Chapter 8 - TWO HEARTBEATSClaire refused to celebrate until the doctor confirmed the pregnancy.
Then she refused to celebrate until the first blood tests showed her hormone levels rising normally.
After that, she waited for the first ultrasound.
Adrian never told her to relax.
He attended every appointment, held her hand when she allowed it, and remained quiet when she needed silence.
At seven weeks, Claire lay on an examination table while Dr. Natalie Chen moved the ultrasound wand.
The screen showed shadows Claire could not interpret.
Her heart pounded so violently she could hear it.
Dr. Chen leaned closer.
Claire searched her expression.
“Is something wrong?”
The doctor smiled.
“No.”
She adjusted the image.
“There is the first heartbeat.”
A rapid sound filled the room.
Claire stopped breathing.
One tiny flicker pulsed on the screen.
Tears slid toward her ears.
Adrian’s fingers closed around hers.
Then Dr. Chen moved the wand again.
“And there is the second.”
Claire turned her head.
“The second what?”
“The second heartbeat.”
Adrian stared at the screen.
“Twins?”
Dr. Chen nodded.
“Twins.”
Claire laughed and cried at the same time.
For years, Mason had spoken about children as though they were proof of his worth and Claire’s failure.
Now two lives were growing inside her body, and the truth was almost too large to hold.
Adrian lowered his forehead to her hand.
His shoulders shook once.
Claire realized he was crying.
That moved her more than the ultrasound.
Mason had treated emotion as weakness unless it served him. Adrian did not hide his joy.
Outside the clinic, they sat in the car without starting the engine.
“Two,” Adrian said.
Claire smiled through her tears.
“Apparently.”
“I had prepared myself for one.”
“You prepared yourself?”
“I researched the safest vehicles, schools, pediatricians, and residential security systems.”
“I’m seven weeks pregnant.”
“I prefer planning.”
“For one baby.”
“Yes.”
“You’ll need a larger spreadsheet.”
“I’ll contact the appropriate people.”
Claire laughed again.
Then fear returned.
“What if something happens?”
Adrian took her face gently between his hands.
“Then we face it together.”
“I can’t survive losing them.”
“You already survived things you believed would destroy you.”
“That doesn’t mean I want another test.”
“No.”
He kissed her forehead.
“It means you will not face any outcome alone.”
Claire told Rachel first.
Rachel screamed loudly enough to frighten Franklin, then arrived with groceries, prenatal vitamins, and two stuffed bears.
Naomi learned when Claire fell asleep during a budget meeting.
She responded by removing half the unnecessary appointments from Claire’s calendar and threatening anyone who attempted to restore them.
The pregnancy remained private for three months.
During that time, Evelyn’s investigation uncovered more evidence inside the documents Mason had delivered.
The shell companies were connected to Luke, but at least three transactions required Mason’s direct approval.
One company had purchased construction materials at inflated prices from a supplier secretly owned by Mason’s uncle.
Another had moved money from a pension fund reserved for Bennett Development employees.
Claire felt sick when she read the report.
“Why would Mason give me evidence against himself?” she asked Evelyn.
“Because he believes he can control the interpretation.”
“He expects us to blame Luke.”
“Or he expects your fear of being implicated to make you negotiate.”
Adrian wanted to notify federal investigators immediately.
Claire agreed, but only after Evelyn secured written confirmation that her signatures had been copied.
She would not allow Mason to pull her into his crimes.
Investigators began working quietly.
Mason noticed.
He called Claire repeatedly.
She did not answer.
Then he appeared outside her apartment.
The doorman contacted security before allowing him upstairs. Claire watched through the building’s camera as Mason stood in the lobby, pacing beneath the lights.
Adrian was in New York.
Claire considered calling the police.
Instead, she spoke through the intercom.
“You need to leave.”
Mason looked toward the camera.
“We have to talk.”
“No.”
“You gave the documents to investigators.”
“You used my signature.”
“Luke used your signature.”
“Then explain that to them.”
“You don’t understand how this works.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“If Bennett Development collapses, your original investment disappears.”
