Chương 5
A woman near the entrance looked from Claire’s uniform to the baby, then toward the building. Her phone was raised, though Claire could not tell whether she was taking a photograph.
Daniel appeared behind them.
“Claire.”
She turned.
He had come down without a jacket. Two security officers lingered ten feet away.
“I said I didn’t need an escort.”
“I’m not escorting you.”
Evelyn stepped slightly in front of her daughter.
Daniel looked at her.
“You must be Mrs. Anderson.”
“I must not be anything to you.”
“Mom.”
“What? He guessed.”
Daniel accepted the rebuke.
“I wanted to give you this,” he said.
He held out a business card.
Claire stared at it.
“My direct number,” he said. “Not the office. Not Julia. No assistant.”
She took the card because refusing would be theatrical and because she had spent too many months asking for exactly that.
His phone number had been written by hand beneath the printed one.
“I’ll answer,” he said.
Claire placed the card inside the diaper bag.
Rose made a small sound.
Daniel’s attention shifted toward her. His expression softened so openly that Claire had to look away.
The car arrived.
Evelyn opened the rear door while Claire secured Rose in the car seat. Daniel stood on the sidewalk and watched every buckle as if memorizing the procedure.
Before Claire got in, he said, “I’m sorry.”
She faced him.
“For which part?”
He had no answer ready.
That, more than the apology, made her believe he meant it.
The paternity test took place six days later in a private medical office chosen jointly by both attorneys.
Daniel arrived twenty minutes early. Claire knew because he was already seated when she walked in, holding a paper cup of coffee he did not appear to have touched.
He stood when he saw Rose.
Claire’s attorney, Melissa Grant, gave him a look that made him sit again.
Melissa had represented Claire since the cease-and-desist arrived. She was forty-six, blunt, and allergic to wealthy men who described legal demands as misunderstandings. Her office normally handled military family law and employment disputes, not billionaire paternity cases, but she had told Claire that rich people did not become different species merely because their paperwork came embossed.
Mara Vance sat beside Daniel.
No one mentioned Julia.
The nurse explained the procedure, identities were confirmed, and samples were collected. Rose objected to the cheek swab with a wounded expression and one sharp cry.
Daniel stood halfway through it, then stopped as if unsure what he intended to do.
Claire soothed Rose.
“It doesn’t hurt,” she said.
“I know.”
She looked at him.
He sat down.
After the nurse left, Mara began discussing chain-of-custody documentation.
Daniel interrupted.
“When will we have the result?”
“Three to five business days,” Melissa said.
“Can we expedite it?”
“Yes,” Mara replied. “For a fee.”
Melissa looked at him over her glasses.
“Some things take the time they take.”
Daniel’s mouth tightened.
Claire recognized the expression. He used to make it when restaurants told him there were no tables available.
Rose had fallen asleep again. Claire adjusted the blanket over her legs.
Daniel watched.
“Can I ask something that isn’t legal?”
Melissa said, “You can ask.”
He looked at Claire.
“Why Rose?”
The question surprised her.
“My grandmother.”
“Elizabeth?”
“My sister.”
“You have a sister?”
Claire stared at him.
He looked away.
“I should have known that.”
“Yes.”
Melissa closed her file.
“I think that concludes today.”
Daniel stood with everyone else.
“Could I have ten minutes?”
“No,” Melissa said.
Claire touched her attorney’s arm.
Melissa looked at her.
“Ten,” Claire said.
Mara and Melissa moved to the hallway but left the door partly open.
Daniel stayed across the room.
“Thank you.”
Claire sat down again.
“You have nine now.”
He rubbed the edge of his watchband with his thumb.
“I’ve been reviewing the messages.”
“You mean your lawyers have.”
“I have too.”
“All of them?”
“All of them.”
She waited.
“There were twelve emails,” he said. “Four letters. Two messages through the foundation office. One through investor relations because you thought someone might forward it. You called my old number seven times.”
“Six. One was an accidental redial.”
“I deserved seven.”
“That isn’t how numbers work.”
A brief smile moved across his face and vanished.
“The cease-and-desist came from a template used for fraudulent claims. Julia requested it. A junior lawyer sent it without speaking to you.”
“I know.”
“I terminated the firm.”
“You terminated the entire firm?”
“The partner responsible.”
“That sounds easier than examining why everyone believed Julia was authorized to speak for you.”
The words settled.
Daniel looked toward the open door.
“I did authorize her.”
Claire said nothing.
“Not for this. Not specifically. But I told people that Julia’s instructions carried my authority. I said if she asked for something, they should assume I had approved it.”
“Why?”
“Because it was efficient.”
There it was again.
Time as enemy. Efficiency as permission.
“What happened to her?” Claire asked.
“She’s on administrative leave.”
“Paid?”
“Yes.”
“Is there an investigation?”
“Outside counsel and a forensic firm are reviewing everything.”
“Chosen by you?”
“Chosen by an independent committee of the board.”
She nodded once.
Daniel took a breath.
“I don’t expect you to trust that.”
“No.”
“I don’t expect you to trust me.”
“Good.”
He looked at Rose.
“Could I see a picture from when she was born?”
Claire felt anger rise so quickly that it startled her.
“You had one.”
“I never saw it.”
“You had one.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Her voice sharpened. Rose stirred.
Claire stopped and pressed a hand against the baby’s chest.
Daniel did not defend himself.
The open door framed Mara and Melissa in the hallway, both pretending not to listen.
May you like
Claire lowered her voice.
“I sent that picture while I was still in the hospital. I had not slept. My mother was arguing with the insurance office because someone had coded something incorrectly. Rose would not latch, and every nurse gave me different advice. I took that picture because she finally looked peaceful. I thought you should know she was here.”
