Chapter 9
The DNA test happened that afternoon.
Private lab.
Legal witnesses.
No press.
Lily hated the cheek swab.
She glared at the nurse and said, “That stick was rude.”
I laughed before I could stop myself.
Grace did too.
For one second, the room softened.
Then Lily looked at me.
“Did I say something funny?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Mommy says laughing at kids is mean.”
“I was laughing because you were right.”
She considered that.
“Okay.”
The results would take twenty-four hours.
I did not need them.
But the court would.
The board would.
Charles would try to destroy her without them.
That evening, I called an emergency board meeting.
Charles attended remotely.
His face filled the conference screen.
Calm.
Polished.
Poisonous.
“Nathan,” he said. “I hope you’ve regained perspective.”
I sat at the head of the table.
Marcus stood behind me.
My attorney, Olivia Chen, sat to my right.
“No,” I said. “I’ve gained it.”
Charles smiled.
“Grace Bennett is an opportunist.”
“You threatened her when she was pregnant.”
He sighed.
“She told you that?”
“She did.”
“And you believed her?”
“I believe footage. Records. Timelines. Money trails.”
His smile faded slightly.
Victoria’s arrest was public now.
The board members looked nervous.
I continued.
“Effective immediately, Whitmore Holdings is suspended from all acquisition talks. Charles Whitmore’s board voting privileges are frozen pending investigation.”
Charles laughed.
“You cannot do that.”
Olivia slid documents forward.
“He can.”
Charles leaned closer to the camera.
“You are making an emotional decision.”
I thought of Lily recoiling from me.
Grace on the floor.
The hockey stick.
“No,” I said. “For once, I’m making a human one.”
Charles’s eyes changed.
“You do this, and I release everything.”
“Do it.”
The board room went silent.
He blinked.
“You don’t even know what I have.”
“I know what you are.”
I ended the call.
Ten minutes later, the first headline appeared.
May you like
Nathan Cole Hid Secret Child With Former Maid.
The war had begun.
