Chapter 13 - The Mother Who Knew
Garrett approached Evelyn slowly.
“When did you know?”
She straightened her wet coat.
“The resemblance was always possible.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Evelyn’s silence answered him.
Mave stepped forward.
“You received Posie’s birth certificate.”
Garrett turned.
“How do you know?”
“The hospital mailed a copy to the attorney who threatened me. I saw the delivery confirmation.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Garrett’s voice broke.
“You knew from the day she was born.”
“I knew Mave had named you as the father.”
“You had the original test altered.”
“I did what was necessary.”
“For a real estate deal?”
“For your future!”
Garrett’s grief erupted.
“She was my future!”
Posie flinched.
Garrett immediately lowered his voice and stepped back.
Mave soothed her.
Evelyn looked at the child but showed no tenderness.
“If you had stayed with Mave, the company would have collapsed. Thousands of employees depended on you.”
“You sacrificed a pregnant woman and an infant to protect a balance sheet.”
“I protected everything your father built.”
Judge Cole interrupted.
“Thomas would have burned the company himself before approving this.”
Evelyn turned on her.
“You always encouraged his sentimentality.”
“No,” Miriam replied. “I encouraged his conscience.”
Agent Brooks approached with two officers.
“Evelyn Hail, we need you to accompany us for questioning concerning conspiracy, falsification of medical records, witness intimidation, and obstruction.”
Evelyn looked toward Garrett.
“You will regret allowing this family to be destroyed.”
Garrett’s expression became calm.
“You destroyed it when you decided my child was an inconvenience.”
The officers escorted her toward a vehicle.
Coraline watched her go.
Then she suddenly began laughing.
Everyone turned.
“She still thinks this was about saving the company.”
Warren shouted from across the street.
“Stop talking!”
Coraline rose from the chair.
Her wedding gown dragged through dirty rainwater.
“You want the truth?” she asked Garrett. “Your mother’s company wasn’t failing by accident.”
Warren’s face changed.
Coraline pointed at her father.
May you like
“He created the crisis.”
👉 Warren Ashford had engineered the Hails’ financial collapse so he could purchase Garrett’s future through marriage.
