Chapter 5
“I told her you didn’t want to see her.”
Vincent said nothing.
Vanessa continued quickly.
“I thought I was protecting you. You were finally functioning again. Every time Claire contacted you, you became angry or distracted. I thought—”
“You thought.”
“Yes.”
“You thought you had the right to speak for me.”
“You gave me that right every day!”
Her voice broke through the room.
“You let me handle your schedule. Your calls. Your private correspondence. Your entire life. You told everyone I spoke with your authority.”
“Not about my children.”
“I didn’t know they were yours!”
Vincent’s stare turned glacial.
“You knew they could be.”
Vanessa had no answer.
Vincent pointed toward the laptop.
“What else did you tell her?”
“Nothing.”
Ethan spoke for the first time.
“That isn’t what Claire told security.”
Vanessa turned.
“What?”
Ethan opened another document.
“The guard filed an incident note because Claire was visibly distressed when she left.”
He read quietly.
“Visitor stated that Ms. Hale informed her Mr. Moretti had already been advised of the pregnancy and declined involvement.”
Vincent looked at Vanessa.
She closed her eyes.
There it was.
The truth.
Not all of it.
But enough.
“You told her I knew.”
Vanessa whispered, “Yes.”
“You told a pregnant woman that her husband knew she was carrying his children.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Vanessa’s tears spilled over.
“Vincent, please.”
He stepped closer.
“And?”
“I told her…”
Her voice disappeared.
Vincent waited.
Vanessa finally forced out the words.
“I told her you said the babies weren’t your problem.”
The room went silent.
Vincent didn’t shout.
That frightened Ethan more than shouting would have.
Vincent simply stared at Vanessa.
The woman who had stood beside him for years.
The woman who had accompanied him to dinners.
Who had organized his travel.
Who had known his routines better than almost anyone.
The woman Claire had suspected.
The woman Vincent had repeatedly defended.
“You let her believe that.”
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“I was angry.”
“At her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“Because she had you.”
Vincent’s expression didn’t change.
“You wanted me.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“I loved you.”
“No.”
His answer came instantly.
She flinched.
“You loved being close to power.”
“That’s not fair.”
“You watched my marriage collapse and decided it was an opportunity.”
“You were already separated!”
“She was pregnant.”
“I didn’t know when she first left!”
“But you knew afterward.”
Vanessa said nothing.