Chapter 6 - The Innocent Victim
The silence in the office was shattered by the sound of Mia dropping her stuffed rabbit.
She babbled happily, completely unaware of the absolute devastation unfolding around her.
Eleanor pulled the child protectively behind her legs, sensing the raw emotion in the room.
"Who are these people, Marcus?" Eleanor demanded, panic rising in her voice.
Marcus looked like a man who was watching his entire world burn to the ground.
"Eleanor," he choked out, his eyes locked on the floor. "They are the biological parents."
Eleanor let out a sharp, breathless gasp, her hands flying to cover her mouth.
"That can't be true," she cried, stepping back toward the door.
"The doctor said the donor was an anonymous medical student who didn't want children."
"He lied," Luke said, his voice remarkably gentle despite the rage I knew he felt.
"My wife and I have been trying to have a baby for years."
"They told us our treatments failed, but they were actually stealing our chances and selling them to you."
Eleanor looked at me, taking in my features, comparing them to the child clinging to her skirt.
The undeniable physical resemblance was all the proof she needed.
She collapsed onto a nearby sofa, pulling Mia into her lap and sobbing hysterically.
"You can't take her," Eleanor pleaded, rocking the confused toddler back and forth.
"She is my baby, I raised her, I was there when she took her first breath."
Tears streamed down my own face.
I looked at the woman who had lived the life I had desperately prayed for.
She was a victim of my sister's monstrous greed, just as much as I was.
"I am not here to rip a child away from the only mother she has ever known," I said, my voice shaking but resolute.
"But I am also not going to walk away from my flesh and blood."
Marcus stood up, his business instincts finally kicking in through the shock.
"We have the best lawyers in the country," he warned defensively.
"We will fight this in every court."
"Then you will lose," I fired back, my lawyer instincts meeting his.
"The contract you signed is legally void because the asset was obtained through criminal theft."
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"But I don't want a war, Mr. Sterling."
"I want to destroy the people who did this to us, and I need your help to do it."
