Chapter 3 - The Suspicious Clinic
I told Harrison about the private, ultra-exclusive fertility clinic Julian had insisted we visit during my second trimester.
He claimed it was for a routine genetic screening, but the entire experience had felt incredibly off.
The staff had treated Julian with a level of deference that bordered on outright fear.
They had drawn five vials of my blood and taken a swab of Julian's DNA in a heavily guarded back room.
Harrison immediately ran a deep background check on the clinic's primary director, Dr. Arthur Sterling.
"Sterling is drowning in private debt," Harrison revealed, looking up from his glowing laptop screen.
"He owes nearly three million dollars to offshore creditors, and his clinic is secretly on the verge of bankruptcy."
"Julian bought him," I concluded, the puzzle pieces clicking together with sickening clarity.
"Julian paid off Sterling's massive debts in exchange for a falsified paternity document."
Harrison pulled up a ledger he had acquired through a private investigator he frequently kept on retainer.
"There is a wire transfer from a shell company linked to Julian’s tech empire, deposited into Sterling's account exactly two days ago."
The sheer audacity of my husband's scheme left me temporarily breathless.
He had orchestrated this entire narrative months in advance, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"He needed me out of the house now so I wouldn't be present when his company finalizes the merger," I said softly.
"A messy divorce during an IPO is bad for the stock price," Harrison agreed.
"But a heroic CEO divorcing his deceitful, cheating wife? That plays perfectly to the board of directors."
I placed both hands over my stomach, feeling a sudden surge of maternal ferocity.
Julian thought I was just a naive trophy wife who would quietly disappear into the shadows out of shame.
He forgot that before I married him, I was a ruthless corporate auditor who knew how to find buried secrets.
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"I want Dr. Sterling," I told Harrison, my voice turning to absolute ice.
"We are going to pay that corrupt doctor a little surprise visit."
