Chapter 3 - What Happened the Night Sophie Was BornClara agreed to tell him.
Not because she trusted him.
Because she knew secrets had already destroyed enough.
They met the next morning at a quiet café.
Sophie slept in a carrier beside her.
Ethan hadn't slept.
He sat across from Clara.
“What happened?”
She took a breath.
“When I went into labor, Dr. Price told me there was a complication.”
“What kind?”
“Placental bleeding.”
Ethan felt sick.
“You almost died?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't anyone call me?”
Clara looked at him.
“Your mother had arranged for my calls to be blocked.”
He stared.
“What?”
“The hospital received a note saying you were not to be contacted.”
“Who signed it?”
Clara shook her head.
“I never saw the signature.”
Ethan's fists tightened.
“What happened to Sophie?”
“She was born early.”
“What about you?”
“I survived.”
“Barely?”
“Yes.”
He closed his eyes.
“What did Dr. Price say?”
“That I needed surgery immediately.”
“Then?”
Clara hesitated.
“He said someone tried to take Sophie.”
Ethan's head snapped up.
“What?”
“A nurse noticed another person entering the nursery.”
“Who?”
“They wouldn't tell me.”
“Why?”
“They were paid to forget.”
Ethan stood.
He couldn't sit still.
“Where is Price now?”
“Chicago.”
“Call him.”
Clara did.
The doctor answered after three rings.
He sounded nervous.
“Clara?”
“He's with me.”
Silence.
Then:
“Mr. Caldwell.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“I can't.”
“You already lost your chance to protect her.”
“I'm sorry.”
“Who tried to take my daughter?”
Price didn't answer.
Clara spoke.
“Samuel.”
The doctor inhaled.
“You know.”
“I know someone tried.”
Price whispered:
“Your father's attorney.”
Ethan went still.
“My father's attorney?”
“Richard Sloan.”
“That man has been dead for two years.”
“He had instructions.”
“For what?”
“For the child.”
Ethan felt dizzy.
“Why?”
Price finally said:
“Because your father believed Sophie wasn't actually his granddaughter.”
“What?”
“He believed Clara was lying about the pregnancy.”
Ethan looked at Clara.
Clara stared at the table.
Price continued.
“He ordered a DNA test.”
“But?”
“The test was never completed.”
“Why?”
“The sample disappeared.”
Ethan hung up.
“What the hell happened to the sample?”
Clara looked at him.
“I don't know.”
“Do you think Sophie is mine?”
Clara looked at him.
“Yes.”
The answer was simple.
Certain.
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That you'd believe your family.”
Ethan had no response.
That evening, he confronted his mother.
She finally admitted there had been a plan.
A private investigator.
A DNA test.
A trust.
A family agreement.
If Sophie were not Ethan's child, Clara would receive nothing.
If she were his, the child would inherit a substantial fortune.
Ethan stared.
“You were afraid Clara wanted money?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Eleanor cried.
“I was afraid your father would find out.”
“He's dead.”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“And he left orders.”
Ethan went still.
“What orders?”
“That if Clara ever appeared with a child, the child was to be removed until the paternity question was settled.”
His mother handed him a document.
The signature at the bottom was his father's.
But there was something else.
A second signature.
Richard Caldwell.
Ethan's grandfather.
Dead for fifteen years.
He stared.
“This was prepared before I married Clara.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear.”
Then the front door opened.
Sophie began crying upstairs.
Clara rushed toward her.
Ethan followed.
They found the nursery door open.
The nanny was unconscious.
The window was shattered.
Sophie was gone.
Clara screamed.
Ethan froze for one second.
Then every instinct he'd ever developed as a businessman disappeared.
He became a father.
“Lock the house.”
Security flooded the property.
Police were called.
Margaret grabbed Clara.
Ethan ran outside.
A black SUV was speeding away.
He jumped into his car.
His security team followed.
The chase lasted seven minutes.
Then the SUV crashed into a barricade.
The driver escaped on foot.
Inside the vehicle was an empty baby carrier.
And a note.
Ethan opened it.
May you like
You wanted the truth.
Now find it before someone dies.
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