Chapter 4
Not once.
He had missed every appointment.
Every ultrasound.
Every kick.
Every frightened night.
Every moment when she had stood in front of a mirror and watched her body change because she was carrying his children.
And now the first time he saw her pregnant was on a security recording almost a year old.
Claire crossed the marble lobby slowly.
She looked tired.
Her hair was tied back.
There were shadows beneath her eyes.
One hand rested protectively beneath her stomach.
The other carried a thick envelope.
She approached the security desk.
Vincent watched her speak to the guard.
The guard picked up the phone.
Claire waited.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Then twenty.
She sat down.
Stood again.
Walked toward the windows.
Returned to the desk.
At 11:17, the elevator doors opened.
Vanessa stepped out.
Vincent looked away from the screen.
At the real Vanessa.
She had gone completely still.
“Keep playing it,” he said.
Ethan did.
On the recording, Vanessa approached Claire.
There was no audio.
But body language didn’t need sound.
Claire held out the envelope.
Vanessa didn’t take it.
Claire said something.
Vanessa crossed her arms.
Claire’s hand moved protectively over her stomach.
Then Vanessa leaned closer.
She spoke for almost a minute.
Whatever she said changed Claire.
Vincent watched his wife’s shoulders slowly fall.
Claire looked toward the private elevators.
Toward the floor where Vincent had been working that morning.
Then she looked down.
She nodded once.
Turned.
And walked away.
The footage ended.
Nobody spoke.
Vincent’s voice was almost unnaturally calm.
“What did you tell her?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Vincent—”
“What did you tell my wife?”
“She showed up without an appointment.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Answer me.”
Vanessa’s voice sharpened defensively.
“You were in negotiations. You hadn’t slept properly in days. You told everyone not to interrupt you.”
“So you came downstairs?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“She wanted to see you.”
“And?”
“She said she was pregnant.”
Vincent’s jaw flexed.
“I know that.”
“She wanted you to come to some appointment.”
“What appointment?”
Vanessa looked away.
Vincent stepped closer.
“What appointment?”
“The anatomy scan.”
Something inside him cracked.
The anatomy scan.
The appointment where he might have seen Emma and Noah moving on a screen.
Where he might have heard their hearts.
Where Claire might have learned whether both babies were developing normally.
And she had come to ask him herself.
“What did you say?”
Vanessa’s eyes filled with sudden tears.