Chương 8
“He asked about selecting embryos based on gender.”
The room became silent.
Elias looked at Ava.
She stared at the message.
The pain on her face was not only about what Daniel had done.
It was about realizing he had planned disappointment before their daughters were even born.
And for the first time, Daniel Cross’s carefully controlled story began to crack.
Because the question was no longer why Ava left.
The question was why Daniel had worked so hard to make sure she stayed.
Daniel had not been trying to build a family.
He had been trying to manufacture one that matched the picture in his head.
Rachel printed additional pages from the email chain and placed them beside the first document.
Ava stared at the words without touching them.
She recognized Daniel's email address.
She recognized his writing style.
She recognized the careful way he avoided saying exactly what he wanted.
That had always been one of his talents.
He rarely gave direct orders.
He created situations where other people felt responsible for doing what he wanted.
"He knew before they were born," Ava whispered.
Rachel nodded.
"Based on this, it appears he had concerns about having daughters before the delivery."
Ava looked toward the nursery.
Her face tightened.
"I kept thinking I did something wrong."
Nobody responded immediately.
There was nothing useful to say.
Sometimes the cruelest part of being hurt was realizing how much time had been wasted blaming yourself.
Elias stood near the table, looking at the documents.
His anger was controlled.
That made it more noticeable.
Marcus had worked beside him through hostile negotiations and public attacks.
He knew what Elias looked like when he was angry.
This was different.
This was quieter.
"What else did you find?" Elias asked.
Rachel opened another file.
"Not everything is clear yet."
She placed several printed messages on the table.
"But Daniel's company has been struggling for months."
"That is not new," Marcus said.
"No."
Rachel pointed to a transaction record.
"But this is."
Ava leaned closer.
Daniel had transferred money from his business account shortly before the birth.
The amount was not enormous.
But it was unusual.
"Where did it go?" Elias asked.
"We are tracing it."
Ava looked confused.
"Why does that matter?"
Rachel looked at her carefully.
"Because people under financial pressure sometimes make decisions based on what they fear losing."
Ava understood.
Daniel had not only wanted a son.
He had wanted a future he could show people.
A successful business.
A perfect family.
A child who represented everything he believed he deserved.
And when reality refused to follow his plan, he needed someone to blame.
That person became her.
That night, Ava did something she had not done since leaving Daniel's apartment.
She opened old messages.
Not all of them.
Only a few.
Her hands shook as she scrolled.
Elias found her sitting alone at the kitchen counter.
He did not ask what she was doing.
He already knew.
"You do not have to read them tonight."
"I know."
She kept looking at the screen.
"I just want to understand when it started."
Elias sat across from her.
"Do you think there was a specific moment?"
Ava looked down.
"I used to."
She paused.
"Now I think it was thousands of small moments."
She showed him a message.
Daniel had written that she was being dramatic because she wanted to visit an old friend.
Another message said she was lucky he tolerated her attitude.
Another told her she should be grateful he worked hard while she stayed home.
Elias read silently.
He felt something unfamiliar.
Not helplessness.
Something close to it.
He had solved problems by moving resources.
By finding weaknesses.
By applying pressure.
But these messages were evidence of something invisible.
A pattern.
A person slowly being convinced that they did not deserve better.
"Why did you save these?" he asked.
Ava looked surprised.
"I don't know."
She thought for a moment.
"Maybe some part of me knew I would need to prove I was not imagining it."
That sentence stayed with him.
Because it revealed something important.
Ava had not only been fighting Daniel.
She had been fighting the version of herself that Daniel had created.
The next week brought changes neither of them expected.
The public attention increased.
Reporters waited outside the Vance building.
Online discussions grew.
People who had never met Ava argued about her life.
Some defended her.
Others accused her of chasing money.
The comments affected her more than she admitted.
Elias noticed because she stopped checking mirrors before leaving rooms.
She stopped wearing the nicer clothes his assistant had bought for her.
She started choosing simple sweaters and jeans that made her feel less visible.
One morning, he found her changing back into an old coat she had arrived in.
"That coat is damaged."
"I know."
"Why are you wearing it?"
She hesitated.
"Because it is mine."
The answer was simple.
But he understood.
The new clothes represented a life she had not chosen.
The old coat represented the woman who had survived before anyone helped her.
"You do not have to erase who you were," Elias said.
Ava looked at him.
"I am trying to remember who I was."
He had no response.
Because that was different.
She was not trying to become someone new.
She was trying to find the person who existed before Daniel convinced her she was nothing.
Meanwhile, Daniel became less careful.
Pressure changed him.
That was something Elias's team noticed before Ava did.
His public statements became more emotional.
His patience disappeared.
He called old friends and asked them to speak on his behalf.
Some refused.
Some agreed.
One former coworker eventually contacted Marcus.
Her name was Jenna Wallace.
She had worked with Daniel for three years.
"I do not want my name public," she said during the call.
Marcus listened carefully.
"Why contact us?"
Jenna was quiet.
May you like
"Because I saw what he was like before."
"What do you mean?"
