The Baby He Never Knew

PART 1 — The Doctor’s Question

“Your wife collapsed because her body is under considerable strain. She’s dehydrated, anemic, and severely sleep-deprived.”

Dr. Julian Mercer paused, glancing at the medical chart in his hands.

Roman Sloane’s expression hardened.

“Treat her,” he ordered. “Whatever she needs, make sure she gets it.”

“I intend to,” the doctor replied calmly. “But before we discuss treatment, there’s something else you need to know.”

Celeste Harrow slipped her arm through Roman’s.

“Doctor, I’m afraid you’re wasting your time. Mara and Roman are practically separated already. She won’t be staying at the house much longer.”

Roman didn’t look at her.

“Celeste, be quiet.”

Her smile faltered.

It was the first time he had spoken to her that way in months.

Dr. Mercer turned another page.

“Mrs. Sloane, when was your last menstrual period?”

Mara lowered her eyes.

“About eleven weeks ago.”

Roman went completely still.

Celeste’s fingers tightened around her designer handbag.

The doctor nodded slowly.

“And have you received any prenatal care?”

“No.”

“Have you taken any medication recently? Anything prescribed by another doctor, herbal supplements, or even something you were given at home?”

Mara hesitated.

For weeks, she had experienced dizziness, nausea, and exhaustion. Every time she complained, Celeste had told her she was being dramatic. The housekeeper had even suggested that Mara was simply struggling to accept her husband’s changing priorities.

Then there were the nightly cups of tea.

Celeste had insisted that they would help Mara sleep.

“I drink the tea they prepare for me at the house,” Mara answered quietly. “I don’t know what’s in it.”

Roman’s head turned sharply.

“What tea?”

Mara met his eyes.

“The tea your mistress brings to my room every night.”

The hallway fell silent.

For the first time since arriving, Roman looked genuinely shocked.

Celeste immediately released his arm.

“That is ridiculous! I was trying to help her sleep. She has been hysterical for weeks.”

“Then you won’t mind telling me exactly what you put in it,” Dr. Mercer said.

Celeste’s cheeks flushed.

“I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

“No,” the doctor replied. “But if someone has been giving a pregnant woman an unknown substance, I will need to know what it is.”

Pregnant.

The word seemed to hang in the air.

Roman stared at Mara.

“Did he just say pregnant?”

Mara’s lips parted, but no sound came out.

She had imagined telling her husband about their baby a hundred different ways.

She had imagined him pulling her into his arms, asking whether she was all right, and resting his hand against her stomach as he had once promised he would if they ever had a child.

Instead, she stood barefoot beneath the hospital lights, wearing a uniform she had never chosen, while his mistress watched her as though she were an inconvenience.

“Yes,” Dr. Mercer answered. “Your wife is approximately eleven weeks pregnant. We need to run further tests to assess her condition and the baby’s health.”

Roman looked at Mara’s abdomen.

Her hand still rested protectively over it.

His voice dropped.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

A bitter smile touched her lips.

“I did.”

He frowned.

“When?”

“Twelve messages. Three phone calls. Two letters I left on your desk.”

Roman pulled out his phone.

“I never received anything.”

Mara laughed once, without humor.

“Of course you didn’t.”

Celeste stepped between them.

“Roman, darling, you can’t seriously believe this performance. She knows you’re planning to end the marriage, and now suddenly she’s pregnant? How convenient.”

Roman’s eyes lifted to her.

“Get out of the way.”

“I’m only trying to protect you.”

“From my wife?”

Celeste went pale.

Mara watched the exchange with a strange, distant feeling. A year ago, she would have given anything to hear Roman defend her. Now, his words arrived too late to repair the damage already done.

Dr. Mercer cleared his throat.

“Mr. Sloane, I need you to understand that your wife is medically vulnerable. She requires rest, proper nutrition, and immediate follow-up testing. Until we determine what’s causing her symptoms, she should not take any unverified medication or supplements.”

Roman nodded once.

