Chapter 5 - THE PRICE OF A CHILD
Adrian did not sleep.
By sunrise, he had assembled private investigators, attorneys, and forensic accountants.
He wanted every transaction Vanessa and Charles had made during the last seven years.
At first, nothing appeared unusual.
Then an accountant found a shell company.
Marigold Consulting.
It had received $850,000 six years earlier.
The money came from an account controlled by Vanessa.
Marigold transferred $300,000 to a hospital administrator.
Another $250,000 went to Charles.
The remaining money disappeared through overseas accounts.
Elena stared at the numbers.
“They bought my son.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“They stole him.”
The distinction mattered.
Elena had spent six years believing she had failed Gabriel.
Now she finally understood.
Someone had constructed an entire system around taking him.
A hospital employee.
An attorney.
False medical documents.
Money.
Power.
And Vanessa.
But there was still one question.
Why?
Adrian confronted Vanessa in the sitting room.
She had changed from her purple gown into a simple black dress.
Her confidence was returning.
“Why Noah?”
Vanessa looked at him.
“You already know.”
“No.”
“You needed an heir.”
Adrian frowned.
“My father’s trust.”
Vanessa smiled faintly.
The Blackwood family trust contained controlling shares worth billions.
Under its original terms, Adrian received full voting control only after producing a biological heir.
His father had created the condition decades earlier.
Adrian had hated it.
Vanessa had understood its value.
“You needed a son.”
“And you needed me to believe that son came from you.”
Vanessa shrugged.
“If I gave you your heir, I became indispensable.”
“You stole my child to secure a marriage?”
“I secured a future.”
Elena stood in the doorway.
Vanessa saw her.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
Elena walked inside.
“No.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“You looked at a newborn baby and saw a bank account.”
Vanessa’s expression hardened.
Elena stepped closer.
“I looked at him and saw my whole world.”
For the first time, Vanessa had no answer.
Then Adrian’s phone rang.
His investigator had found Charles.
He had not fled the country.
May you like
He was hiding less than twenty miles away.
And he wanted to make a deal.
