Chapter 2 - The Safe
Justin and I left the hospital with a police officer following behind us.
Neither of us spoke during the drive.
Rain struck the windshield in heavy waves while my thoughts moved faster than the car.
Dr. Evelyn Shaw had treated me for four years.
She had sat beside me when another fertility cycle failed.
She had held my hand and told me some bodies simply refused to cooperate.
She had watched me blame myself.
Now she was inside my house at three in the morning.
When we reached Cherry Hills Village, the front door stood slightly open.
Officer Brennan instructed us to remain behind him.
Kenneth’s office lights were on.
The safe door was open.
Dr. Shaw stood beside the desk with a stack of documents pressed against her chest.
The moment she saw me, she tried to run.
She made it three steps.
Officer Brennan stopped her at the doorway.
“What are you doing in my house?” I asked.
Her face had lost all professional calm.
“Kenneth called me.”
“From the hospital?”
“He said there had been an emergency.”
“What kind of emergency requires you to empty his safe?”
She said nothing.
Justin took the papers from her hands.
The first file contained hotel receipts and photographs of Kenneth with Maya.
The second held offshore transfer records.
The third contained medical documents bearing my name.
I opened it.
My knees nearly failed.
Five years earlier, after Kenneth and I decided to start a family, I had undergone fertility treatment through Dr. Shaw’s clinic.
We created eight viable embryos.
I had been told none survived long-term storage.
The report in my hands said otherwise.
Six remained viable.
Stored under a secondary patient code.
I looked at Dr. Shaw.
“You told me they were lost.”
Her mouth trembled.
“Kenneth withdrew consent.”
“He could not do that alone.”
“He provided authorization.”
She pointed toward another page.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
It was forged.
The document instructed the clinic to tell me that the embryos had become nonviable while keeping them preserved under confidential hold.
“Why?” Justin demanded.
Dr. Shaw’s eyes moved toward me.
“Because Kenneth said a pregnancy would complicate the family trust.”
The room became silent.
My grandfather’s estate plan contained a succession clause.
If I had a biological child, controlling shares in Rollins Global would pass into a protected maternal line trust.
Kenneth would never gain marital control over them.
If I remained childless and became medically incapacitated—or died—he could attempt to claim temporary spousal voting authority.
He had not merely cheated on me.
He had stolen years of motherhood to preserve access to my company.
Dr. Shaw began crying.
“He paid me. At first, it was only to delay treatment. Then he threatened to expose billing violations at the clinic.”
“How much did he pay you?”
“Three hundred thousand dollars.”
Justin stared at her.
“Where did the money come from?”
I already knew the answer.
Rollins Global.
The offshore transfers in the second file totaled nearly nine million dollars. Several payments had been routed through a consulting company registered to Maya.
My brother saw his wife’s name.
His face changed from heartbreak to disbelief.
“Maya knew?”
Dr. Shaw looked away.
“She came to the clinic twice.”
“For what?”
“To collect documents.”
Justin gripped the desk.
The affair had not begun in a hotel room.
Maya had been involved in Kenneth’s financial scheme before she ever became his lover.
I searched deeper inside the safe.
At the bottom was a small recorder.
I pressed play.
Kenneth’s voice filled the office.
Once Sabrina believes she can’t have children, she’ll stop asking questions.
Then Maya answered:
And Justin?
He signs whatever I put in front of him.
Justin looked at me.
“What did I sign?”
Before I could answer, the recorder continued.
A third voice entered the conversation.
Older.
Male.
Familiar.
Do not underestimate Sabrina. If she finds the missing money, we move to the incapacity plan.
I recognized the speaker instantly.
May you like
It was Harrison Rollins—
our uncle, chairman of the company board and the man who had raised Justin and me after our parents died.
