Chapter 10 - Unfit, Gone, or Both.
Khloe listened to the sentence three times.
Not because she needed to understand it.
Because some part of her still resisted believing the voice belonged to the man who had slept beside her for seven years.
Unfit, gone, or both.
The words were not angry.
Harrison had not shouted them.
He had spoken with the casual certainty of someone discussing a business contingency.
That calmness changed everything.
Khloe looked at Evan Shaw.
"When was this recorded?"
"March seventeenth."
She calculated silently.
"Two weeks after I told Harrison the baby was a boy."
Evan nodded.
"I think so."
Adrian stopped the recording.
"What else is on the drive?"
"Two meetings and four phone calls."
"With Harrison?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
Evan looked uncomfortable.
"Bianca attended one meeting."
Khloe's eyes sharpened.
"Play it."
Adrian turned toward her.
"You do not have to hear everything tonight."
"I want to hear the part where she agreed to take my child."
No one argued.
Mara opened the second file.
Bianca's voice appeared after several seconds of background restaurant noise.
"What happens if Khloe refuses the divorce settlement?"
Harrison answered.
"She won't have leverage by then."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it is true."
Bianca sounded nervous.
"And the baby?"
"Which one?"
A pause followed.
Khloe closed her eyes.
Bianca spoke again.
"The one I'm carrying."
Harrison lowered his voice.
"If everything goes correctly, you're the mother on paper."
"And Khloe?"
"Khloe will have bigger problems."
Bianca's recorded voice became quieter.
"I don't want anyone hurt."
Khloe opened her eyes.
For the first time, the recording did not match the woman from the courthouse.
Adrian noticed too.
Harrison replied.
"No one is getting hurt."
"You said she might be hospitalized."
"For evaluation."
"Against her will?"
"Only if she creates a reason."
Bianca sighed.
"This is getting too complicated."
Harrison's voice hardened.
"You're carrying a child that can change your life."
"I know."
"Then stop pretending you want simple."
The recording ended.
Khloe looked toward Adrian.
"She knew about the psychiatric plan."
"At least part of it."
"But maybe not everything."
Adrian nodded.
"That's how it sounds."
Khloe hated that nuance mattered.
It would have been easier if Bianca were only a monster.
The woman had still grabbed her.
She had still shoved her.
She had still watched her fall.
But Harrison's manipulation now extended in multiple directions.
He had told Khloe Bianca was only an employee until the affair became undeniable.
He had told Bianca Khloe was unstable and dangerous.
He had told lawyers signatures were legitimate.
He had told clinics consents existed.
He had told everyone a version of reality designed to serve him.
Adrian looked at Evan.
"What did Harrison mean by hospitalized?"
"I don't know."
"Did he ever mention Nathan Voss?"
Evan's face tightened.
"Yes."
"How?"
"Voss was supposed to produce an evaluation."
"Without examining Khloe?"
"That's what I understood."
Adrian leaned back.
"And Red Canyon?"
"Red Canyon wasn't just for the pregnancy."
Mara looked up.
"Explain."
Evan rubbed his hands together.
"Harrison asked whether Red Canyon could admit Khloe for psychiatric stabilization after delivery."
Khloe stared at him.
"I was supposed to be sent there?"
"Possibly."
"Against my will?"
"I don't know."
Adrian's voice became colder.
"What did you know?"
Evan looked directly at him.
"I knew Harrison wanted a facility outside Maryland where medical records could be kept private and where Bianca's pregnancy could also be managed."
"Why put both women in the same facility?"
"He called it consolidation."
Khloe almost laughed.
The word was so Harrison that it hurt.
Consolidation.
A wife.
A mistress.
Two pregnancies.
A trust.
A custody plan.
To Harrison, they were not people.
They were moving pieces.
Mara's phone buzzed.
She read the message.
"Detective Ortiz has charged Bianca with second-degree assault based on the surveillance footage and witness statements."
Khloe looked up.
"They recovered the video?"
"Yes."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Full video?"
"Full exterior feed."
"Does it show the shove clearly?"
"Very."
Khloe exhaled.
The first clean piece of truth felt almost physical.
Mara continued.
"Bianca has requested an attorney and indicated she may cooperate regarding Harrison."
Adrian was not surprised.
Khloe was.
"After one day?"
"She is pregnant, facing criminal charges, and Harrison did not come to the airfield."
Mara shrugged slightly.
"Loyalty has a short life when someone realizes they were designed to be disposable."
Evan shifted in his seat.
The sentence applied to him too.
The next morning, prosecutors obtained warrants covering Harrison's financial records, business servers, communications with Red Canyon, and contact with Nathan Voss.
Harrison responded publicly.
He stood outside his attorney's office beneath a line of cameras and delivered a statement.
"My wife is recovering from a tragic accident, and my only concern is for her and our newborn son."
Khloe watched from Adrian's living room.
Her face remained expressionless.
Harrison continued on television.
"I categorically deny any suggestion that I harmed Khloe or participated in improper medical or financial activity."
A reporter shouted.
"Did your girlfriend push your wife down the courthouse steps?"
Harrison's jaw tightened.
"I will not comment on an active investigation."
Another reporter called out.
"Did you transfer your wife's embryos without consent?"
Harrison turned toward Malcolm.
The lawyer stepped forward and ended the appearance.
Khloe muted the television.
"Our newborn son."
Adrian looked at her.
"What about it?"
"He hasn't seen Noah."
"Correct."
"He hasn't asked the court for a supervised visit."
"Not yet."
Khloe looked toward the dark screen.
"Then why does he keep saying Noah is his only concern?"
Adrian understood the question beneath the question.
If Harrison had wanted a child badly enough to steal an embryo, why was he making no urgent effort to see the son already born?
Mara entered carrying a new report.
"Because Noah may not be the child Harrison is protecting."
Khloe turned.
"What does that mean?"
Mara placed laboratory documents on the table.
"We obtained preimplantation genetic testing data from the embryo transferred to Bianca."
Khloe's heartbeat seemed to stop.
"And?"
"The embryo is genetically yours."
Khloe gripped the edge of the sofa.
"So the baby she is carrying is mine."
"If that embryo implanted and is the current pregnancy, yes."
"Can we confirm it?"
"Only through authorized medical testing or after birth."
Khloe closed her eyes.
Mara placed a second document beside the first.
"There is one more thing."
Adrian read the header.
It was a private prenatal genetic report from Red Canyon.
The listed patient was Bianca Mercer.
The fetal sex was female.
The genetic mother identifier matched Khloe.
Khloe stared at the page.
A daughter.
Her daughter.
Carried by the woman who had pushed her down courthouse steps.
Then Adrian noticed the specimen date.
The test had been performed six weeks earlier.
The report had been sent directly to Harrison.
He had known with certainty whose child Bianca carried long before the courthouse confrontation.
And attached to the report was a draft birth certificate worksheet.
Mother: Bianca Mercer.
May you like
Father: Harrison Cole.
Khloe's name appeared nowhere.
