Chapter 3

By 2:00 PM, I pulled up across from the stone entrance of Oak Ridge Estates.

I checked the Tesla app. The car was parked outside Villa 4B.

Five minutes later, a young woman stepped out of the villa's side door, walking toward the outdoor patio.

Blaire Merrick.

She wore a cream sundress that showed off a six-month bump.

Her brown hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders.

She held an iced drink in one hand, walking with a slow, comfortable stroll.

I took a deep breath, stepped out of my car, and walked straight over to her table.

My heels clicked against the stone tiles. Blaire looked up, stopping mid-step.

Instead of yelling or making a scene, I pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Congratulations," I said, keeping my voice cold and flat.

Blaire froze. The color drained from her face. "What?"

"Boy or girl?" I asked, looking her dead in the eye.

She backed away half a step, her hand tightening around her cup. "Sloane... you shouldn't be here."

"I helped build the company that paid for your villa," I said, leaning slightly forward. "I think I have a right to sit down."

Blaire didn't yell. Panic flashed in her eyes.

She reached into her bag, grabbing a pile of mail to hide it away.

As she forced the bag closed, a thick gray envelope slipped out and hit the floor.

A single sheet of paper slid across the tiles, stopping right at my shoe.

Blaire's face went white. She dropped down to grab it. "Don't touch that!"

I reached down faster, pulling the paper off the floor before she could touch it.

My hands began to shake as I read the top line.

It was a lab report from a private clinic in Dallas.

PATERNITY TEST

CHILD: Wren (Age 10)

FATHER: Callum Whitaker

PATERNITY RESULT: 0.00% (Excluded)

Zero percent.

My knees almost gave out.

I read it again. I had never been with anyone else in my life.

Wren was born ten years ago, and Callum had held my hand through the whole delivery.

Before I could turn the page, Blaire lunged forward and snatched the paper out of my hand.

She crammed it back into her bag and zipped it shut.

"Where did you get that?" my voice was barely a whisper. "What did Callum do?!"

Blaire held her bag tight against her bump. She looked at me---not with anger, but with a wild, desperate fear in her eyes.

"Give me the rest of that file," I demanded, standing up.

"I can't!" Blaire whispered, backing away toward the door.

"Why not?!"

Blaire swallowed hard, her eyes darting toward the main gate. "Because if he knows you saw that... we're both dead."

She turned around and ran through the glass doors, leaving me alone in the sun.

I walked back to my car in a daze, my mind spinning out of control. 0.00%.

Was the test fake? Or was there a secret about Wren's birth ten years ago that I never knew?

I sat in the driver's seat, resting my head against the wheel, trying to breathe.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated hard in my hand.

TESLA ALERT

Profile 'MOTHER' --- Deleted.

I stared at the screen. Before I could catch my breath, the glass flickered again.

TESLA ALERT

Profile 'MOTHER' --- Re-added.

Car Moving.

Destination: Your Current Location.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

I looked up through the windshield.

A black Tesla Model X swept through the stone gates of Oak Ridge Estates, turning sharply into the lounge driveway.

It blocked my car's bumper completely.

My phone erupted in my hand. Loud. Buzzing against my palm.

Incoming FaceTime...

Callum

In a panic, I tried to swipe the alert away.

My thumb slipped across the glass.

The green button clicked.

The call connected.

Callum's face filled my screen.

He was sitting in the driver's seat of the Tesla parked six feet in front of me, staring at me through the windshield with a slow, cold smile.

"Hey, honey," his voice echoed through my car speakers. "What are you doing at Blaire's house?"