Chapter 13 - The DNA Deception
The cheap motel room smelled strongly of stale cigarette smoke and cheap bleach.
Valerie sat on the edge of the lumpy mattress, aggressively biting her perfectly manicured nails.
Her grand plan to trap Alex with a fake pregnancy had entirely backfired.
He wasn't answering her calls, her texts, or her emails.
She had been officially evicted from the luxury penthouse Alex had been secretly paying for.
With her bank accounts completely frozen by the corporate embezzlement investigation, she was broke.
Suddenly, the flimsy motel door rattled loudly as someone pounded on it with heavy fists.
Valerie jumped, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs.
"Open the door, Valerie!" a furious voice shouted from the parking lot.
It was Alex.
She quickly smoothed down her hair, forcing a look of helpless vulnerability onto her face.
She unlatched the rusty chain and pulled the door open.
Alex pushed his way inside, looking like an absolute madman.
He wasn't wearing his signature tailored suits anymore.
He wore a wrinkled t-shirt and jeans, his face covered in dark, heavy stubble.
"Alex, baby!" Valerie cried out, trying to throw her arms around his neck.
He pushed her backward so forcefully that she stumbled against the cheap television stand.
"Don't you ever touch me again," he snarled, his eyes burning with pure hatred.
"I lost everything because of you."
"My company fired me, my accounts are frozen, and I am facing federal fraud charges!"
Valerie’s eyes widened in genuine panic.
"But what about our baby?" she whimpered, playing her final, desperate card.
"I need money for the doctor, Alex."
"I’m carrying your child!"
Alex stared at her, an incredibly dark, humorless laugh escaping his lips.
"My child?" he asked quietly, taking a step toward her.
He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his back pocket and threw it directly at her face.
It was the ultrasound picture she had given him in the parking garage.
"I hired a private investigator to look into this clinic," Alex stated coldly.
"Turns out, the doctor whose name is on that paper lost his medical license three years ago."
Valerie’s face drained of all color, her entire body freezing in terror.
"I know it's a fake, Valerie," Alex yelled, his voice echoing off the thin motel walls.
"You paid a desperate intern five thousand dollars to forge a positive test and a sonogram."
"You aren't pregnant."
"You are just a pathetic, manipulative gold digger who ruined my entire life."
"Alex, please, I did it because I love you!" Valerie sobbed, sinking to her knees on the dirty carpet.
"I didn't want to lose you to Lucy!"
Hearing his wife's name coming from her lying lips made Alex feel physically sick.
"If you ever contact me again, I will give the police the evidence of your little forgery scheme," he threatened.
"Enjoy the motel, Valerie."
He turned around and walked out into the pouring rain, slamming the cheap door perfectly shut behind him.
May you like
They were both exactly where they deserved to be.
At the absolute bottom.
