Chapter 8 - THE PUBLIC WAR
Gordon controlled newspapers indirectly through advertising.
Not all.
Enough.
Stories framed me as unstable.
Obsessed.
Vindictive.
A former wife desperate to reclaim status.
Old tactics.
Make the woman unbelievable.
Fiona initially supported the narrative.
Then stopped.
Why?
Because Gordon’s donor deception became undeniable.
She hired separate counsel.
Her first independent act.
Julian froze corporate dealings with Blake Capital.
The wedding was legally completed? Not yet.
The ceremony had occurred earlier that day.
They were married.
But no prenup filing finalized.
No acquisition agreements executed.
That mattered.
Julian could unwind business exposure.
Marriage was harder.
Fiona refused annulment at first.
Then demanded terms.
Money.
Protection from prosecution.
Custody rights regarding her unborn child.
Everything tangled.
Meanwhile, Lily’s paternity result arrived.
99.999%.
Julian.
I stared at the page.
Not surprised.
Still shaken.
Julian cried.
I did not comfort him.
He asked again:
“Can I hold her?”
This time I said yes.
Sitting.
With me beside him.
He held Lily like she was glass.
Then whispered:
“I missed six weeks.”
I answered:
“You missed the pregnancy too.”
He closed his eyes.
“That wasn’t entirely my choice.”
“No.”
Then:
“But some of it was.”
He nodded.
Progress.
Then Dana discovered something about Lily’s legal status.
Under our divorce settlement, any child conceived before final dissolution triggered mandatory notice regarding certain family trust rights.
No notice occurred because no one knew.
If Lily was Julian’s, she had inheritance rights.
Significant.
Vance family trust.
Gordon’s acquisition plan would be affected.
Suddenly Lily was not only a daughter.
May you like
She was a corporate obstacle.
That scared me more than everything before.
