Chapter 14 - What Happened Before the Test
I thought Evan was lying.
There was no other explanation.
“How could Richard know I was pregnant before I did?”
Evan sat across from me in a private room at Claire’s office.
He looked older.
Thin.
Afraid.
Anna sat beside him.
Ryan remained near the window.
Claire recorded everything.
Evan rubbed his hands together.
“Your fertility clinic used an outside laboratory.”
“I know.”
“Blood work.”
“Hormone testing.”
“Yes.”
“That laboratory had a Harrison Green investment connection.”
I frowned.
“Richard owned it?”
“Not directly.”
“Through Raven?”
Evan nodded.
My stomach twisted.
“He had access to my medical records?”
“No.”
Evan looked ashamed.
“Margaret did.”
“Your office manager.”
“Yes.”
“She copied early blood results.”
“Why?”
“She was being paid.”
I stared at him.
“You knew?”
“Not at first.”
“When did you learn?”
“After the divorce.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was compromised.”
“Because of your gambling debts.”
“Yes.”
Ryan stepped forward.
“You let someone steal my wife’s medical information.”
Evan looked at him.
“I did not know until afterward.”
“You still took their money.”
“Yes.”
“Ryan,” Claire warned.
He stopped.
I continued.
“What did the blood test show?”
“Pregnancy markers.”
“How early?”
“Before your home test.”
My skin crawled.
Richard knew I was pregnant before I knew.
That meant the operation may have begun even earlier than we thought.
Anna spoke for the first time.
“Richard had already been discussing the trust.”
Ryan turned toward her.
“You intercepted the letters.”
Anna’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Victoria ordered me to.”
“And Richard paid you.”
“Yes.”
“You knew what was in them.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know there were three babies?”
Anna nodded.
Ryan looked away.
I could see his anger fighting grief.
Anna continued.
“I kept copies.”
Claire straightened.
“Copies of what?”
“Every letter.”
“Every ultrasound.”
“Every email Martin forwarded.”
Ryan’s head snapped back.
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Richard?”
“Yes.”
“Where are they?”
Anna looked at Evan.
He nodded.
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“Different locations.”
Claire leaned forward.
“We need them.”
“You’ll have them.”
Ryan stared at Anna.
“Why leave with Evan?”
She swallowed.
“Because after the divorce, Richard decided we both knew too much.”
“Did he threaten you?”
“He didn’t need to.”
“He showed me photographs of my daughter walking to school.”
Silence.
“You have a daughter?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“She lives with her father.”
“And the money?”
“Richard paid me so it would look like I was bought.”
Ryan frowned.
“You were bought.”
Anna looked at him.
“Yes.”
“But I also understood afterward that the payment made me guilty enough to stay silent.”
Evan nodded.
“Same with me.”
Richard’s system was elegant.
Everyone compromised.
Everyone ashamed.
Everyone too afraid to expose another person without exposing themselves.
Ryan sat down.
“Did my father ever contact you?”
Anna looked surprised.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“About a year after the divorce.”
“What did he want?”
“The truth.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“What did you tell him?”
“Almost everything.”
Ryan went pale.
“So Dad knew.”
“Yes.”
“He told me he would fix it.”
Ryan’s eyes lowered.
“He died eight months later.”
“Yes.”
“Did Richard know you talked?”
“I think so.”
Claire asked.
“Why?”
“Because Thomas called me from his private study.”
“Three days later, Peter Knox contacted me and told me never to speak to Thomas again.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“Did Peter work for Richard?”
“Yes.”
“Officially?”
“No.”
“Privately.”
Another layer.
Another betrayal.
Then Evan opened a folder.
“There’s something else.”
Inside was a medical report.
Mine.
I recognized the clinic letterhead.
“What is this?”
“Your third scan.”
I stared.
The date was one week after Ryan filed for divorce.
The scan where I learned all three embryos were viable.
Evan pointed toward a handwritten note.
High-risk multiple pregnancy.
Patient under extreme stress.
Recommended family support.
I laughed bitterly.
“Family support.”
Ryan flinched.
Evan continued.
“Margaret sent this to Richard.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted to know whether all three pregnancies were likely to survive.”
Ryan’s face turned cold.
“What would he have done if they hadn’t?”
“Nothing.”
“And because they did?”
“He accelerated the restructuring.”
There it was.
The children changed votes.
My patents changed ownership.
My presence threatened control.
Richard used our weaknesses to solve all three problems at once.
Then Anna said something unexpected.
“There was one person who tried to stop him.”
“Thomas?” Ryan asked.
“No.”
“Who?”
Anna looked at Victoria.
Ryan’s mother had joined us by video.
Victoria’s face tightened.
Anna continued.
“Charlotte.”
Ryan frowned.
“My cousin?”
“Richard’s daughter.”
“Yes.”
“She found out about the pregnancy.”
“When?”
“Before the divorce was finalized.”
Ryan stared.
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She tried.”
Victoria suddenly spoke.
“No.”
Anna looked toward the screen.
Victoria’s face had gone pale.
“What?” Ryan asked.
His mother shook her head.
“Charlotte came to me.”
“When?”
“The week before the divorce hearing.”
“What did she say?”
“She told me Richard was doing something dangerous.”
“Did she mention the children?”
“No.”
Anna interrupted.
“She knew.”
Victoria looked stunned.
“How?”
“Margaret told her.”
“Why would Margaret tell Charlotte?”
“Because Charlotte was her patient.”
The room went silent.
Ryan leaned forward.
“Patient for what?”
Evan answered.
“Fertility treatment.”
I stared at him.
Charlotte Harrison had been struggling to conceive at the same clinic.
Margaret had shared my pregnancy details with her.
Charlotte discovered her father’s plan.
She tried to warn Victoria.
Then, three weeks later, Charlotte abruptly moved to Europe.
She had barely returned since.
“Where is she now?” I asked.
Ryan pulled out his phone.
“London.”
“No,” Claire said.
She was reading something on her laptop.
“Not anymore.”
Everyone looked at her.
“Charlotte entered the United States yesterday.”
“Where?”
Claire’s expression tightened.
“Chicago.”
My pulse jumped.
“Why?”
Claire turned the screen.
A hotel booking.
Under another name.
But the passport matched.
Charlotte Harrison had quietly checked into a hotel less than two miles from my house.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
I opened the message.
Emily, we need to meet.
Do not bring Ryan.
My father doesn’t know I’m here.
May you like
And there is one thing Anna still hasn’t told you.
Something happened the night Thomas Harrison died.
