Chapter 4 - The Secret Lucian Never Told Me
I read the invoice four times.
Each time, the words became less understandable.
Not because they were complicated.
Because I didn’t want them to mean what they seemed to mean.
Embryo identification.
Genetic screening.
Storage transfer.
Donor material.
My name.
Nathan’s authorization.
Twenty-seven million dollars connected to the same company.
I looked at Lucian.
“What is this?”
His face had gone completely still.
“I don’t know yet.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Miriam took the phone.
“We need to verify the document before assuming anything.”
“Assuming anything?”
My voice rose.
The monitor beside me began to beep faster.
I forced myself to breathe.
Dr. Ramos had warned me.
Stress.
I closed my eyes.
One.
Two.
Three.
When I opened them, Lucian was still there.
“Explain what the company does.”
Miriam answered.
“Helix Crown Genetics. High-end reproductive medicine, hereditary screening, embryo preservation.”
“Have you heard of them?”
Lucian’s expression said yes before his mouth did.
“Blackwood companies invested in them years ago.”
My stomach dropped.
“Of course.”
“Ava—”
“Everything somehow leads back to you.”
“I didn’t know Nathan was using them.”
“How can I know that?”
“You can’t.”
The answer surprised me.
Lucian continued.
“You should verify everything I tell you.”
I stared at him.
Most powerful men demanded trust.
Lucian was telling me not to give it blindly.
That mattered.
Miriam’s phone rang.
She answered, listened, then looked at Lucian.
“They verified the invoice number.”
My mouth went dry.
“So it’s real?”
“Yes.”
“What does it mean?”
“We need medical records.”
I thought back to the months before the pregnancy.
Nathan and I had struggled to conceive.
At first, he pretended to care.
Appointments.
Tests.
Specialists.
Then our physician suggested IVF.
Nathan became intensely interested.
Too interested.
He selected the clinic.
He handled the paperwork.
He even insisted I avoid “administrative stress.”
At the time, I thought it was the first loving thing he had done for me in months.
Now I felt sick.
“We used IVF,” I said.
Lucian nodded slowly.
“I assumed that might be connected.”
“We transferred one embryo.”
Miriam looked at me.
“One?”
“Yes.”
“But you’re carrying triplets.”
“They said identical splitting can happen.”
“It can.”
I stared at her.
“But?”
Miriam chose her words carefully.
“We need confirmation.”
The next twenty-four hours changed the direction of my life.
Helix Crown refused to release records without litigation.
Miriam obtained an emergency preservation order preventing destruction of any files connected to me.
Nathan’s attorneys objected.
Lucian’s legal team responded within minutes.
By morning, a judge ordered the clinic to preserve every record.
By afternoon, we had partial files.
The documents were worse than I imagined.
Three embryos had been transferred.
Not one.
Three.
I stared at the medical authorization.
“That is my signature.”
Miriam shook her head.
“No. It’s a digital replication.”
“How do you know?”
“The biometric signature token belongs to Nathan’s family office.”
My hands went cold.
“He authorized three embryos without telling me?”
“That appears to be what happened.”
“Why?”
Lucian stood near the window.
“I think I know.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“The Bennett trust.”
Miriam opened another document.
“The trust contains succession clauses.”
My heart sank.
“What kind?”
“If you had children, certain dormant equity rights became active.”
I stared.
“That makes no sense.”
“It was probably written by your father to ensure the assets eventually passed outside the Blackwood control structure.”
Lucian nodded.
“Your father did not trust my father.”
“And Nathan found out.”
“Yes.”
“So he wanted me pregnant because—”
Miriam finished quietly.
“Children activated the trust.”
I felt physically ill.
Five years.
Our fertility struggles.
Nathan’s sudden enthusiasm for IVF.
His insistence on handling paperwork.
Then triplets.
Had any of it been about love?
I covered my face.
“I was a transaction.”
Lucian’s voice came quietly.
“No.”
I looked at him through tears.
“To Nathan, maybe.”
His jaw tightened.
“But you are not what he did to you.”
I turned away.
I hated crying in front of people.
Especially powerful people.
Lucian seemed to understand.
He walked to the far side of the room and gave me space.
That simple act broke something open in me.
Nathan would have told me to calm down.
Would have complained the scene was unnecessary.
Would have asked how long I intended to be emotional.
Lucian said nothing.
Several minutes passed.
Finally, I asked, “Why does Nathan want the babies now?”
Miriam answered.
“If your children inherit portions of the trust and Nathan secures control through guardianship, custody, or financial conservatorship…”
“He controls the assets.”
“Potentially.”
I wiped my face.
“So his lawyers aren’t about fatherhood.”
