Chapter 6 - THE SISTER WHO SOLD A CHILD
Vivian Vale had always been the clever one.
That was what their father used to say.
Gideon had inherited the family empire.
Vivian had inherited the ability to smile while calculating exactly how much someone was worth.
She was fifty-one.
Elegant.
Immaculate.
And furious when Gideon stopped returning her calls.
She arrived at his office unannounced.
Adrian refused her entry.
Vivian laughed.
“I'm his sister.”
Adrian remained still.
“Mr. Vale is unavailable.”
Her smile disappeared.
“Move.”
He didn't.
That evening, Vivian called Gideon from a private number.
He answered.
“Vivian.”
“What's going on?”
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
She laughed sharply.
“Don't insult me.”
Gideon stared at the recording device Rebecca had authorized for the call.
Vivian continued.
“I heard you met some waitress who thinks Owen is hers.”
Gideon's jaw tightened.
“Mallerie.”
“Whatever.”
He said nothing.
Vivian sighed.
“Gideon, grief makes people irrational. You know that.”
He closed his eyes.
“Whose grief?”
“What?”
“Mine? Elena's? Or the woman who was told her baby died?”
Silence.
Then Vivian said:
“You're making a mistake.”
Gideon opened his eyes.
“Then tell me what the mistake is.”
She hung up.
The next morning, investigators traced financial transfers from a company controlled by Vivian to Northbridge Medical Consulting.
The payments began seven months before Owen's birth.
They continued after his arrival.
One transfer was labeled:
SUCCESSFUL PLACEMENT BONUS.
Mallerie stared at the document.
Her hands trembled.
“A bonus?”
Rebecca nodded grimly.
“That's what the payment description says.”
Mallerie looked toward Gideon.
He appeared physically ill.
The investigation uncovered more.
Vivian had been secretly selling assets from a family trust.
Gideon had begun auditing the accounts before Elena died.
Vivian feared losing access to the money.
She believed giving Gideon a child would distract him.
A child he desperately wanted.
A child he believed was connected to Elena.
But the scheme had required a baby.
And someone had found Mallerie.
A pregnant woman with limited resources.
A dead fiancé.
No influential family.
No lawyer.
No one powerful enough to challenge a hospital.
When Rebecca explained the theory, Mallerie felt something inside her turn cold.
“They chose me because they thought nobody would believe me.”
Gideon looked at her.
His voice was rough.
“Yes.”
Mallerie stood.
She walked toward the window.
For a long time, she said nothing.
Then she turned.
“I'm not going to let them make me disappear again.”
Gideon nodded.
“Neither am I.”
That evening, investigators obtained warrants for records and accounts connected to Vivian.
But when officers arrived at her townhouse, she was gone.
Her car remained in the garage.
Her phone was on the kitchen counter.
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And on the dining table was a handwritten note.
GIDEON, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ELENA DID.
