Chapter 1: The Truth Inside the Envelope
Chapter 1: The Truth Inside the Envelope
The courtyard fell silent.
Even the traffic beyond the hospital gates seemed distant.
Marcus stared at the medical report in his shaking hands.
Jessica's fingers trembled so violently that several pages slipped onto the pavement.
"What is this?" Marcus demanded.
His voice no longer carried arrogance.
Only fear.
The Chief of Medicine, Dr. Samuel Hayes, stepped forward.
His expression was grave.
"Mr. Whitmore," he said carefully, "those documents were never meant to become public."
Clara finally looked at her husband.
"No," she replied softly. "But neither was what you've been doing for the past year."
Marcus swallowed hard.
The first page displayed a DNA compatibility report.
The second page showed a genetic screening.
The third contained a physician's certification.
Jessica covered her mouth.
"No..." she whispered.
Marcus turned pale.
Because the report revealed something impossible.
The baby Clara was carrying was genetically related to Marcus.
But Marcus was not the biological father.
The crowd murmured in confusion.
Marcus shook his head.
"That doesn't make any sense."
Dr. Hayes looked at him.
"It does when you read the entire report."
Jessica grabbed the pages again.
Halfway through, she froze.
Then she looked at Marcus with horror.
"You told me Clara got pregnant naturally."
Marcus couldn't answer.
Because six years earlier, Marcus had secretly undergone a fertility evaluation.
The report had concluded he was sterile.
Permanently.
He had hidden the diagnosis from everyone.
Including his wife.
Including Jessica.
Including himself.
Clara spoke quietly.
"After years of trying for a child, I asked for a second medical opinion."
Her eyes never left Marcus.
"That's when I learned the truth."
The crowd listened.
Every nurse.
Every patient.
Every bystander.
"I discovered Marcus had known for years that he couldn't father a child."
Jessica stumbled backward.
"You lied to me."
Marcus opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Clara continued.
"The baby was conceived through an anonymous donor program."
Marcus looked up sharply.
"What?"
"You signed the consent forms."
His face drained of color.
The memory hit him.
Three years earlier.
A fertility clinic.
Documents he signed without reading because he was too embarrassed to discuss the issue.
He had assumed Clara would never proceed.
He had been wrong.
Jessica stared at him as if seeing a stranger.
"So while you were telling me your wife was desperate to trap you with a baby..."
She held up the report.
"You already knew you couldn't have children."
Marcus looked trapped.
For the first time in years, nobody believed him.
May you like
Not even his mistress.
And the worst part was that Clara wasn't finished.
