Chapter 14 - The Checkmate
I left the prison with a completely different mindset.
I was not going to run, and I was certainly not going to confront Elias without a flawless plan.
I drove directly to the heavily fortified downtown office of Dr. Vance.
The doctor looked terrified when I barged into his private consultation room.
"Clara, you shouldn't be here," Dr. Vance stammered, looking nervously toward his office door.
"Elias Thorne owns you, doesn't he?" I demanded, slamming my hands onto his mahogany desk.
Dr. Vance sank into his leather chair, completely defeated by the sudden accusation.
He confessed that Elias had heavily blackmailed him into swapping the fertility records three years ago.
Elias had orchestrated the fake infertility to drive a permanent wedge between Julian and me, ensuring our eventual, messy divorce.
"I have the original, unedited audio recordings of Elias threatening me," Dr. Vance whispered, pulling a small flash drive from a hidden safe.
"I kept them as an insurance policy, but the man is completely untouchable, Clara."
I snatched the flash drive from his trembling hand.
"Nobody is untouchable when you hit them where they care the most," I stated fiercely.
I drove back to the beach house and quietly packed a small travel bag with my most essential belongings.
I waited until Elias returned home that evening, greeting him with a warm, perfectly manufactured smile.
We sat down for a quiet dinner on the porch, the ocean waves crashing loudly in the background.
"The investigator ran the DNA test, Clara," Elias said softly, pouring me a glass of expensive red wine.
"Sienna was lying. The baby belongs to Marcus, just as we originally thought."
He smiled, completely unaware that I had spent the entire afternoon gathering the ultimate proof of his monstrous deception.
"That is wonderful news, Elias," I replied, sipping the wine and maintaining eye contact.
"I actually have a surprise for you tonight."
Elias raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by my sudden shift in demeanor.
"I transferred the entire fifty million dollars from the charity into a new, heavily encrypted offshore account," I lied smoothly.
Elias froze, his wine glass hovering inches from his lips.
"Why would you do that without consulting me?" he asked, his voice dropping its warm facade for a sharp, interrogating edge.
"Because I found the 'Contingency' file on your computer, Elias," I said, my voice completely steady and cold.
The romantic atmosphere instantly vanished, replaced by a terrifying, suffocating silence.
Elias slowly set his wine glass down on the wooden table.
He did not yell, and he did not panic.
May you like
He simply looked at me with a dark, predatory calmness that chilled me to the absolute bone.
"You really shouldn't have looked in there, Clara," he whispered softly.
