Chapter 4 - The Dark Secret
I left Ethan in the care of my most trusted armed security detail and drove through the dark city streets like a madwoman.
I arrived at the secluded medical clinic, flashing my corporate credentials to bypass the front desk security guard.
My private investigator met me in a dimly lit hallway, holding a thick manila folder filled with stolen medical records.
He handed me a DNA analysis report that completely shattered everything I thought I knew about my husband's betrayal.
The genetic testing proved that Richard was indeed the biological father of the baby girl named Chloe.
However, the records conclusively proved that Brooke was absolutely not the biological mother.
Brooke was biologically barren and entirely incapable of carrying a child to term under any circumstances.
I stared at the paperwork in sheer disbelief, trying to comprehend the twisted web of lies my husband had constructed.
The investigator flipped to the next page, revealing the identity of the actual surrogate who had given birth to the child.
The woman's name was Elena Vance, and she was a young, desperate college student drowning in massive medical debt.
Richard had used my stolen corporate funds to pay her millions of dollars to carry his child in absolute secrecy.
Brooke was simply a paid actress, hired by Richard to play the role of the perfect new mother.
He needed a fake mistress to justify a rapid divorce and ensure he appeared like a stable family man to the divorce judge.
I realized Richard's ultimate goal was to merge his new fake family with Ethan's trust fund to create an unstoppable financial empire.
I ordered the investigator to track down Elena Vance immediately so I could offer her legal protection and secure her testimony.
We rushed to the address listed in the clinic's file, hoping to reach the young woman before Richard's dangerous associates did.
We arrived at a rundown apartment complex on the edge of town, sprinting up the concrete stairs to the third floor.
I banged loudly on Elena's front door, identifying myself and begging her to open up before it was too late.
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The door slowly creaked open, but the young woman standing in the hallway was not Elena Vance.
It was Vivian, holding a suppressed tactical pistol aimed directly at my forehead.
