Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN I THOUGHT HAD STOLEN MY LIFE
Vanessa had not stolen my life.
She had participated in hurting me.
Different.
That distinction mattered.
She admitted she knew Grant still loved me during part of their relationship.
She stayed anyway.
That was hers to own.
But she had also been manipulated by Victor.
So had Grant.
So had I.
Manipulation explained behavior.
It did not erase responsibility.
That became the rule of the next several months.
Then Grant asked if he could attend a prenatal appointment.
I said no.
He nodded.
The next appointment, I said no again.
He accepted.
Third time?
I surprised myself.
“Yes.”
He arrived fifteen minutes early.
No security inside.
No flowers.
No expensive gifts.
He sat beside me like a nervous stranger.
When the ultrasound technician placed the probe over my belly, our daughter’s heartbeat filled the room.
Grant stopped breathing.
Then cried.
Silently.
I looked away.
Not because his feelings did not matter.
Because I needed mine separate.
The doctor confirmed I was thirty-four weeks.
Healthy pregnancy.
Baby slightly small but within normal range.
Then Grant asked:
“Can I know the due date?”
I told him.
“Can I know her name?”
I hesitated.
“Grace.”
His eyes closed.
“My mother’s middle name.”
I had forgotten.
Maybe not completely.
“Grace Carter.”
He looked at me.
“No Hale?”
“Not initially.”
He nodded.
No argument.
That mattered.
Then:
“If someday you want—”
“I’ll decide.”
“Yes.”
Afterward, Grant offered to drive me home.
I declined.
He did not follow.
Good.
Then Rachel called.
Victor had disappeared.
Civil investigators went to his Manhattan apartment.
Empty.
Office cleared.
Passport missing.
But one safe remained.
Inside were financial records.
And one envelope labeled:
GRACE
My daughter’s name.
Impossible.
We had chosen it only weeks earlier.
Except maybe not.
I had written “Grace” years ago in a baby-name notebook during our marriage.
Victor apparently kept copies of private documents from our old home.
The envelope contained a trust draft.
If Grant and I ever had a child, Victor had prepared a strategy to challenge the child’s rights to the Carter interest.
Grounds:
Questioned paternity.
My stomach turned.
Then we found what he intended to use.
A falsified DNA report.
Prepared months before my pregnancy.
Blank except for names:
Emily Carter.
Grant Hale.
Future Child.
Victor had planned for every possibility.
Even a baby who did not exist yet.
Then Rachel looked at another document.
“Emily.”
“What?”
“Victor purchased life insurance.”
My stomach tightened.
“On who?”
She looked at Grant.
Not me.
Grant Hale — $75 million.
Policy beneficiary:
A trust controlled by Victor Dane.
Grant’s face went cold.
May you like
Victor had not only been planning to steal from him.
He had been preparing for Grant’s death.
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