CHAPTER 10 — THE PRICE OF A CHILD
Jasper insisted the statement had been taken out of context.
There was no context that made it acceptable.
His attorneys claimed he had meant he would request custody.
The prosecutor believed he had intended something more coercive.
The custody court suspended Jasper’s visitation while the investigation continued.
Gillian was prohibited from contacting me.
Priscilla remained under supervision while negotiating a cooperation agreement.
For the first time since I had called my father, there was silence.
No messages.
No threats.
No reporters outside the gate.
Then the story appeared online.
The headline described me as a wealthy heiress using corporate power to punish her husband during a postpartum crisis.
Anonymous sources claimed I had always controlled Jasper’s company.
They accused me of destroying hundreds of jobs because of a marital disagreement.
Photographs from the courthouse showed me entering through a private doorway while Jasper stood among reporters.
The public saw a billionaire’s daughter and a struggling founder.
They did not see the forged signatures.
The hidden recordings.
The bus.
Jasper gave a brief statement.
“I love my wife and son. I hope Hailey receives the help she needs.”
That sentence spread everywhere.
My attorney advised silence.
My father wanted to issue a corporate statement.
I chose something else.
The bus company had preserved its footage.
The hospital had preserved its entrance video.
The discharge nurse agreed to release a written account.
With their permission, Evelyn provided the verified timeline to an independent journalist.
No dramatic narration.
No family money.
Just facts.
The footage showed Jasper handing me the crumpled bills.
It showed Gillian taking the front seat.
It showed me struggling to board the bus.
It showed the driver lowering the steps.
The video ended with Jasper’s own recorded words:
Hailey will be fine. She needs to learn.
The story changed overnight.
Former employees began speaking publicly.
One described Jasper firing a pregnant manager two days before her maternity leave.
Another revealed he had pressured staff to misrepresent revenue.
A former assistant remembered seeing Priscilla use my identification.
The assistant also remembered a locked filing cabinet Jasper never allowed anyone to open.
Investigators searched his temporary residence.
Inside the cabinet, they found copies of the forged guarantee, private medical information belonging to me, and a sealed envelope addressed to Malcolm.
The envelope contained a proposed divorce agreement dated three months before Toby’s birth.
Jasper had already decided to leave me.
He planned to demand shared custody, control of Toby’s trust, and permanent access to the Robertson family network.
But one page was missing from the agreement.
A handwritten note referred to it as Schedule C.
No one knew what Schedule C contained.
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Until Priscilla saw the reference and began crying.
“You don’t understand,” she whispered. “Schedule C is the reason Jasper needed the baby.”
