“I don’t believe so.”
Warren closed the document.
“But someone around him may have.”
The Name Elena Wasn’t Supposed to See
Later that afternoon, Elena was taken by wheelchair to see her daughters.
The moment she saw the three incubators, everything else disappeared.
Her marriage.
The paperwork.
The trust.
Grant.
None of it mattered.
Only the babies.
Elena pressed trembling fingers against the side of the first incubator.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
Then the second.
Then the third.
“Mommy’s here.”
A neonatal nurse smiled gently.
“They’ve been doing very well today.”
Elena wiped her cheek.
Then she noticed Warren speaking quietly with another hospital administrator.
Something was wrong.
“What happened?”
Warren approached her.
“There was an irregular request made yesterday regarding one of the babies.”
Elena immediately became alert.
“What kind of request?”
The administrator answered carefully.
“Someone attempted to add an outside guardian authorization to Baby Two’s records.”
Elena’s face went pale.
“Who?”
The administrator looked toward Warren.
Warren nodded.
“The requested surname was Voss.”
Elena stopped breathing for a second.
Voss.
She knew that name.
Camille Voss had attended countless business dinners with Grant.
Grant always described her as an investor.
A family friend.
Someone who had helped him when he was starting his company.
Elena had never liked the way Camille looked at her.
Not with jealousy.
With calculation.
A voice suddenly came from behind them.
“You were never supposed to find out this early.”
Elena turned.
Camille stood near the entrance in a cream-colored coat.
Perfect hair.
Perfect posture.
No expression of concern.
Warren immediately stepped between her and Elena.
“You don’t have authorization to be here.”
Camille ignored him.
She looked directly at Elena.
“Grant made everything much more complicated than necessary.”
Elena tightened her grip on the wheelchair.
“Stay away from my daughters.”
Camille gave a small smile.
“That’s exactly what your grandfather said about my family.”
Elena frowned.
“What does my grandfather have to do with you?”
Warren interrupted.
“Camille, this isn’t the place.”
“Then where is the place, Warren? Another locked office? Another sealed document?”
Elena looked between them.
“Someone needs to tell me what’s happening.”
Before Warren could answer, another voice came from the hallway.
“Elena.”
Grant.
Two hospital security employees stood beside him.
For the first time since Elena had known him, he looked uncertain.
His tie was missing.
His shirt was wrinkled.
His face looked exhausted.
“I need five minutes.”
Elena stared at him.
“You had six years.”
Grant flinched.
“Please.”
“Did you authorize someone to change my daughter’s records?”
Grant looked toward Camille.
That single glance told Elena more than any answer could have.
“Grant?”
“I thought I was protecting them.”
Elena almost laughed.
“From whom? Me?”
“You don’t know the entire situation.”
“Then explain it.”
Camille folded her arms.
“Go ahead, Grant. Tell her why you met her in the first place.”
Grant’s face changed.
And Elena suddenly understood that the divorce was only one piece of something much larger.
The Marriage That Began With a Plan
Warren removed a sealed letter from his briefcase.
“Your grandfather told me to give you this if anyone from the Voss family became involved in your children’s inheritance.”
Elena opened it.
The handwriting belonged to her grandfather.
She recognized it immediately.
The letter explained that decades earlier, the Marlowe family and the Voss family had been business partners.
The partnership collapsed after a major financial dispute.
Years later, the Voss family became convinced that part of the Marlowe estate rightfully belonged to them.
Elena lowered the letter.
“What does this have to do with Grant?”
Warren looked at him.
Grant finally spoke.
“Camille introduced us.”
Elena remembered the charity fundraiser where she had first met Grant.
He had accidentally spilled sparkling water near her dress.
They had laughed.
He asked her to dinner.
For years, she had considered it fate.
Now it sounded like an appointment.
“Was meeting me planned?”
Grant looked down.
“At the beginning.”
Elena felt as if the room had shifted beneath her.
“You married me because of my family?”
“Not exactly.”
“That’s either yes or no.”
He closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The word hurt more because he did not try to disguise it.
Grant stepped closer.