Chapter 8 - THE TEST
The paternity test was conducted the next morning.
A nurse collected samples from Ethan and Lily while Rosa held Button beneath the child’s chin.
Lily remained suspicious of everyone wearing gloves.
“Does it hurt?” she asked.
“Only for a second,” Rosa said.
“I do not like seconds.”
Ethan smiled despite the tension.
“I do not like this second either.”
Lily looked at him.
“Do daddies have to take tests?”
“Sometimes.”
“Did you study?”
Rosa covered a laugh with her hand.
Ethan looked solemn.
“I studied very hard.”
The nurse finished.
Lily accepted a sticker shaped like a yellow star.
She placed it on Ethan’s sleeve.
“You passed.”
The laboratory promised expedited results by evening.
Until then, Ethan faced another test.
His company’s chief financial officer called from Manhattan.
Charles had told the board that Ethan’s personal scandal threatened the Haynes financing.
Richard Haynes had scheduled a private meeting for four o’clock.
Ethan refused to attend without Rosa’s attorney present.
Rosa did not have an attorney.
By noon, she did.
Ethan offered to pay.
Rosa refused.
Daniel connected her with a legal aid director who specialized in representing workers against powerful employers.
Her name was Naomi Reed.
Naomi arrived wearing a navy suit and carrying a red notebook.
She spoke to Rosa privately for forty minutes.
When they emerged, Naomi looked directly at Ethan.
“My client will not sign confidentiality agreements.”
“I would not ask her to.”
“She will not surrender custody.”
“I would never ask.”
“She will decide when and how Lily meets members of your family.”
“Agreed.”
“She will also remain free to speak publicly about the assault.”
Ethan nodded.
Rosa watched him carefully.
Naomi closed the notebook.
“Then we understand each other.”
At four o’clock, Ethan, Rosa, Naomi, Richard Haynes, Charles Caldwell, and four attorneys sat inside a private hospital conference room.
Victoria did not attend.
Richard placed a revised agreement on the table.
The amount had increased to ten million dollars.
Rosa did not touch it.
Richard smiled.
“You should read before reacting.”
“I read the first one.”
“This version guarantees your daughter’s education.”
“My daughter’s future is not yours to guarantee.”
Richard looked toward Ethan.
“You are allowing emotion to interfere with reason.”
“My fiancée assaulted a child.”
“My daughter made a mistake.”
“She shoved her.”
“She lost her patience.”
“With a toddler.”
“Victoria has apologized.”
“No,” Rosa said.
“She has explained.”
Richard’s smile disappeared.
“She is prepared to apologize privately.”
“She pushed Lily publicly enough for a camera to see it.”
Richard folded his hands.
“If the video becomes public, my daughter will be destroyed.”
Rosa met his eyes.
“She was willing to let my daughter be hurt as long as no one saw it.”
Charles turned toward Ethan.
“The financing deadline is Monday.”
“I know.”
“You cannot replace two billion dollars in forty-eight hours.”
“Perhaps not.”
Richard leaned back.
“Then restore the engagement.”
Ethan looked at him.
“You believe I would marry Victoria to save a deal?”
“I believe responsible men make painful choices.”
Rosa looked at Ethan.
For the first time, doubt entered her face.
Ethan saw it.
He reached into his briefcase and removed a document.
“I terminated the merger thirty minutes ago.”
Charles went still.
Richard’s face reddened.
“You cannot.”
“I just did.”
“The penalties will cripple your company.”
“Only if your financing was legitimate.”
Richard’s confidence flickered.
Ethan continued.
“My auditors found that your bridge loans were backed by inflated property valuations.”
Charles stared at Richard.
Richard’s attorneys began whispering.
Ethan placed another document on the table.
“I reported the discrepancies to the banks this morning.”
Richard stood.
“You have no idea what you have done.”
“I ended my engagement.”
Ethan looked toward Charles.
“I also removed my father from every active Caldwell board.”
Charles’s expression finally broke.
“You do not have the votes.”
“I do now.”
Naomi’s phone vibrated.
She looked at the screen.
“The laboratory results are ready.”
Rosa’s hand found Lily’s stroller.
Naomi opened the secured message.
She read silently.
Then she turned the screen toward Rosa and Ethan.
The probability of paternity was greater than ninety-nine point nine percent.
Ethan closed his eyes.
Rosa lowered her head.
The truth was now undeniable.
Richard gathered his papers.
“This changes nothing.”
Ethan opened his eyes.
“It changes everything.”
Richard moved toward the door.
Before leaving, he looked at Rosa.
“Do not mistake a test result for victory.”
Naomi stood.
“Is that a threat?”
Richard smiled without warmth.
“It is advice.”
That evening, a story appeared online.
The headline accused Rosa Martinez of seducing her wealthy employer, hiding his child, and using an accident to destroy his engagement.
The article included photographs of Rosa’s apartment.
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It included Lily’s birth date.
It included the name of Lily’s preschool.
