Chapter 3 — His Heir, My Loss

For several seconds, Evelyn heard nothing but the monitor beside her bed.

Pregnant.

After years of being told it might never happen again, a child had come at the exact moment she had decided to leave its father.

"How far?"

"A little over seven weeks," Julian said. "The doctor says the pregnancy is viable, but you need rest and monitoring."

He reached for her hand. She moved it beneath the blanket.

"Did you tell Serena?"

His hesitation answered first.

"She knows."

"Of course she does."

Julian stood. "I requested a noninvasive paternity test."

The fragile warmth in Evelyn's chest went cold.

"You did what?"

"Given your private contact with Adrian, it was reasonable."

"You accused me of cheating while you were leaving my hospital calls unanswered at your son's birthday party."

"The result confirmed the baby is mine. We can move forward."

"Move forward to what?"

"We keep the baby. Noah remains part of my life. You sign the revised voting agreement, come home, and we put this week behind us."

He bent and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.

"You have no job outside Crosswell, no family in Chicago, and no idea how to raise a child alone. Stop pretending you can live without me."

Evelyn watched the man she had helped build walk out of the room.

Then she called Rachel.

"Add the paternity test to the records request. I never authorized it."

"Already working on it," Rachel said. "Adrian is downstairs, but security won't let him up while Julian is listed as your emergency contact. We can change that as soon as you're discharged."

"Change it now."

Evelyn signed the electronic forms Rachel sent. She replaced Julian with Adrian and authorized automatic release of her records to counsel.

Her next call was to the clinic's patient advocate.

The advocate could find no consent form for the paternity test in Evelyn's chart. She also confirmed that no outside physician should be allowed to perform a procedure without approval from Evelyn's attending doctor.

"Put that in writing," Evelyn said.

"I need to speak with our legal department first."

"Then speak quickly. Someone ordered a genetic test on me without permission."

When the call ended, Evelyn opened Serena's public Instagram account. The birthday video had been posted less than an hour earlier. Noah was laughing beneath the blue light of the aquarium tunnel while Julian carried a cake behind him.

Evelyn saved the video, its timestamp, and every visible face in the background. If Serena invented another emergency, Evelyn wanted proof of where they had been and who had seen them.

Adrian texted from the lobby.

No visitors allowed, according to Cross. Are you safe?

Evelyn typed back with one hand.

Not while he controls the door. Find out whether any collision involving Serena's car gets reported tonight. Do not confront him.

The answer arrived at once.

Already monitoring police and traffic records. Your grandfather lands tomorrow afternoon. He moved the reception up to tomorrow night.

Evelyn stared at the message. The Hartwell reception was supposed to announce that Arthur Hart had finally found a successor willing to take his place. Until yesterday, that successor had not existed.

Now Evelyn knew exactly where she would be tomorrow night.

She forwarded the invitation to Rachel and asked her to arrange secure transportation from the hospital. Then she placed her phone beneath her pillow and closed her eyes, conserving her strength for the fight Julian did not yet know had begun.

By evening, exhaustion pulled her into an uneasy sleep.

The door slammed open after midnight.

Julian crossed the room and closed his hand around her throat.

"What did you do?"

Evelyn clawed at his wrist, unable to speak.

"Serena and Noah were hit by a car after leaving the aquarium. The driver vanished. You threatened them this morning, and now this happens?"

Pain tore through Evelyn's abdomen as the monitor began to shriek.

"Baby," she choked.

Julian released her. For an instant, horror crossed his face.

Then Serena staggered into the room wearing a bloodstained blouse and a bandage at her temple.

"Noah is bleeding internally," she sobbed. "The doctors say he needs an emergency transfusion, but the compatible units are delayed."

Julian gripped her shoulders. "What about us?"

"Neither of us is compatible."

Serena slowly turned toward Evelyn.

"She is."

Evelyn pressed the call button. "Get out. Both of you."

A man in a white coat entered with two nurses and a clipboard. His badge identified him as Dr. Mason Reed, a physician from the private surgical center treating Noah.

"Ms. Hart, the child may not survive the delay," he said. "We are asking for an emergency directed donation."

"I'm pregnant and bleeding. My answer is no."

"There may be increased risk," Reed admitted, "but we are running out of time."

Julian took the clipboard.

"I'll authorize it."

"You cannot authorize anything for me," Evelyn said. "You are no longer my medical proxy."

Reed's eyes flickered toward Serena.

Julian leaned over the bed. "Noah is four years old. This pregnancy is seven weeks. Are you willing to let a living child die?"

"A legitimate hospital would not be doing this in my room. Call security."

One nurse hesitated. The other reached for Evelyn's IV.

Evelyn grabbed her phone and activated the recorder.

Serena saw the screen and knocked it from her hand.

"Please," Serena cried, with tears too perfectly timed to be real. "Save my son."

Julian signed the document.

"Do it. I'll accept responsibility."

"Responsibility doesn't bring back the dead," Evelyn said.

Dr. Reed injected something into her IV port.

The room blurred almost immediately.

Evelyn fought the heaviness. "What did you give me?"

No one answered.

Through the haze, she saw Serena retrieve her phone from the floor. Evelyn forced her thumb against the button on her smart ring, triggering the emergency upload Adrian had installed.

Julian pressed his lips to her forehead.

"When this is over, I'll give you the wedding you deserve. No one will stop us next time."

Evelyn looked at him until his face dissolved into darkness.

"There won't be a next time."

She woke to daylight and an emptiness inside her body so profound she understood before the nurse spoke.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Hart. We couldn't save the pregnancy."

Evelyn placed a hand over her abdomen.

No tears came. Not yet.

The door opened.

Serena entered in a silver evening gown. Noah walked beside her without a bruise, bandage, or limp. He held a gift bag from the aquarium and looked bored rather than injured.

Evelyn stared at him.

"He was dying."

Serena closed the door behind them.

"Noah had a few scratches. The blood wasn't his."

She smiled.

"I needed to know which child Julian would choose. Now we both know."