Chapter 4
That morning, Audrey wrapped Lily in a blanket, put the birth certificate in her bag, and took a cab straight to Hale Tower.
Security tried to stop her.
But this time, Audrey did not ask permission.
She walked past the lobby desk.
Into the elevator.
Up to the floor where Dominic’s family thought they were about to buy her silence.
Now she stood in front of them with Lily in her arms and the truth in her hand.
Dominic stared at his father.
“You knew?”
His father’s mouth opened, but no excuse came out quickly enough.
Audrey laughed once.
Not because anything was funny.
Because the sound was all that kept her from breaking.
“He knew everything,” she said.
Dominic turned to her.
His eyes looked wild.
“I didn’t know she was born.”
Audrey’s face changed.
Pain flashed across it.
“You didn’t know I was pregnant?”
He stepped toward her.
“I got papers saying the pregnancy wasn’t real. Then that you took the money. Then that you left the city.”
Audrey shook her head slowly.
“No.”
Dominic looked at his father again.
“What did you do?”
His father gripped the back of his chair.
“I protected this family.”
Audrey’s attorney, who had entered quietly behind her, placed another folder on the table.
“No,” she said. “You committed fraud.”
Dominic’s mother stood.
“This is absurd.”
Audrey’s attorney did not even look at her.
“Mrs. Hale, sit down.”
The older woman froze.
No one spoke to her like that.
Audrey’s attorney opened the folder.
“Mr. Hale’s office intercepted medical records, blocked direct communication between Audrey and Dominic, used company security to deny her access, and sent legal documents with materially false statements. We also have evidence that a settlement check was marked as accepted even though Audrey never signed or deposited it.”
Dominic looked sick.
Audrey looked at him.
“I went to your building,” she said quietly. “I begged them to call you.”
His face crumpled.
“I never knew.”
“You should have,” she said.
That hurt him more than if she had screamed.
Because it was true.
He should have known.
He should have questioned the story that made him comfortable.
He should have come to her door himself.
May you like
He should have trusted the woman he married more than the father who managed his empire.
👉 Then Dominic’s father said one sentence that turned the entire room against him.
