Chapter 7 - THE SECRET NAOMI NEVER TOLD ANYONE
Ethan's first words when Hudson entered the hospital room were:
"She saved Delilah."
Hudson looked at Naomi.
"What does that mean?"
Ethan's voice was weak.
"Naomi wasn't just the maid."
Naomi closed her eyes.
Ethan continued.
"She was Delilah's friend."
Hudson stared.
"What?"
Naomi whispered:
"We met before Foxbridge."
"Where?"
"Harlem."
Delilah had volunteered at a community center.
Naomi worked there.
They became friends.
When Delilah discovered she was pregnant with five babies, she hired Naomi privately.
Not as a maid.
As someone she trusted.
Hudson felt ashamed.
He had spent a year thinking Naomi was simply household staff.
"You knew her before?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because Delilah asked me not to."
"Why?"
"She believed someone was watching her."
Ethan nodded.
"She was right."
Hudson looked at him.
"Who?"
Ethan's eyes moved toward the door.
"Vivian."
Hudson's jaw tightened.
"What did she want?"
"Control."
"Over the babies?"
"Over the trust."
Ethan took a breath.
"Delilah discovered that Vivian had been moving money through shell companies."
Hudson froze.
"How much?"
"Almost eighty million."
Hudson's face went cold.
"From my company?"
"From your father's estate."
Hudson stared.
His father had died believing his fortune was intact.
Ethan continued.
"Vivian planned to blame you."
"For what?"
"Financial fraud."
Naomi whispered:
"She wanted you imprisoned."
Hudson looked at her.
"And Delilah found out."
"Yes."
"That's why she was afraid."
Ethan nodded.
"But there was one thing Vivian didn't know."
"What?"
"The trust was protected by the babies."
Hudson finally understood.
His mother hadn't been fighting for family.
She had been fighting for money.
Then Ethan looked at Naomi.
"Tell him the rest."
Naomi shook her head.
"I can't."
"You have to."
Hudson looked between them.
"What?"
Naomi's voice trembled.
"One of the babies isn't biologically yours."
Hudson closed his eyes.
"Which one?"
Naomi started crying.
"Evelyn."
Hudson's heart cracked.
"She's Ethan's?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Naomi looked at him.
"Delilah used a donor profile."
"Whose?"
Naomi swallowed.
"Yours."
Hudson frowned.
"What?"
"The medical records were altered."
"Then what?"
"Someone switched the donor samples."
Hudson stared.
"Who?"
Naomi whispered:
"We don't know."
Hudson looked at Ethan.
Ethan's eyes filled with tears.
"But we know something else."
"What?"
"The person who switched them was inside the fertility clinic."
Hudson's phone rang.
Richard.
"Sir."
"What?"
"We traced the medical records."
"And?"
"The employee who accessed them has been missing for eleven months."
Hudson's blood ran cold.
"Name?"
Richard hesitated.
"Dr. Marcus Bell."
Hudson knew that name.
He had been Delilah's fertility specialist.
And now he was gone.
Hudson looked at Naomi.
"This isn't over."
She nodded.
May you like
"No."
"It has barely started."
