Chapter 4 - The Execution
The high-definition audio of Dr. Keller’s voice blasted through the massive speakers hidden in the garden canopies.
“The genetic screening could expose it someday... The twins carry your DNA, Grant. But they do not carry Claire’s.”
A collective, horrified gasp ripped through the crowd. Women covered their mouths. The executives froze, their champagne glasses suspended in mid-air.
Grant lunged toward me, his face twisted in absolute, feral panic. "Turn that off! Claire, give me that right now!"
He didn't make it two steps. Two massive, armed private security contractors I had hired stepped smoothly out of the crowd, blocking his path and physically pushing him back.
The audio continued to play, unyielding and devastating.
“If Claire discovers that the embryos were created with Maya Bennett’s eggs without her informed consent, I lose my license.”
“I did not pay you four hundred thousand dollars to develop a conscience now.”
Dr. Keller stumbled backward, his knees buckling. He collapsed onto the grass, hyperventilating as the wealthy society wives backed away from him in sheer revulsion.
"You sociopathic bastard," one of the board members hissed, staring at Grant with unadulterated disgust.
"It’s out of context!" Grant screamed, his immaculate public image violently shattering in front of the very people he needed most. He pointed a shaking finger at me. "She’s hysterical! The pregnancy hormones have made her paranoid! That audio is fabricated!"
"It isn't fabricated, Grant," a new voice rang out.
The crowd parted. Maya Bennett walked onto the lawn. She looked terrified, but she stood tall, flanked by two federal agents and Marcus Vance.
"You wired four hundred thousand dollars to my offshore accounts after threatening to ruin my father's career if I didn't undergo the extraction procedure," Maya said, her voice shaking but clear. "I handed the bank records to the FBI this morning. I signed away all biological rights. Those babies belong to Claire. But the prison sentence belongs to you."
The federal agents stepped forward, pulling a pair of heavy steel handcuffs from their belts.
"Grant Mercer and Richard Keller," the lead agent announced, his voice booming over the stunned silence of the garden. "You are both under arrest for medical fraud, wire fraud, extortion, and criminal battery. Place your hands behind your backs."
Grant fought them. The elegant, untouchable CEO screamed and thrashed as he was forced to his knees in the middle of the pristine grass, the handcuffs clicking shut with a final, metallic thud. He looked up at me, his eyes wild with fury and desperation.
"They are my children!" Grant roared as he was dragged toward the driveway. "You are nothing but an incubator! You are nothing!"
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I walked slowly to the edge of the patio, looking down at the man who had tried to erase me.
"I am their mother," I whispered, resting my hands fiercely over my swollen stomach. "And you are just a sperm donor who forgot to read the fine print."
