Chapter 3 - The Husband Who Sold His SonSubtitle: His Family Needed a Male HeirDaniel finally entered my room.
He shut the door behind him.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
The beeping monitor beside me was the only sound.
"Elena," he whispered.
"Don't."
He stopped.
"How long?"
He frowned.
"What?"
"How long have you been planning to give Leo away?"
His face changed.
"We weren't going to give him away."
I laughed.
"You prepared legal documents."
"It was supposed to be temporary."
"Temporary?"
Daniel rubbed his face.
"Karen would raise him."
"That is not temporary."
"She would be his guardian."
"My son would grow up believing another woman was his mother."
"She has nothing!"
"And I do?"
He looked at me.
"That's not what I meant."
"It is exactly what you meant."
Daniel sat down.
He looked smaller than I'd ever seen him.
"We're in trouble."
"What kind?"
He hesitated.
Then he said:
"Financial."
That almost made me laugh.
"You have a six-figure salary."
"My father owns the company."
"And?"
"There's a clause in the family trust."
I stared at him.
"What clause?"
Daniel looked toward the door.
"If my father dies without a legitimate male heir from his bloodline, control of Sterling Holdings goes to the board."
"And?"
"Our family has been trying to preserve control for years."
I looked at Luna.
Then Leo.
"So this is about a company."
Daniel lowered his head.
"Karen can't have children."
"That's her tragedy."
"And my father believes the family needs a boy."
I whispered:
"So you volunteered mine."
Daniel didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
"You disgust me."
His eyes filled.
"I thought you would understand."
"I just gave birth."
"I know."
"No. You don't."
I pointed at my abdomen.
"I almost died today."
"I know."
"You watched them take my blood. You watched me sign surgical consent. You held my hand while they wheeled me away."
"I was scared."
"And while I was unconscious, you were planning which child you'd hand to your sister?"
His silence was unbearable.
Then he said:
"You've always been so detached from the family."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"You're always working on your cases."
I nearly smiled.
The irony was breathtaking.
He believed those "cases" were volunteer legal work.
He had no idea.
"Your mother thinks I'm useless because I'm not working," I said.
Daniel looked away.
"She doesn't mean it."
"She slapped me."
"I know."
"She tried to take my baby."
"I know."
"And you are still defending her."
"I am not defending her."
"You are."
Then something unexpected happened.
Daniel's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
"Who is it?"
He didn't answer.
The phone rang again.
Then again.
Finally he picked up.
"What?"
A voice shouted through the speaker.
Daniel's face went white.
"What do you mean the bank froze the accounts?"
I sat very still.
The man on the phone continued.
Daniel stood.
"Who authorized that?"
Silence.
Then he looked at me.
The detective noticed.
"So did I."
Daniel ended the call.
"What happened?" I asked.
He swallowed.
"My father's accounts are frozen."
"Why?"
"They said there's a judicial order."
My heart beat faster.
I hadn't issued anything.
Not personally.
"Under whose authority?"
Daniel stared at me.
"They wouldn't tell me."
Then another call came in.
This time it was from the CEO of Sterling Holdings.
Daniel answered.
The voice on the other end was furious.
"Your father just received notice that a formal investigation is opening tomorrow morning."
Daniel's eyes widened.
"For what?"
"Fraud."
Then the line went dead.
Daniel stared at his phone.
I looked toward Mike.
He gave me a questioning expression.
I shook my head.
I had done nothing.
Not yet.
But someone had.
And they were moving much faster than I was.
Then the detective entered.
"Your Honor."
I looked up.
He held a small evidence bag.
Inside was a USB drive.
"We found this in Mrs. Sterling's handbag."
My blood ran cold.
"What's on it?"
The detective looked at Daniel.
"Hospital records."
Daniel's face collapsed.
"That's impossible."
I stared at the drive.
Because I knew one thing immediately.
They weren't just trying to steal my son.
They had been watching my pregnancy.
Every appointment.
Every scan.
May you like
Every medical detail.
And someone had been helping them from inside the hospital.
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