Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN IN RED
The supervised visit took place in a family services office with gray carpet and toys that looked as if no child had ever touched them willingly.
Grace sat beside Sophie.
Maya sat across from her.
A court-appointed supervisor waited near the door.
Luka was not allowed inside.
Ethan arrived nine minutes late.
Vanessa came with him.
Grace stood immediately.
"She is not coming in."
The supervisor looked at Ethan.
"Only the father is authorized."
Vanessa smiled.
"I will wait outside."
Grace hated the calmness in her voice.
Ethan entered and sat across from the bassinet.
For a long moment, he did not look at Sophie.
He looked at Grace.
"You look tired."
"I gave birth yesterday."
"You also created a circus."
Maya raised a hand.
"Mr. Cole, this visit is for bonding with the infant."
Ethan glanced at her.
"I know why I'm here."
He finally looked down.
Sophie opened her eyes.
Grace watched his face carefully.
Again, she searched for something human.
Again, she saw calculation first.
"Can I hold her?"
Grace wanted to say no.
The supervisor nodded.
"That is the purpose of the visit."
Grace lifted Sophie and placed her into Ethan's arms.
He held the baby awkwardly.
Sophie began to cry.
Ethan stiffened.
"What does she need?"
"Her mother."
Grace reached for her.
Ethan pulled back.
The movement was small.
It was also enough to make every muscle in Grace's body tighten.
"Give her to me."
"She needs to learn to be with me."
"She is two days old."
"And if the court decides you're unstable, she may need to be with me permanently."
The supervisor looked up sharply.
Maya leaned forward.
"That statement will be included in the report."
Ethan smiled.
"Include whatever you want."
Sophie cried harder.
Grace stood.
"Give me my daughter."
Ethan finally did.
The moment Sophie touched Grace's chest, the crying softened.
Grace looked at Ethan.
"You don't want her."
"You don't know what I want."
"I know you left without holding her."
"I know you filed paperwork before she was born."
"I know someone forged my medical chart."
"I know your girlfriend was in a restricted records office."
Ethan's expression barely changed.
"Careful."
"Is that a threat?"
"It is advice."
"From my husband?"
"Soon to be ex-husband."
Grace felt the words, but they did not hurt anymore.
That surprised her.
"Good."
Ethan blinked.
Grace adjusted the blanket around Sophie.
"I don't want to be married to someone I have to investigate."
For the first time, Ethan's composure cracked.
"You think Moretti is saving you?"
"I think he showed up."
"You know nothing about him."
"I knew everything about you."
Grace looked him directly in the eyes.
"That turned out worse."
The supervisor hid a smile.
Ethan noticed.
His face hardened.
"Ask Luka why he was in Wisconsin the night your father died."
Grace's body went still.
Maya's head snapped toward him.
Ethan leaned back.
"There."
"Now the room is interesting."
Grace's voice was barely audible.
"He told me he was in Detroit."
"Did he?"
"What do you know?"
"Enough to know he has been lying to you longer than I have."
Maya stood.
"This visit is over."
Ethan smiled.
"You don't get to end it."
The supervisor spoke.
"Actually, I do."
She opened the door.
"Mr. Cole, you are done for today."
Ethan walked toward the exit.
Then he paused.
"Grace."
She looked at him.
"The woman in red is not just my mistress."
Vanessa was visible through the glass wall outside.
"Ask your grandfather why he spent twenty years pretending she wasn't family."
Then he left.
Grace stared after him.
Maya closed the door.
"Do you know what he means?"
Grace shook her head.
After Ethan left the supervised visit, Grace remained in the gray room until her hands stopped shaking.
The supervisor offered water.
Grace took it.
Maya sat quietly beside her.
"He wanted that reaction."
Grace stared at the closed door.
"Which one?"
"The part where you begin doubting Luka."
Grace looked at her.
"Shouldn't I?"
Maya considered the question.
"You should doubt everyone who has hidden material facts from you."
"Including Luka."
Grace appreciated the answer.
"But?"
"But doubt is not the same as letting Ethan choose the question."
Grace looked down at Sophie.
The baby had fallen asleep again, completely unaware that adults were fighting over bloodlines, money, and names.
"He said Vanessa is family."
"That may be true."
"You already know something."
Maya sighed.
"I know there were irregularities in Arthur Bellamy's early family records."
"I do not yet know what they mean."
Grace gave her a tired smile.
"Look at you labeling uncertainty."
"You are contagious."
They returned to the townhouse under increased security.
Luka was waiting in the living room.
Grace saw immediately that he knew about Ethan's accusation.
"Were you in Wisconsin that night?"
Luka opened his mouth.
Grace held up a hand.
"Not now."
His expression darkened.
"Grace."
"If I ask while I'm angry, I will hear only the part that confirms what Ethan wants me to believe."
Luka studied her.
"That is more patience than I deserve."
"Probably."
She walked past him.
"Don't waste it."
An hour later, Sophie woke hungry.
Grace sat in the rocking chair and fed her while Maya worked at the dining table.
Luka remained near the window.
Grace caught him looking at the baby.
"Have you ever held one?"
He looked almost offended.
"A baby?"
"No, a corporate trust."
Luka's mouth twitched.
"No."
"Never?"
"I grew up around people who handed children to someone else the second they cried."
The answer carried more history than he intended.
Grace did not push.
Sophie made a tiny satisfied sound.
Luka looked away as if the tenderness of it embarrassed him.
Grace noticed again that the man who frightened executives seemed almost cautious around her daughter.
That did not make him trustworthy.
It made him harder to categorize.
Then the investigators arrived with the genealogy file.
That afternoon, Luka's investigators brought a genealogy file to the safe townhouse.
Grace read the first page twice.
Arthur Bellamy had one acknowledged child, Grace's mother, Eleanor.
He had also had a son before marriage.
That son had been disowned after a scandal at twenty-one.
His name was Charles Vale.
Grace looked at Luka.
"Vanessa's father."
"Yes."
Grace turned the page.
Vanessa Vale was not merely Ethan's mistress.
She was Arthur Bellamy's granddaughter.
May you like
She was Grace's first cousin.
And if Grace and Sophie were removed from the successor trust, Vanessa was next in line.
