car soon pulled into the underground carpark of the NCPD, eradicating Max's view of the skyline. Martin escorted Max up to the fourth floor of the building where he was greeted by a rather plain-looking gentleman in a suit who introduced himself as Mooney. Max assumed it was his last name since he wasn't offered any other details.
'Mr Lord,' Mooney greeted him kindly, 'if you'll just step this way please.'
Max followed the man down the hall and into a room where three important looking men were seated at a table. Mooney shut the door behind them as they entered and Max noticed, with some hesitation, that Martin stayed posted outside the door.
'Have a seat Mr Lord.' A rather rotund and red-faced man gestured to the empty seat next to Mooney. Max sat down slowly, trying to look innocent. He hadn't done anything that would be considered slightly illegal lately had he? Nothing came to mind when he racked his brains. He'd been trying not to do anything that Alex and the DEO wouldn't approve of, partly because he was fed up of being in that cell and partly because he thought that Alex might appreciate his efforts. He'd given Supergirl a bit of a pep talk during the Non incident, but whether or not she'd believed that he was being honest wasn't up to him.
'Mr Lord, my name is Andrew Phillips.' The man directly opposite him leaned forward, bringing Max back to the present. He was a large man, probably in his sixties, balding and grey but nonetheless imposing. Ex-military, Max thought. 'I look after special interest and high security cases here at the NCPD. We received a case four days ago that concerns you. I just want to warn you that all of this may come as quite a shock.'
'All of what, may I ask?' Max's voice contained a hint of impatience now. It was rare that Max got nervous, but the serious looks on the faces surrounding him left him feeling anxious. Not to mention the fact that no one had even hinted to him what this was about yet. Had the police found out about Bizarro?
Mooney opened a file that sat in front of him on the desk, pulling out a photograph and placing it before Max.
'Do you recognise this woman?' He asked.
Max studied the photo carefully. It was of a blonde woman sitting on a park bench. She was smiling at the camera, a book held in her lap. She was reasonably pretty, her eyes crinkling happily. Max thought she was probably in her early thirties.
'No,' Max answered after a minute. 'Should I?'
The men looked at each other with something close to disapproval.
'Her name is Eleanor Williams,' Phillips told him. 'She died in a car crash four days ago. I believe you knew her about ten years ago as Ellie.'
Max looked back at the photo blankly, rolling the name around his head until something clicked, leaving him feeling like he'd been drenched in ice cold water. He thought he'd left that part of his life behind.
When he had been in his mid-twenties, Max had been riding the high of his newly acquired wealth. Lord Technologies had made him a billionaire for the first time and everyone he met treated him like a celebrity. He began to fill the hole that his parents' deaths had left inside him with alcohol and out of control parties, throwing his money around like it was nobody's business. Throughout this period, he'd had a number of short lived affairs with beautiful women who were only too happy to accompany the handsome tech billionaire to his bedroom. Only a few years later, Max had regretted his behaviour and his past embarrassed him even now. None of what he'd done had made him feel whole again and he'd briefly wondered if the women he'd slept with had been using him as much as he had thought he was using them.
Recognition slowly dawned on his face. Ellie had been just one of the girls he'd slept with, a one night stand. He'd never seen her again after that, but he remembered her because she'd given him a bruise on the inside of his thigh that had made walking uncomfortable for days. That wasn't something one tended to forget in a hurry.
The memory suddenly felt highly inappropriate to Max as he connected what Phillips had said about the woman to the photograph. She was dead. Killed in a car crash only four days ago.
'What does this have to do with me?' Max swallowed. He felt like he'd repeated the question enough times now. Wouldn't someone just tell him straight out what the hell was going on?
Phillips clasped his hands on the desk as if he was bracing himself. 'Mr Lord, Ms Williams died in a car crash and left behind her nine year old daughter. Legalities regarding the girl got underway quickly because of her age. In Ms Williams' Last Will and Testament, she states that the child's father is Maxwell Lord and requests that she is to be left in your care in the event of Ms Williams' death as her grandparents passed away a couple of years ago.'
Max felt like a hole had opened up in the floor beneath him. He thought he was going to be sick or pass out or both. Blood pounded in his ears as Phillips' words bounced around his head, echoing tauntingly. He let out a nervous, disbelieving chuckle, but stopped quickly when he heard how hollow it sounded. His face went blank.
'Mr Lord?' Max didn't even hear Phillips' concerned voice. He was too busy flying back in time to the night he'd shared with Eleanor Williams. How could this even be possible? Max had always been so careful, so prepared when it came to contraception. He might have been drunk and off the rails, but that had never made him stupid. Could it be possible that he'd slipped up that night? Why hadn't he found out years ago that he was a father if that was the case? This couldn't be happening. He couldn't be a father.
'Mr Lord, are you alright?' Mooney grasped his arm gently as a glass of water was placed in front of him. He felt for it blindly, lifting it to his lips only to put it back down again without taking a sip.
'How?' Max choked eventually.
'We're still confirming the details,' Phillips continued cautiously, 'but from what we've gathered it appears that Ms Williams was in a relationship at the time of your…meeting. Ms Williams informed her partner that the baby was not his halfway through her pregnancy and, when she refused to tell him whose it was, he left her. Ms Williams raised the child on her own. There was a note among the contents of her Will that intimated that she didn't think you would be a positive influence in her daughter's life.'
Max felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Repeatedly.
'I can't…I can't have a kid,' he whispered, fighting to control his breathing. Max knew nothing about having a family or how to be a father. He'd barely had enough time to get to know his father before his parents were ripped away from him. It was this thought that restored some calm and gave him a bit of clarity. There was a nine year old girl who had just lost her mother and he, her father, was all that she had now. Could he look himself in the eye every morning if he let this little girl grow up as lonely and abandoned as he had been?
He dragged his hands through his hair and buried his face in them, taking comfort in the sudden darkness. 'Could you give me a minute?' He mumbled.
'Of course.' Max heard the scrape of chairs being pushed back and the shuffle of feet as the men left the room. Silence enveloped him. He kept his palms pressed against his eyes and tried to keep his breathing even.
Ok, calm down, he thought. He had a daughter. Her mother was dead and now he had been tasked with looking after a little girl that he didn't know. It couldn't be that hard, right? It's not like he was useless around kids. He wondered what she looked like, what her name was. Did she look like him?
Max stood up abruptly and strode over to the door, flinging it open. Phillips started when Max poked his head out and took a deep breath.
'Mr Phillips,' Max said seriously, 'I want to…can I meet her? My…my daughter?' That was going to take a lot of getting used to.
'Of course Mr Lord, we'll arrange a meeting as soon as possible.' Phillips nodded at him and began to walk away, leaving Max in the care of Mooney.
'Mr Phillips?' Max called. 'What's her name?'
'It's Piper, Mr Lord. Piper Williams.'