Chapter 6 - THE BABY THE TRUST WAS WAITING FOR
The doctor's name was Dr. Leonard Shaw.
Mabel remembered him immediately.
He had treated her during fertility therapy.
He had reassured her when she was terrified.
He had told her everything was normal.
Now Harris placed his photograph beside Mabel’s medical records.
“He falsified your treatment records.”
Mabel stared.
“For what purpose?”
“To create a legal trail showing that your daughter was conceived through a procedure connected to the Vance family.”
Mabel shook her head.
“But my daughter is mine.”
“Yes.”
“Then what did they change?”
“The biological father.”
Mabel's chest tightened.
“Why?”
“Because Richard needed a child legally connected to the Vance bloodline.”
Mabel looked at Flynn.
“The real Flynn.”
Flynn nodded.
“But the baby was conceived before I escaped.”
Mabel stared.
“You were the donor?”
“Yes.”
She closed her eyes.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The mysterious treatment.
The secrecy.
The private clinic.
Flynn's disappearance.
Elias's obsession with controlling the trust.
Richard's desperation.
The baby wasn't merely an heir.
She was the only person who could unite two family fortunes.
Mabel looked down at her daughter.
“She never asked for any of this.”
“No,” her mother said.
“She deserves better.”
“She does.”
Mabel stood.
“Then we're going to give her better.”
That night, Mabel returned to the Vance headquarters.
She wore a black suit.
No jewelry.
No wedding ring.
No fear.
Elias was waiting in the executive conference room.
For the first time in years, Mabel looked at him without seeing her husband.
She saw a stranger.
“Sit,” he said.
“No.”
His jaw tightened.
“You're still angry.”
“I’m done being angry.”
“What are you?”
“Finished.”
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he placed a document on the table.
“Sign this.”
Mabel glanced down.
It was a trust amendment.
“If I sign?”
“Your daughter becomes the sole beneficiary.”
“And you?”
“I disappear.”
Mabel studied him.
“That's not what you really want.”
He said nothing.
“What does Richard have on you?”
Elias looked away.
“Everything.”
Mabel stepped closer.
“You protected me.”
“Yes.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You loved me.”
He swallowed.
“Yes.”
“And you betrayed me.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
Mabel's voice softened.
“Why?”
“Because I thought if I stayed close enough, I could keep you alive.”
“You should have trusted me.”
“I know.”
She looked at the document.
Then she noticed something.
A tiny watermark.
Carmichael Legal.
Her mother’s signature.
Mabel smiled.
“This isn't Richard's document.”
Elias stared.
“No.”
“It’s yours.”
His face changed.
“You knew I would come.”
“Yes.”
“And you wanted me to discover this.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Elias whispered:
“Because I need you to help me end this.”
The conference room door opened.
Richard Vance walked in.
Older.
Elegant.
Smiling.
Mabel had seen that smile at her father’s funeral.
Richard looked at her.
“My dear.”
Mabel stood still.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
Richard laughed.
“Apparently your family has a habit of surviving.”
Then he looked toward her stomach.
“Congratulations.”
Mabel felt a chill.
“How did you know?”
Richard smiled.
“Because I arranged the pregnancy.”
Elias immediately stepped forward.
“You promised.”
Richard ignored him.
He looked at Mabel.
“Your daughter is the key to everything.”
Mabel stared.
“No.”
Richard's smile disappeared.
“She is the reason your mother survived.”
Silence.
May you like
Then Richard whispered:
“And she is the reason I will never let you leave this building.”
