Chapter 4 - The Other Man’s Secret
With his empire collapsing, Daniel’s mind desperately sought a lifeline—a place where he was still the hero, still necessary, still the man in charge.
Mara.
He drove back to downtown Chicago, abandoning the Porsche in the hospital's VIP valet. He ran up to the private maternity wing, needing Mara's wide, adoring eyes to make him feel like a man again. He needed to hold the future they were supposedly building.
He burst into the private suite.
Mara was sitting up in bed, but she wasn't alone. Standing beside her, looking extremely uncomfortable, was Julian Vance—the young, aggressively ambitious VP of Acquisitions at Mercer Hospitality.
Daniel froze. "Julian? What are you doing here?"
Mara’s face drained of color. The fragile, delicate act vanished, replaced by sheer panic.
Resting on the rolling tray table across Mara’s lap was a thick manila envelope. The seal was broken. Stamped on the corner was the crest of a high-end private genetics laboratory.
"Daniel," Julian stammered, stepping away from the bed as if it were on fire. "I... a courier just dropped this off. It was addressed to both of us. From Evelyn."
Daniel walked slowly to the bed. He picked up the heavy linen paper from the envelope.
It was a non-invasive prenatal paternity test, expedited and highly discreet.
Probability of Paternity (Daniel Mercer): 0.0%
Probability of Paternity (Julian Vance): 99.9%
Daniel read the numbers twice. The words from the morning echoed in his head: The woman carrying another man’s secret as if it were his future.
Evelyn had known. She had known about the affair, and she had known that Mara was sleeping with his VP of Acquisitions behind his back, securing her own safety net in case Daniel didn't leave his wife.
"Daniel, please," Mara cried, reaching out for him, but this time her tears were real, born of absolute ruin. "It was a mistake! He means nothing to me!"
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Daniel looked at the woman he had traded his empire for. He looked at the VP who was about to go down with his bankrupt company.
He dropped the paper on the bed, turned around, and walked out of the hospital suite without saying a single word.
