Whose Kids Are Those?

Chapter 2: The Report He Never Saw

Daniel pulled Olivia away from the crowd.

Vanessa followed, but Olivia stopped her with one look.

"This conversation is between me and the man whose family destroyed my life."

Daniel's face tightened. "My family?"

Olivia opened her handbag and removed a folded medical report.

The original report.

Six years earlier, Daniel and Olivia had visited a fertility specialist after two years of marriage. Daniel's mother, Margaret, insisted on handling the appointments. She claimed Olivia's tests showed she could never become pregnant.

Daniel believed her.

He never saw the actual results.

Olivia handed him the paper.

His name appeared at the top.

The report showed a temporary medical condition that could be treated. It did not say he was permanently infertile.

Daniel looked up. "Where did you get this?"

"From the doctor who signed it. He contacted me three months after our divorce."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Olivia laughed bitterly.

"I tried."

She had called. Written letters. Waited outside his office. Every message disappeared before reaching him.

Margaret controlled his staff.

Vanessa, then his personal assistant, controlled his schedule.

Daniel looked toward the party.

Vanessa stood near the guests, watching them carefully.

Olivia continued.

"Your mother needed an heir from the family she selected. I wasn't wealthy enough. I wasn't obedient enough. So she made you believe I had failed you."

Daniel looked at the children.

"And them?"

Olivia's expression softened for the first time.

"After the divorce, I learned I was pregnant."

"With twins?"

She nodded toward the girls.

Daniel struggled to breathe.

"Are they mine?"

Olivia did not answer immediately.

Then she said, "You signed away your rights before they were born."

"What?"

She removed another paper.

It carried Daniel's signature.

He stared at it.

"I never signed this."

"I know."

Olivia's voice became quieter.

"Vanessa did."

Behind them, Vanessa said sharply, "That's a lie."

They turned.

She stood holding her stomach.

But Olivia's eyes went directly to the champagne glass still in Vanessa's other hand.

"You shouldn't be drinking that while pregnant," Olivia said.

Vanessa froze.

Daniel slowly looked at the glass.

Then at her stomach.