“No.”
Lucian turned from the window.
“They’re about money.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course they are.”
A knock sounded.
Dr. Ramos entered.
“Good news.”
All three of us looked at her.
“The contractions have stopped. Your cervical exam is stable. If this continues, I may discharge you tomorrow.”
Relief washed through me.
“Really?”
“With strict conditions.”
“Anything.”
“Bed rest. Frequent monitoring. No unnecessary travel. No stress.”
Lucian almost smiled.
“That last one may be difficult.”
Dr. Ramos looked at him.
“Then make it less difficult.”
For once, the famous Lucian Blackwood looked appropriately corrected.
After she left, Miriam asked where I would stay.
I froze.
I had forgotten that problem.
My apartment was gone.
My belongings were still there.
Nathan controlled the building.
“I can get a hotel.”
Lucian shook his head.
“No.”
“I don’t need charity.”
“This isn’t charity.”
“Then what is it?”
“Security.”
He explained there had already been two attempts by Nathan’s investigators to access the maternity floor.
My skin crawled.
“Where do you want me to go?”
“My residence outside Seattle.”
I stared.
“That sounds insane.”
“Probably.”
Miriam tried not to smile.
Lucian continued.
“It has medical facilities, full security, and enough space that you won’t see me unless you want to.”
“You live in a fortress?”
“Essentially.”
I thought about Nathan.
The lawyers.
The trust.
The clinic.
Then about the three tiny heartbeats.
“All right.”
Lucian nodded.
No triumph.
No satisfaction.
Just relief.
The next afternoon, I left the hospital in his armored SUV.
Nathan’s attorneys were barred from approaching me.
A temporary protective order prevented direct harassment.
We drove north.
The city gradually disappeared.
Forests replaced towers.
After nearly an hour, steel gates opened.
Lucian’s home was not what I expected.
It was enormous.
But not flashy.
Stone.
Glass.
Cedar.
Built into a wooded hillside overlooking the water.
Warm lights glowed through tall windows.
Inside, everything felt quiet.
A nurse had already prepared a room on the main floor.
There were medical monitors.
A refrigerator stocked with recommended foods.
Even pillows arranged specifically for pregnancy support.
I stared at Lucian.
“How did you arrange this in one day?”
“I employ competent people.”
“That may be the most billionaire answer possible.”
For the first time, he laughed.
It changed his entire face.
He looked younger.
Less dangerous.
Almost normal.
That night, I couldn’t sleep.
I wandered into the library.
Rain whispered against the glass.
Shelves rose to the ceiling.
On one wall hung photographs.
Business leaders.
Politicians.
Scientists.
Then I saw one that stopped me.
My father.
Daniel Bennett.
Twenty years younger.
Standing beside Lucian.
I stepped closer.
My father was smiling.
Lucian was too.
Between them was a prototype engine.
Behind me, a voice said, “That was taken three months before the fire.”
I turned.
Lucian stood in the doorway.
“Why do you still have it?”
“Because your father was the first person who ever told me I could become better than my father.”
My throat tightened.
“What happened after he saved you?”
Lucian walked toward the photograph.
“I promised to protect his family.”
I looked at him.
“You didn’t.”
His face tightened.
“No.”
“What happened?”
“I thought he was safe.”
“He died in a car accident.”
Lucian said nothing.
My skin went cold.
“You don’t think it was an accident.”
“No.”
I took a step back.
“Who killed him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Your father?”
“He was already dying then.”
“Nathan?”
“He hadn’t met you yet.”
I frowned.
Lucian looked at the photograph.
“There was someone else inside Blackwood Aerospace.”
“Who?”
“A man who helped my father hide the corruption.”
“Name?”
Lucian’s eyes met mine.
“Victor Drake.”
My heart stopped.
“Drake?”
“Yes.”
“Nathan’s father?”
Lucian nodded.
The room tilted.
Nathan had once told me his father died when he was young.
He rarely discussed him.
I remembered Nathan saying he came from “old business money.”
Nothing more.
Lucian continued.
“Victor disappeared shortly after your father died.”
I stared.
“And you think Nathan knows?”
“I think Nathan knows more than he has ever told you.”
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Security appeared instantly.
One guard entered.
“Mr. Blackwood, we intercepted someone at the north gate.”
Lucian’s expression sharpened.
“Who?”
The guard handed him a phone.
On the screen was a live security image.
A woman stood outside the gate.
Elegant coat.
Perfect hair.
Familiar face.
Chloe Matthews.
Nathan’s mistress.
She was crying.
And holding a flash drive.
May you like
The guard said, “She claims Nathan is going to kill her.”
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