Chapter 3 - The Web of Deception
Claire pressed her back against the glass pane of the terminal entrance, her manicured fingers digging frantically into the fabric of her coat. "Nathan, don't be ridiculous," she stammered, her voice pitching up in an unconvincing, nervous laugh. "This... this is just some elaborate scam! She's trying to trap you with children because you're a multi-millionaire! You can't possibly believe her over me—we’ve been together for years!"
Nathan didn't blink. He didn't smile. He stared at Claire with a look of such absolute, terrifying betrayal that Claire stopped trying to laugh.
"Answer me, Claire," Nathan repeated, each word spaced out with lethal precision. "What messages did you send from my phone five years ago?"
"I didn't send anything!" Claire shrieked, panic breaking through her polished veneer. She turned and made a frantic dash toward the sliding exit doors, but two burly airport security guards, alerted by the raised voices and sudden commotion, stepped into her path, blocking her escape route.
Grace stood frozen, holding her daughters tightly against her legs, watching the pieces of a five-year-old nightmare finally snap together. Five years ago, right after the bitter fallout engineered by Nathan's mother and corporate rivals, Grace had fled the country for her own safety while pregnant with triplets. She had left her phone behind in the panic of the escape, assuming Nathan knew she was carrying his children. But she had never received a single reply to her frantic emails and messages from abroad. She had assumed Nathan had abandoned her.
Instead, someone had intercepted the communications. Someone had slammed the door shut from the inside.
Nathan slowly turned his head back toward Grace, his eyes shining with unshed tears of pure horror and devastating realization. The blood drained from his face until he looked nearly translucent.
"Grace..." Nathan whispered, taking a trembling step forward, his hands raised palms-up as if begging for forgiveness he knew he didn't deserve. "When you left... my phone was left on the charger in my executive office while I was in surgery for my knee injury. Claire had temporary access to my estate and my office. She... she managed my correspondence for two weeks while I was recovering."
Grace felt a hot surge of rage eclipse her shock. She gently pushed Chloe behind her, stepping forward to face the man who had broken her heart.
"You didn't even check?" Grace’s voice trembled with suppressed fury. "You didn't call the hospital? You didn't send a private investigator to find out if I was alive or dead?"
"I did!" Nathan cried out, his voice cracking. "I searched for months! But your name was scrubbed from every database, your bank accounts were closed, and the hospital records in Geneva showed a classified medical file under a sealed alias! Claire told me... Claire told me she had hired private detectives who confirmed you wanted nothing to do with me, that you had moved on, and that the babies were gone!"
Claire let out a shrill sob from against the security guard's shoulder. "I did it because you loved her! You were destroying yourself over a woman who vanished! I loved you, Nathan! I gave you everything!"
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"Shut up!" Nathan roared, turning on Claire with a fury that made the security guards instinctively step back. He looked at her as if she were a venomous snake that had nested in his home for years. "You lied to me. You lied to the mother of my children. You stole five years of my life. You stole my children's childhood."
Grace looked at Nathan, seeing the profound, agonizing devastation written across his face. There was no doubt left in his eyes. The truth was raw, bleeding, and undeniable.