“I stopped counting that money as mine years ago.”
“Vale is telling you what to do.”
“Adrian didn’t make this decision.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
Claire placed one hand over her stomach.
The pregnancy was not yet visible beneath her sweater.
“You never believed I could make decisions without a man’s permission. That was your weakness, not mine.”
Mason stepped closer to the camera.
“I protected you.”
“You used my name on fraudulent documents.”
“I brought them to you.”
“Because you thought fear would make me cooperate.”
“I was trying to save the company we created.”
“The company you said was yours.”
His face tightened.
“Claire, listen to me. We can correct this. You can tell investigators you approved the transfers.”
“No.”
“You won’t be charged.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I’ll protect you.”
“I would rather trust the truth.”
Mason struck the intercom panel with his palm.
“You think Vale will stay when your life becomes complicated?”
Claire became still.
“Leave.”
“He collects projects, companies, and women who need saving. When he gets bored, you’ll understand what you threw away.”
The elevator doors opened behind Mason.
Adrian stepped into the lobby.
He had returned early.
Mason turned.
Even through the camera, Claire felt the tension between them.
Adrian approached slowly.
“You were told to leave.”
Mason lifted his chin.
“This is private.”
“You are standing inside my building, threatening the mother of my children.”
Silence.
Claire closed her eyes.
Adrian had not meant to reveal it.
Mason stared at him.
“What did you say?”
Adrian looked toward the camera, realizing what he had done.
Claire pressed the intercom button.
“Adrian, come upstairs.”
Mason did not move.
“Children?” he said.
Adrian’s expression became cold.
“You heard her. Leave.”
Mason looked directly at the camera.
“Claire?”
She said nothing.
His face changed as the truth formed.
“You’re pregnant.”
Claire’s first instinct was to hide.
Then she remembered the Fairmont Ashbury.
The table.
The divorce papers.
The word barren spoken loudly enough for everyone to hear.
She turned on the lobby monitor’s two-way video.
“Yes,” she said.
Mason stared.
“How?”
The question was so insulting that Claire almost laughed.
“The usual way.”
His eyes dropped toward her body on the screen.
“How far along?”
“That is none of your business.”
“Is it his?”
Adrian took one step forward.
Claire spoke before he could.
“I was faithful during our marriage. You do not get to measure me by your behavior.”
Mason looked stunned.
Then suspicious.
“The doctors said you couldn’t—”
“No. You said that.”
He opened his mouth.
Claire continued.
“My doctors found no reason I could not conceive. You knew that before the divorce dinner.”
Mason’s face became pale.
“Who told you?”
“The truth did.”
For the first time, Mason looked defeated rather than angry.
He stepped backward.
“Congratulations,” he said bitterly.
Claire rested her hand over the place where two heartbeats had appeared.
“Thank you.”
Security escorted him outside.
When Adrian entered the apartment, he immediately apologized.
“I had no right to reveal the pregnancy.”
“You were protecting me.”
“That doesn’t make it acceptable.”
Claire studied him.
He looked genuinely ashamed.
“I forgive you,” she said. “But do not do it again.”
“I won’t.”
He knelt in front of her.
“Mason knows now. We need to prepare for the information to become public.”
“I know.”
Adrian reached into his coat.
“I was going to wait.”
He removed a small velvet box but did not open it.
Claire’s heart stopped.
“This is not because you’re pregnant,” he said. “I ordered it before the gala.”
“Adrian—”
“I don’t want an answer tonight. I don’t want fear, gratitude, or the twins to decide for you.”
He placed the box on the table.
“When you know what you want, tell me.”
Then he stood and walked toward the kitchen to make tea.
Claire stared at the box.
Mason had staged his greatest cruelty before an audience.
Adrian offered his future in private and walked away before she could feel pressured.
Claire opened the box.
Inside was a simple ring with an antique diamond set between two smaller stones.
Two.
She began to cry.
From the kitchen, Adrian called, “Are you all right?”
Claire held the ring against her heart.
“Yes.”
May you like
For the first time, the word was not an answer to his question.
It was the answer to everything.
Related Stories
