Chapter 7 - Locked In
The click of the lock sounded louder than it should have.
Ethan moved in front of Emily.
Grant lifted both hands. “Relax. I’m preventing a scene in the hallway.”
“You locked a pregnant woman in your office,” Emily said. “That is the scene.”
Grant’s patience vanished.
“You have no idea what you’re touching.”
Ethan held up the trust document. “I know exactly what I’m touching. My father took voting control away from my mother the moment my child is born.”
“Your father was sick.”
“He was sharp enough to sign forty-seven pages in front of witnesses.”
Grant’s mouth tightened.
Emily studied him. “Margaret wanted Ethan to believe the baby wasn’t his before the birth. Divorce me, disown the child, stop the transfer.”
Grant looked at her with something close to admiration.
“You’re smarter than she gives you credit for.”
Ethan lunged forward. “She?”
Grant realized his mistake.
Emily took out her phone.
“No signal,” Grant said. “This office has privacy shielding.”
Ethan laughed once. “You really planned for this.”
Grant reached for the folder. “Give me the original.”
“No.”
“You cannot remove privileged documents.”
“You cannot hold us here.”
Grant’s eyes went to Emily’s belly.
“Everyone needs to stop being dramatic. The child is healthy. Margaret never wanted anyone hurt.”
Emily stared at him.
“Tell that to my face.”
“I just did.”
“No. Tell the handprint on my face. Tell Nora’s stitches.”
Grant looked away.
That was when Emily noticed the small glass panel beside the bookcase.
A fire alarm.
She reached for it.
Grant moved fast.
Ethan slammed into him.
The two men crashed into the desk. Emily pulled the alarm.
Sirens screamed through the floor. Magnetic locks released with a heavy clunk.
Emily yanked the door open.
“Run!” Ethan shouted.
Employees spilled into the hall. Grant couldn’t stop them without witnesses.
They made it to the elevator.
Inside, Ethan looked at the folder in his hands.
“There has to be more.”
Emily flipped through the pages.
One sheet had been inserted backward.
She turned it over.
It was not part of the trust.
It was an invoice.
Private genetic testing. Rush fabrication fee. Confidential identity substitution.
Paid from a foundation account.
At the bottom was an authorization line.
Not Margaret Cole.
May you like
Ethan Cole.
Emily stared at her husband’s signature.
