Dana, who had remained near the door, placed a folder on the table.
“Actually,” she said, “Mrs. Donovan can prove more than enough.”
Marcus looked at the folder but did not touch it.
Inside were drafts of pitch materials, original financial models, consulting invoices, emails proving Claire’s direct involvement in client acquisition, and records showing personal funds flowing into company expenses Marcus had claimed as his own investment. Claire had not gathered the documents for revenge. She had gathered them because Dana believed Marcus might attempt to reopen financial claims.
Marcus turned pale.
“What do you want?” he asked.
Claire thought of seven years of being useful while being called lucky.
“Nothing from you.”
That seemed to frighten him more than anger would have.
Before he could answer, his phone rang. He looked at the screen and frowned.
“It is Avery,” he muttered.
He answered impatiently, but the voice on the other end was not Avery’s.
It was a nurse from the pediatric unit.
Marcus’s expression changed.
“What do you mean additional testing?”
Claire looked away, not because she cared about his panic, but because the mention of a newborn made the room feel heavier.
His voice dropped.
“No, I am the father. Of course I am the father.”
Dana’s eyes moved toward Claire.
Marcus ended the call slowly.
For the first time since Claire had known him, he looked genuinely afraid.
4. The Test Nobody Expected
The truth did not arrive through gossip. It arrived through medical paperwork.
The baby, a boy named Leo, had been born with a treatable but serious blood condition that required immediate genetic screening. The hospital requested confirmation from both parents, and Marcus, offended by inconvenience, submitted his sample only because a doctor made clear that treatment decisions depended on accurate information.
