Chapter 1 – THE WRISTBAND IN THE LEATHER PURSE

The ballroom was so quiet I could hear the hum of the projector fan.

One hundred fifty guests stared at our table.

My father’s words hung in the air, cold and precise. Ask Nathan why both samples were submitted under the same mother’s name.

I looked at my husband.

Nathan’s handsome face was entirely bloodless. He took a step backward, bumping into the three-tiered baby shower cake. The pink frosting smeared against his expensive navy suit, but he didn’t even notice.

“Emily, don’t listen to him,” Nathan stammered, his eyes darting toward his mother. “Walter is confused. He’s just an old man trying to cause a scene.”

My father didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to.

“I processed fifty thousand genetic tests in my career, Nathan,” Dad said, stepping closer to the table. “I know how a chain of custody works. If this laboratory tested Emily’s blood on August seventeenth, they would have checked her photo ID. So, who walked into that clinic pretending to be my daughter?”

Margaret stepped in front of Nathan.

“This shower is over,” she announced sharply to the crowd. “Security will show you to the door.”

People began to murmur, gathering their coats, but nobody moved toward the exits. They were completely captivated by the collapse of the perfect Whitmore family.

I turned my attention back to Caroline.

The young executive assistant in the pale pink dress was frantically shoving her phone into her designer leather purse. Her hands were shaking violently. She took a step toward the side exit, keeping her head down.

“Caroline,” I said. My voice echoed through the microphone that Margaret had so graciously provided earlier. “Stop.”

Caroline froze.

I placed my hands on my pregnant belly, feeling a sharp kick from Grace. I walked slowly around the table, leaving Nathan and Margaret behind me.

“Emily, sit down,” Margaret ordered. “You’re acting hysterical.”

I ignored her. I walked until I was standing two feet away from the woman my husband had claimed was just an assistant.

“You started working for the family company six months ago,” I said softly, looking at Caroline. “Around the time I announced my pregnancy.”

Caroline wouldn’t look me in the eye. “I need to leave. I’m not feeling well.”

“Are you pregnant, Caroline?” I asked.

The ballroom went dead silent again.

Caroline’s breath hitched. She instinctively pulled her leather purse in front of her stomach—a defensive gesture I recognized instantly. I did it every time someone bumped into me at the grocery store.

“Don’t answer her,” Nathan snapped, stepping forward. “Emily, leave her alone.”

But my father was already moving.

Dad stepped into Caroline’s path. “If you try to leave this room with my daughter’s stolen medical identity, I will call the police and have you arrested for felony fraud right here in front of everyone.”

Caroline panicked. She tried to push past my father, but in her rush, the gold clasp on her leather purse caught on the edge of a chair.

The bag ripped open.

Its contents spilled across the polished marble floor.

Lipstick. Car keys. A compact mirror.

And a small, plastic hospital wristband.

I knelt down, despite the ache in my lower back, and picked it up.

The plastic was thick and white, the kind they secure around your wrist when you’re admitted for a procedure.

I read the printed label.

Patient: Whitmore, Emily.

DOB: 04/12/1994.

Admitted: August 17th.

It was my name. My birthday. The exact date of the fake paternity test.

But my blood ran completely cold when I saw the second object lying on the floor next to a bottle of prenatal vitamins.

It was a heavy, silver pocket watch.

I knew that watch. It belonged to my late grandfather. It had been missing from my jewelry box for three months.

I looked up at Caroline, my vision blurring with tears of pure betrayal.

“Why do you have my grandfather’s watch?” I whispered.

Caroline looked terrified. She looked past me, straight at Margaret.

“Tell them,” Margaret hissed at Caroline, her eyes blazing with malice. “Tell the stupid girl the truth.”

Caroline swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she looked back at me.

“Because Nathan gave it to me,” she cried. “He said you wouldn’t need it anymore. Because I’m carrying his real heir.”

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