Chapter 7 - The Test
I showed the text to security.
They told me not to respond.
I responded anyway.
WHO IS THIS?
Nothing came back.
Claire grabbed my wrist. "Adrian, don't."
"Someone just threatened our son."
"Exactly. Don't give them anything."
The hospital security officer asked for my phone and photographed the message. Legal counsel contacted police.
Dr. Patel stayed focused on Claire.
"Your baby looks good right now. That's what matters in this room."
Right now.
I hated those words.
An hour later, a detective named Ramirez arrived. He was quiet, broad-shouldered, and much less impressed by my family name than most people were.
He read the forged documents.
"Who benefits from your mother having medical authority over your wife?"
"My mother likes control."
"That's a personality trait. I'm asking about benefit. Money? Custody? Business?"
I looked at Claire.
Her eyes shifted away.
"Claire?"
She swallowed.
"Tell him about the trust."
I felt my chest tighten.
My grandfather had created the Vale Family Trust before I was born. It held company shares, property, and enough money to turn every family dinner into a negotiation.
My first child would become a beneficiary at birth.
If I died before the child turned eighteen, the acting family trustee would control the child's assets.
The acting trustee was my mother.
Ramirez asked, "How much are we talking about?"
"Enough," I said.
Claire gave a bitter laugh. "More than enough."
The paternity test suddenly made sense in the ugliest possible way.
My mother needed proof the baby was mine because the trust required a biological descendant.
"So she confirmed paternity," Ramirez said. "What happens next?"
I didn't know.
Claire did.
"She started asking about Adrian's life insurance."
I turned to her.
"When?"
"Two weeks ago. She said married couples should know these things before a baby comes. Then she asked who gets custody if both parents die."
The room seemed to tilt.
Ramirez's expression hardened.
"Mr. Vale, when did you book your Singapore trip?"
"Three months ago."
"Who knew your itinerary?"
"My office. Claire. My mother."
He wrote something down.
My phone buzzed again.
This time it was my assistant, Leah.
ADRIAN, CALL ME NOW. YOUR SINGAPORE RETURN FLIGHT WAS CHANGED BY SOMEONE USING YOUR CORPORATE ACCOUNT. I DIDN'T DO IT.
I stared at the message.
My original flight had been scheduled for Sunday night.
The flight I came home on had only happened because a client canceled and I changed it myself at the airport.
Someone else had tried to change my return.
May you like
To Monday.
One day later.
