Chapter 6 - THE DOCTOR WHO SOLD MY PREGNANCY
Dr. Randall Pierce did not answer his office phone that morning.
He did not answer his personal phone either.
By seven thirty, investigators had learned why.
He was at the airport.
Mara called me from her car.
“He had a ticket to Zurich.”
I stared at the wall.
“When did he buy it?”
“Last night.”
“After the raid?”
“Yes.”
“Did he board?”
“No.”
Relief moved through me.
“Did you arrest him?”
“Agents approached him before security.”
“What did he say?”
“He wants a lawyer.”
Of course.
Everyone wanted a lawyer once the documents stopped behaving.
Rachel brought breakfast.
“You need to eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“The baby does not care.”
I glared.
She pushed oatmeal toward me.
“Eat.”
I did.
While I ate, Mara texted a photograph.
A screenshot from Pierce’s recovered office records.
My name appeared beside monthly entries.
C. VANCE.
TRANSFER STATUS.
HCG RESULTS.
ULTRASOUND.
VIABILITY.
SEX.
I stared until the words blurred.
He had reported everything.
My positive test.
My first scan.
The heartbeat.
The moment we learned our baby was a boy.
All of it.
To Beatrice.
Before I told anyone except Julian.
I called him.
He answered immediately.
“Clara.”
His voice sounded relieved.
“You finally—”
“Did you know your mother was getting my IVF records?”
Silence.
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Julian.”
“I knew she asked Pierce questions.”
My whole body went cold.
“What questions?”
“About whether the pregnancy was viable.”
“You let her?”
“She was worried.”
“About me?”
“About the family.”
I closed my eyes.
There it was again.
The family.
The excuse for everything.
“Did you give her permission?”
“Not officially.”
“Did you know Pierce was reporting to her?”
“Not like this.”
“That is not an answer.”
Julian sighed.
“You’re making everything sound sinister.”
I almost laughed.
“The FBI raided your father.”
“You punched me.”
“Your mistress faked a pregnancy.”
“Your mother paid her.”
“A doctor sold my medical information.”
“And I am making things sound sinister?”
He became angry.
“You are acting like you had no secrets.”
I went still.
“What does that mean?”
“You were meeting federal agents behind my back.”
“Yes.”
“You were taking company records.”
“Records I had legal access to.”
“You were betraying my family for months.”
“Your father was stealing.”
“You don’t know that.”
“The federal warrant seems curious.”
Julian lowered his voice.
“You should be careful.”
I looked at Rachel.
She heard it through the speaker.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
“It sounded like one.”
“I’m telling you this is bigger than you understand.”
“So explain it.”
Silence.
“Julian?”
“My father kept records on everyone.”
“Everyone?”
“Board members.”
“Politicians.”
“Doctors.”
“Judges.”
My stomach tightened.
“Blackmail?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I know he believed loyalty needed insurance.”
I stared at the phone.
“How long have you known?”
“A long time.”
“And you said nothing.”
“What was I supposed to do?”
“Not become him.”
Julian breathed hard.
“You think you are better than all of us.”
“No.”
“I think I finally stopped making excuses for you.”
He became quiet.
Then his voice softened.
“Clara, I’m sorry I hit you.”
The words came too late.
Still, they hurt.
“I lost control.”
“Yes.”
“I never meant to hurt the baby.”
“You hit my stomach.”
“I know.”
“You knew where our son was.”
Silence.
“I panicked.”
“No.”
My voice stayed calm.
“You got angry.”
“Do not rename it.”
Julian said nothing.
I continued.
“You planned to humiliate me.”
“You brought Chloe.”
“You knew your mother wanted witnesses.”
“You signed a fake-heir document.”
“And when I did not give you the breakdown you wanted, you hit me.”
“It was one second.”
“One second is enough.”
He whispered.
“What do you want from me?”
“Nothing.”
That frightened him more than anger.
I heard it in the silence.
“You’re going to divorce me.”
“Yes.”
“Clara.”
“Yes.”
“You cannot take my son.”
“I am not taking him.”
“You hit the woman carrying him.”
“Do not confuse consequences with theft.”
He started breathing faster.
“You think the FBI will protect you?”
“I think evidence will.”
Then he said something strange.
“My father will destroy you before he lets you testify.”
Rachel and I looked at each other.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
“A warning.”
“About what?”
Julian lowered his voice.
“There is a reason Chloe ran.”
My pulse jumped.
“She ran because she was paid.”
“That is part of it.”
“What is the rest?”
Julian went silent.
“Tell me.”
“You think she was only working for my parents.”
“What does that mean?”
“She was reporting to someone else too.”
My skin prickled.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why say it?”
“Because I found a second phone.”
“When?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“Did you read it?”
“Some.”
“Who was she messaging?”
“Someone saved as M.”
I looked at Rachel.
Mara.
No.
Chloe would not save an FBI agent casually.
“Did you ask her?”
“She said it was a friend.”
“Did you believe her?”
“No.”
“What were the messages?”
Julian hesitated.
“One said, ‘Arthur is nervous about the audit.’”
Another.
“‘Clara still doesn’t know the whole structure.’”
My chest tightened.
“What structure?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is the phone?”
“Chloe took it.”
Mara needed to hear this.
“Why did you never tell me?”
Julian laughed bitterly.
“You were my wife.”
“She was my girlfriend.”
“I was busy lying to both of you.”
At least one honest sentence.
I ended the call.
Then I called Mara.
She listened.
When I finished, she went quiet.
“We recovered two phones from Chloe.”
“Only two?”
“One personal.”
“One business.”
“What if there is a third?”
“We ask.”
“Could M be someone in the company?”
“Yes.”
“Arthur?”
“No reason to save Arthur as M.”
“Who has an M name?”
Mara listed executives.
Marcus Dale.
Melissa Rowe.
Michael Trent.
My stomach turned at the last one.
Michael Trent was Vance Meridian’s chief financial officer.
He had been Arthur’s closest executive for twenty-six years.
And he was the man who had quietly slipped the first suspicious ledger onto my desk fourteen months earlier.
May you like
I had always assumed Michael was trying to help me.
Maybe I had been wrong.
