Chapter 13
“Your mother’s estate had a clause,” he said. “If you had a biological child, a separate trust activated before birth. Control would pass to the child’s legal guardian if you were deemed incapacitated.”
Eve’s hand slid over her belly.
“How much?”
Daniel’s silence answered first.
“How much?”
“Initial estimate, including appreciated shares and land holdings, is approximately nine hundred million.”
Eve laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because if she didn’t laugh, the room might split open.
“Nine hundred million dollars,” she said. “And nobody thought to mention this to me?”
“Your father sealed it to protect you from being targeted.”
“Excellent strategy.”
Daniel accepted the hit.
“Grant found out.”
“When?”
“We believe shortly after the pregnancy announcement.”
Eve closed her eyes.
The gender reveal party.
Grant in a pale blue shirt.
Sloane near the catering table.
Margaret crying into a linen napkin.
Everyone touching her stomach.
Everyone smiling at the future.
No.
Not the future.
The trust.
Her son was not born yet, and already he had become a vault.
Eve opened her eyes.
“So Grant needed me unstable or medically compromised. He needed custody. He needed control.”
Daniel nodded.
“And Sloane?”
“Likely wanted access to both Grant’s diverted funds and revenge on the Hartwell family.”
Eve looked toward the door.
“And my father wanted proof.”
Daniel did not defend him.
Good.
A nurse entered before Eve could ask more.
The baby’s heart rate had shifted.
Not dangerously.
But enough.
They needed another scan.
Eve became a patient again.
Gel on her stomach.
Dim light.
The ultrasound screen turned toward the technician.
Then toward Eve.
There he was.
Her son.
Small face turned to the side.
One hand near his mouth.
Kicking like he had an opinion about everyone in the building.
For one full minute, Eve forgot Grant.
Forgot Sloane.
Forgot trusts and waivers and gold pens.
She watched the tiny flutter of life inside her and let the world narrow to the only truth that mattered.
He was alive.
The technician smiled.
“Strong little guy.”
Eve’s throat tightened.
“Yes,” she whispered. “He is.”
May you like
When the technician left, Charles was waiting outside the room.
Eve knew before she saw him.
