Chapter 10: The Truth About the Baby
Chapter 10: The Truth About the Baby
The words on the document burned into Claire's mind.
PROJECT CLAIRE
Two words.
Two words that made her entire life feel like a lie.
She held the paper with trembling hands.
Her eyes moved over every line.
Every signature.
Every hidden detail.
And every unanswered question.
Why her?
Why had the Ashford family watched her?
Why had Richard Ashford collected information about her years before she even knew Ethan existed?
Eleanor stood across from her.
For once, she had no cruel smile.
No arrogance.
No satisfaction.
Only exhaustion.
"You finally understand."
Claire looked up.
"Understand what?"
Eleanor's expression hardened.
"That you were never just some random woman Ethan met."
Claire's fingers tightened around the document.
"Explain."
Eleanor hesitated.
Then she sat down.
"The truth is complicated."
Claire laughed bitterly.
"Everything about your family is complicated."
A painful silence.
Then Eleanor spoke.
"Eight years ago, my father discovered something."
"What?"
"That Ethan was planning to leave."
Claire frowned.
"Leave?"
"Leave the Ashford empire."
The answer surprised her.
Eleanor continued.
"At the time, Ethan hated everything about this family."
Claire knew that feeling.
She had seen it.
The pressure.
The expectations.
The endless demands.
"He wanted a normal life."
Eleanor looked at her.
"And my father couldn't allow that."
Claire stared at the document.
"So he found me?"
Eleanor nodded.
"Not exactly."
"What does that mean?"
"He didn't find you."
A pause.
"You found Ethan."
The words felt strange.
Claire remembered that night.
She had only stopped because she saw someone sitting alone.
She hadn't known his name.
His money.
His family.
She had simply helped a stranger.
But someone else had been watching.
"Richard believed you were the reason Ethan would leave."
Claire shook her head.
"I barely knew him."
"I know."
Eleanor looked away.
"That's what made you dangerous."
Claire frowned.
"Because I wasn't interested in his money?"
Eleanor's silence answered.
Meanwhile, Ethan stood inside Richard's private office.
The file sat open in front of him.
PROJECT CLAIRE
He turned the first page.
His stomach tightened.
The file contained:
Claire's address.
Her family history.
Her job.
Her habits.
Her friendships.
Even private details she had never shared with him.
Someone had studied her.
Not because they cared.
Because they were preparing.
Detective Hayes stood beside him.
"This is not normal background research."
Ethan looked up.
"What do you mean?"
"This is surveillance."
A cold feeling spread through Ethan.
"Why?"
The detective looked at the file.
"That is what we need to find out."
Ethan turned another page.
Then he froze.
There was a medical report.
His eyes widened.
"What is this?"
Detective Hayes moved closer.
"What?"
Ethan handed it over.
The report was dated seven years ago.
Before his marriage.
Before he and Claire even met.
The patient's name was hidden.
But the details were clear.
A genetic compatibility test.
"What was my father doing?"
Ethan whispered.
Detective Hayes looked serious.
"Trying to confirm something."
"Confirm what?"
Before the detective answered, Ethan's phone rang.
Claire.
He answered immediately.
"Claire?"
Her voice sounded different.
Scared.
"Ethan..."
His heart dropped.
"What happened?"
"You need to come here."
"I'm on my way."
At the hospital, Ethan found Claire sitting silently.
The document was on the table.
The same one Eleanor had given her.
He looked at Eleanor.
"You knew?"
Eleanor nodded.
"I knew part of it."
Ethan's anger rose.
"You knew my father was doing this?"
"I knew he was watching her."
"And you said nothing?"
Eleanor looked at him.
"Would you have believed me?"
The question stopped him.
Because years ago...
Maybe he wouldn't have.
Claire looked at Ethan.
"I need to know the truth."
He sat beside her.
"I promise."
"No more secrets."
He nodded.
"No more."
Eleanor took a breath.
"Richard believed the Ashford bloodline was important."
Ethan frowned.
"Bloodline?"
"Yes."
She looked at Claire.
"When you became pregnant, everything changed."
Claire's hand moved protectively over her stomach.
"Why?"
Eleanor's voice became quieter.
"Because your baby became the future heir."
Ethan immediately shook his head.
"No."
"I know you don't care about that."
Eleanor looked at him.
"But my father does."
Claire felt sick.
"My baby is not a business asset."
"I know."
Eleanor's voice was surprisingly gentle.
"But Richard never saw things that way."
Then Detective Hayes entered.
His expression was serious.
"Ethan."
Everyone looked at him.
"We received the hospital records."
Ethan stood.
"What records?"
"The medical emergency after the fall."
Claire looked nervous.
"What about them?"
The detective hesitated.
"Your wife wasn't only injured from the fall."
A silence.
"What are you saying?"
Detective Hayes looked at Claire.
"The doctors found traces of a substance in her system."
Ethan's face changed.
"What substance?"
"A sedative."
The room went completely silent.
Claire stared.
"I was drugged?"
Detective Hayes nodded.
"Small amount."
Ethan felt anger explode inside him.
"Before the fall?"
"Yes."
Claire touched her head.
She remembered.
The strange dizziness.
The feeling that something was wrong before Eleanor grabbed her.
Ethan looked at Eleanor.
"You knew?"
Eleanor looked shocked.
"No."
For the first time, her fear looked real.
"I didn't know."
Detective Hayes continued:
"The amount was too small to make her unconscious."
"Then why?"
"To slow her reactions."
Ethan's hands curled into fists.
This was no longer an argument.
No longer jealousy.
Someone had planned this.
Claire looked at the document again.
Project Claire.
The surveillance.
The recording.
The drug.
Everything connected.
Someone had been controlling her life for years.
Then Detective Hayes revealed one more thing.
"The sedative was not found in the mansion."
Everyone looked confused.
"Then where?"
The detective opened a report.
"It came from a prescription bottle."
Claire's face went pale.
"Whose?"
The detective looked at Ethan.
"Registered under your mother."
Ethan froze.
"No."
Victoria.
His mother.
The woman who cried for Claire.
The woman who claimed she wanted the truth.
Meanwhile, at the Ashford mansion, Victoria sat alone.
Her hands trembled.
Her phone rang.
She answered.
A voice asked:
"Did they find out?"
Victoria closed her eyes.
"Yes."
A pause.
"Then it's over."
"No."
Her voice broke.
"It's not over."
"Why?"
Because Victoria looked at an old photograph.
A photograph of Richard.
Eleanor.
And a younger Ethan.
Then she whispered:
"Because the baby is still the only thing that can destroy everything."
That night, Claire woke up suddenly.
Something felt wrong.
She looked around the hospital room.
The door slowly opened.
A figure entered.
Claire froze.
"Who are you?"
The person stepped into the light.
And Claire recognized her.
It was Victoria Ashford.
Holding a file.
And crying.
"I need to tell you the truth."
Claire stared.
"About what?"
Victoria looked at her stomach.
"About your baby."
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End of Chapter 10
Next: Chapter 11 – Eleanor's Last Move
Victoria reveals the darkest secret of the Ashford family. Meanwhile, Eleanor makes her final attempt to save herself, and Claire discovers the danger surrounding her child is far greater than she imagined.
