Chapter 8 - The Confrontation at Swedish Medical
Two days later, the rain cleared, leaving the Seattle sky crisp, blue, and clean. I sat in an armchair by the sunlit window of my recovery suite, gently rocking baby Leo against my chest. He was dressed in a soft, white organic cotton onesie, his cheeks rosy and full. The trauma of forty-eight hours ago had begun to recede, replaced by a profound, unshakeable sense of security. Warren was seated nearby, quietly reviewing legal briefs on his tablet, keeping an unyielding vigil over us.
A knock sounded at the door. Warren’s private head of security poked his head in. ""Mr. Sterling, Natalie. He posted bail through a predatory bondsman. He’s outside demanding two minutes. He says he won't leave without seeing his son.""
I looked down at Leo, then up at my father. ""Let him in,"" I said calmly. ""I want him to see what he threw away.""
Warren nodded grimly, signaling the guards.
Vance stepped into the room, and the sight of him was pathetic. The polished, arrogant golden boy was gone. His suit was rumpled, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, his eyes bloodshot and swollen from two nights in a holding cell. He looked like a man who had walked directly into an explosion of his own making.
""Natalie,"" Vance choked out, his voice cracking as he took a tentative step toward me. ""Please... you have to listen to me. It was all a misunderstanding. Chloe meant nothing to me. Mother pushed me into everything! I was under so much stress with the firm—I didn't know you were in real danger! If I had known—""
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""You told me to call a cab while our son was suffocating in my womb, Vance,"" I said. My voice wasn't shaking. It wasn't screaming. It was as cold and sharp as cracked ice. ""You heard me begging on the floor. You checked my mail, you hid my real family from me, and you plotted to lock me away in an institution so you could steal my father’s money.""
""I was going to protect you!"" Vance sobbed, dropping to his knees on the polished linoleum floor, completely debasing himself. ""We can start over! We're a family! Look at our boy! He needs his father! Mr. Sterling, please, tell her! I can change!""
