Chapter 8 - Tyler’s Fear
Harper stared at the unused test kit.
“What are you afraid of?”
Tyler said nothing.
Carol’s eyes moved toward Ava.
Not with doubt.
With recognition.
Harper noticed.
“You already know she’s Tyler’s child.”
Carol looked away.
General Hale stepped closer.
“Why manufacture a paternity dispute if you believed the child was biologically his?”
Tyler’s breathing became shallow.
Harper searched the desk.
She found a handwritten list.
SELL HOUSE.
MOVE FUNDS.
CUSTODY ORDER.
DEPART BEFORE AUGUST.
At the bottom was a woman’s name.
Brittany Cole.
Harper knew it.
Brittany had worked with Tyler at a commercial real-estate firm.
Tyler claimed she had moved to Arizona the previous year.
A photograph slipped from between two folders.
Tyler stood beside Brittany outside a townhouse.
She was visibly pregnant.
The date printed on the back was six months earlier.
Harper looked at him.
“How many children are you expecting?”
Tyler’s face collapsed.
Carol closed her eyes.
That was the real secret.
Tyler had gotten Brittany pregnant.
He had promised her a home and a new life before the baby arrived.
But he had no money.
His investments were failing.
The house was overleveraged.
So he created a plan.
Discredit Harper.
Force her out.
Keep Ava close enough to appear like a devoted father.
Then sell the house before the forged loan was discovered.
May you like
Carol had agreed because she wanted permanent control over Ava.
👉 Harper thought the betrayal had reached its limit—until Brittany’s due date revealed that Tyler’s affair began before Ava was even born.
