Chapter 3 - The Trembling Titan
Nathan stared at the nurse as if she had spoken in an ancient, dead language.
"What did you just say?" Nathan rasped, his voice dropping into a dangerous, gravelly register.
"I said the infant is B-positive, Mr. Cole," Evelyn repeated with unshakable professional detachment. "Two parents with type O blood can only pass O alleles to their offspring. A child with type B blood must have a biological parent with type B or type AB blood."
Patricia sprang up from the sofa, her face purple with indignation. "How dare you! How dare you accuse my son’s fiancée of such a filthy lie! You are a hired helper! We are paying you ten thousand dollars a week!"
"Ma'am, I didn't write the laws of human genetics," Evelyn replied coolly, setting the clipboard on the counter. "The clinical laboratory at this hospital verified the sample twice because of the discrepancy."
Nathan turned slowly toward the bed.
His hands were shaking so violently that his designer cufflinks rattled against his cuffs. The smug, triumphant expression that had carried him through our divorce court vanished, replaced by an ugly, feral tremor of mounting rage.
"Vanessa," Nathan whispered.
Vanessa pulled the silk sheets up to her chin, her eyes darting frantically toward the door, her chest heaving with shallow, panicked breaths.
"Nathan, it's... it's a lab mix-up," Vanessa stammered, tears immediately flooding her eyes. "You know how careless hospital staff are! They probably swapped the blood vials with another baby in the nursery!"
"The cord blood was drawn directly from the placenta in the delivery room, Miss Blake," Evelyn interjected, not giving her an inch of cover. "There was no mix-up."
"Get out!" Nathan roared, spinning toward the caregiver. "GET OUT OF THIS ROOM!"
Evelyn didn't flinch. She picked up her canvas medical bag, gave a polite nod, and walked out of the suite, pulling the heavy door shut behind her.
The slam of the door resonated like a gunshot.
Nathan took two predatory strides toward the bed, gripping the footboard so hard the polished wood groaned under his knuckles.
"Who does the B blood belong to, Vanessa?" he snarled, saliva flying from his lips. "WHO IS THE FATHER?!"
"Nathan, please, calm down! The baby is sleeping!" Patricia pleaded, her hands trembling as she tried to grasp her son's arm.
Nathan shoved his mother’s hand away with brutal force. "Shut up, Mom! Shut up and let her answer!"
Vanessa broke down into hysterical, jagged sobs, covering her face with both hands. "It was only once, Nathan! I swear it was only once at the Chicago real estate convention in October!"
Nathan’s jaw dropped in absolute, horrifying realization.
May you like
"October?" he choked out, his vision swimming. "The convention at the Palmer House? Who were you with in October?!"
Vanessa lowered her head, weeping into the sheets. "Julian... Julian Sterling."
