Arthur Vance reached back into his titanium briefcase. He retrieved a single, sealed manila envelope bearing the embossed gold crest of Sterling International.
He didn’t hand it to Adrian. He walked over and held it out to Vanessa.
Vanessa’s hands shook violently as she took the envelope. She tore at the flap, pulling out a small stack of private medical records printed on official hospital letterhead.
“What is it?” Adrian demanded. The mention of his child, his “heir,” snapped him out of his catatonic shock. He scrambled across the floor on his hands and knees, desperate for any shred of leverage, any proof that he still possessed something of value. “Show it to me!”
He snatched the papers from Vanessa’s trembling hands.
It was a comprehensive medical report from Vanessa’s private, highly exclusive gynecologist—records legally obtained through the vast, terrifying reach of Sterling corporate espionage and background check protocols.
Adrian’s bloodshot eyes scanned the text. He stopped reading. He froze.
The highlighted text at the bottom of the page read: Patient is not currently pregnant. Blood panels negative for hCG. Patient underwent elective tubal ligation four years prior. Pregnancy impossible without surgical intervention.
The air was violently sucked out of the room.
Adrian stopped breathing. He slowly looked up from the paper, his eyes wide, wild, and filled with a manic, fracturing realization. He looked at the mistress he had just destroyed his marriage for.
“You… you aren’t pregnant?” Adrian whispered, his voice a horrifying, hollow rasp. “You’ve been lying? For months? You told me you were late. You told me we were having a son.”
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