Chapter 2 - What Tessa Had Been Trying to Tell Him
Noah was medically evaluated immediately.
Tessa went too.
Grant stayed with his son.
Vivienne was removed from the house and told not to return while the incident was investigated.
That night, Grant sat beside Noah's crib.
His son finally slept.
Grant didn't.
One thought tortured him.
How had he missed this?
The next morning, Tessa asked to speak privately.
Her voice was quiet.
“I tried telling you.”
Grant looked up.
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
He remembered.
Tessa had texted:
Can we talk about Vivienne when you have time?
Grant had been preparing for a major acquisition.
He replied:
Next week. Crazy schedule.
Next week never came.
Grant closed his eyes.
“What were you going to tell me?”
Tessa opened her phone.
She had photographs.
Not dramatic ones.
Small things.
A bruise on Noah's arm.
A broken toy.
Food deliberately placed beyond his reach.
A bedroom door Vivienne had locked while Noah cried inside.
Grant's stomach tightened.
“Why didn't you tell me directly?”
“I tried.”
Tessa hesitated.
“Then Vivienne told me you'd fire me if I kept making accusations.”
Grant stared.
“She said that?”
“She said you believed her over employees.”
That word bothered him.
Employees.
Tessa had cared for Noah since he was four months old.
Vivienne had been Grant's girlfriend for less than a year.
Then Tessa showed him a message.
Vivienne:
GRANT DOESN'T NEED ANOTHER WOMAN TELLING HIM HOW TO RAISE HIS SON.
Grant's expression hardened.
But jealousy alone didn't explain what he'd witnessed.
Then Tessa revealed something stranger.
Vivienne had repeatedly asked about Noah's mother.
Claire Mercer.
Grant's late wife.
Claire had died shortly after Noah's birth.
Vivienne wanted to know about her estate.
Her insurance.
Her family trust.
Most importantly—
what Noah inherited.
Grant went still.
“Why would she ask you?”
“I don't know.”
Tessa opened another message.
Vivienne:
IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO GRANT, WHO GETS NOAH?
Grant felt the room turn cold.
He immediately called his attorney.
By noon, they discovered someone had recently requested copies of Noah's trust documents.
The request carried Grant's electronic authorization.
Grant stared at the signature.
May you like
“I never authorized this.”
👉 Vivienne's cruelty suddenly had a financial shadow—and someone had already used Grant's identity to reach the fortune Claire left their son.
