Chapter 7 - The Woman Who Planned to Replace Me
Sophia Reynolds had been preparing to become my daughter's guardian before my daughter was even born.
When Samuel told me, I didn't scream.
I didn't faint.
I didn't throw anything.
I simply looked at Lily sleeping in her bassinet and asked one question.
"How close did they get?"
Samuel sat across from me.
"The documents were drafts. They had no legal force."
"That's not what I asked."
He folded his hands.
"Someone was trying to create a legal pathway to control decisions about Lily if you became incapacitated or died."
My mouth went dry.
"Did Adrian know?"
"We have no evidence that he did."
I looked away.
For months, I'd imagined the worst thing Adrian could do was abandon me.
Now I was discovering that his abandonment had made room for something far more dangerous.
Sophia was arrested the following afternoon.
Not for attempted murder.
Not yet.
Investigators had uncovered evidence of financial fraud, forged signatures, and conspiracy involving Vincent's companies.
She was taken into custody outside the luxury penthouse Adrian had purchased for her.
Television cameras captured the moment.
Her perfect hair.
Her designer coat.
Her furious expression.
"Adrian did this!" she shouted. "He's responsible for everything!"
The footage played across Chicago that evening.
I watched it from my mother's living room.
Lily slept beside me.
My mother turned off the television.
"Don't let her take another minute from you."
I stared at the dark screen.
"She already took nine months."
Eleanor sat beside me.
"No. Adrian gave those months away."
I looked at her.
She was right.
Sophia hadn't forced him to miss appointments.
She hadn't forced him to dismiss my fear.
She hadn't forced him to choose another woman.
Those were his decisions.
Whatever crimes Sophia had committed, Adrian's betrayal belonged to Adrian.
Three days later, Adrian asked to meet me.
Not at the mansion.
Not at his office.
At Samuel's conference room.
I agreed on one condition.
Lily would not be there.
When I entered, Adrian stood.
He wore a plain charcoal sweater instead of a suit.
There were dark circles beneath his eyes.
"Claire."
I sat across from him.
"Samuel said you wanted to talk."
Adrian nodded.
"I wanted to apologize."
I said nothing.
He looked down at his hands.
"I've been trying to figure out what to say that doesn't sound like an excuse."
"Then don't make excuses."
He nodded.
"You're right."
The silence stretched.
Then he spoke.
"I was selfish. I was cruel. I treated your pregnancy like an inconvenience because I thought providing money was enough."
I watched him.
"I told myself you were strong. That you didn't need me."
My throat tightened.
"I did need you."
His eyes filled.
"I know."
"No, Adrian. You don't."
He looked up.
"You don't know what it's like to sit in a doctor's office and hear that something might be wrong with your baby while every other woman has someone holding her hand."
He closed his eyes.
"You don't know what it's like to call your husband crying and hear him tell you to stop making everything about yourself."
"Claire—"
"And you don't know what it's like to be in labor, terrified, wondering whether your daughter will be okay, and realize the man who promised to protect you doesn't even know you're at the hospital."
Tears slipped down my face.
I hated them.
But I didn't stop.
Adrian covered his mouth.
For the first time since I'd known him, he looked completely powerless.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
I wiped my cheeks.
"I believe you."
Hope flickered across his face.
Then I finished.
"But I'm still divorcing you."
His expression broke.
He nodded slowly.
"I understand."
We discussed Lily.
Adrian wanted to be part of her life.
I didn't promise him anything beyond what the law and Lily's welfare required.
Samuel explained that any parenting arrangement would need to be established properly, with safety concerns considered.
Adrian agreed to cooperate.
No threats.
No demands.
No attempt to use his influence.
Before leaving, he placed a small envelope on the table.
"What's that?"
"A letter for Lily."
I stared at it.
"She's a newborn."
"I know."
"Then why write it now?"
His voice trembled.
"Because I missed the first nine months of her life. I don't want to forget what I owe her."
I didn't open it.
But I took it home.
That evening, Samuel received a call from the prosecutor handling Vincent's case.
A witness had come forward.
Dr. Rebecca Sloan.
She'd agreed to cooperate in exchange for consideration in her own prosecution.
Her statement confirmed that Vincent and Sophia had discussed obtaining control over Lily's guardianship.
But there was something else.
Something she had initially refused to disclose.
Samuel called me immediately.
"Claire, you need to hear this."
I stood beside Lily's crib.
"What?"
"Dr. Sloan says Sophia wasn't the person who originally approached her."
"Then who was?"
"An older woman."
My stomach tightened.
"Who?"
"She used the name Margaret Vale."
I went still.
Margaret.
The woman who'd come to my mother's porch.
The woman who'd told me my father was murdered.
The woman who'd given me the key.
"Samuel, that doesn't make sense."
"I know."
"Margaret was helping us."
"Maybe."
I gripped the phone.
"What did she want?"
Samuel hesitated.
"According to Sloan, she wanted confirmation that Lily was biologically related to Adrian."
I stared at my sleeping daughter.
May you like
"Why?"
"Because someone is looking for a child connected to the original Moretti inheritance."
