Chapter 8 - The Desperate Ploy
Valerie sat in her cramped, messy apartment, furiously scrolling through her phone.
Her bank account was draining faster than she could comprehend.
Without Alex’s secret corporate credit card, her lavish lifestyle was crashing down around her.
She threw her phone onto the cheap velvet sofa and screamed in frustration.
"He can't just throw me away like trash," she muttered, pacing back and forth across the sticky floor.
"I gave him the best months of my life."
She walked over to the cracked mirror hanging in her hallway, studying her reflection.
She was young, she was gorgeous, and she was incredibly cunning.
If Alex thought he could just buy her silence with a meager severance package, he was out of his mind.
She needed a way to force his hand.
She needed a permanent anchor to tie herself to his massive fortune.
Suddenly, a wicked, brilliant idea flashed in her dark eyes.
She rushed into her messy bathroom and dug through the overflowing trash can.
She pulled out a crumpled receipt from a pharmacy visit a few weeks ago.
Valerie grabbed her purse and practically ran out the door, hailing a taxi down the busy street.
Thirty minutes later, she was sitting across from a shady, desperate-looking intern at a small local clinic.
A heavy envelope stuffed with her last five thousand dollars slid smoothly across the desk.
"I need a positive pregnancy test," Valerie whispered, her eyes completely devoid of morality.
"And I need a forged ultrasound document with my name on it."
The intern looked nervously at the thick stack of cash before quickly sweeping it into his bag.
"It will be ready in an hour," he muttered, turning to his computer.
Valerie smiled, a cold, triumphant smirk forming on her lips.
Alex loved playing the hero so much.
He loved the idea of being a protective father.
If she told him she was carrying his child too, he would have no choice but to take her back.
He would never risk a massive public scandal involving a pregnant mistress.
Armed with the fake documents, Valerie marched straight to the underground parking garage of Alex's luxury condo building.
She hid in the shadows behind a large cement pillar, waiting patiently like a predator.
When Alex’s sleek black Mercedes finally rolled into his reserved spot, she stepped out.
Alex froze as he stepped out of the car, his face twisting into a mask of pure exhaustion and disgust.
"How did you get in here, Valerie?" he demanded, reaching for his phone to call security.
"I have something you need to see," she said, her voice shaking with perfectly practiced vulnerability.
She thrust the forged ultrasound paper into his hands.
Alex looked down at the blurry black-and-white image, his brain struggling to process what he was seeing.
"What is this?" he asked, his voice suddenly going completely hollow.
"It’s yours, Alex," Valerie cried, forcing a single tear to fall down her cheek.
"I'm pregnant."
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Alex stumbled backward, his back hitting the cold metal of his expensive car.
The trap was fully set, and Valerie knew he was entirely cornered.