“Understood.”

“And I would strongly recommend that she not return to an environment where her meals or drinks may contain substances we cannot identify.”

His gaze shifted toward Celeste.

She let out an incredulous laugh.

“Are you accusing me of poisoning her?”

“I’m telling you what I tell every patient in a similar situation. We need to establish what she has been exposed to before drawing conclusions.”

But Celeste had already begun to unravel.

“You have no idea who you’re speaking to,” she snapped. “The Sloanes practically own this hospital.”

“Then perhaps Mr. Sloane should be especially interested in ensuring his wife receives an honest medical assessment.”

Roman’s jaw tightened.

“Doctor, I want every test necessary. Toxicology, bloodwork, everything.”

“Of course.”

“And I want the results sent directly to me.”

Dr. Mercer gave him a measured look.

“Your wife is my patient. With her permission, we can discuss the findings together.”

Roman looked at Mara.

For once, he seemed to understand that his money and power could not simply open every door.

“Mara,” he said quietly. “Please.”

She studied the man she had loved for six years.

The man who had once stood outside her hospital room all night when she suffered a minor injury. The man who used to warm her hands between his palms during Chicago winters. The man who had promised her that no one would ever make her feel alone again.

She had believed him.

That had been her greatest mistake.

“I’ll decide what happens next,” she said.

Roman swallowed.

“All right.”

Celeste stared at him as though she had never heard those words come from his mouth.

Mara turned to the doctor.

“Can I see the baby?”

Dr. Mercer softened.

“First, we’ll perform an ultrasound and make sure everything is progressing as it should. We’ll take good care of you.”

Mara nodded, fighting the tears gathering in her eyes.

For weeks, she had been terrified that she might lose the one precious thing she had left.

Now, she finally allowed herself to hope.

A nurse appeared and guided her back into the examination room.

Roman took one step after her.

“Can I come with you?”

Mara stopped at the doorway.

She remembered all the nights she had waited for him to come home. All the meals she had left untouched because she had hoped they would eat together. All the times she had swallowed her humiliation because she believed marriage meant standing beside someone through their darkest days.

Then she remembered the last night she had slept in their bedroom.

Celeste had entered without knocking and announced that Roman needed the room to himself.

Mara had packed a small bag and moved into the servants’ quarters.

Roman had walked past her the following morning.

He hadn’t even asked why.

“You should ask Celeste,” Mara replied. “She seems to know everything about your life.”

She entered the room and closed the door.

For several seconds, Roman remained motionless in the hallway.

Then he slowly turned toward Celeste.

“What did you mean when you said Mara was already gone?”

Celeste forced a smile.

“She signed the separation agreement. You told me yourself that you wanted her out of your life.”

“I never signed a separation agreement.”

The color drained from her face.

Roman stepped closer.

“And I never told you to move my wife into the servants’ quarters.”

Celeste opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

His expression darkened.

“What else have you been lying about?”

Before she could answer, Roman’s phone vibrated.

An incoming message appeared from his head of security.

URGENT: We found something in Mrs. Sloane’s room. You need to see it immediately.

Roman opened the attached photograph.

It showed a small wooden box hidden beneath the floorboards of Mara’s room.

Inside were twelve printed screenshots of messages she had supposedly sent him.

Every message had been marked as delivered.

Every one had been intercepted before reaching his personal phone.

Beneath them lay a copy of the separation agreement, complete with a signature that looked remarkably like his own.

Roman stared at the screen.

Then another message arrived.

There’s more. The housekeeper says Miss Harrow ordered the staff to give Mrs. Sloane a nightly sleeping tonic. She claims the bottles came from a private pharmacy.

Roman’s blood ran cold.

He looked toward the examination-room door.

Behind it was the woman he had vowed to protect.

And the child he hadn’t even known existed.

For months, he had believed Mara was growing distant, becoming difficult, and preparing to leave him.

Now he was beginning to understand that someone had carefully constructed a lie around his marriage.

Someone who had been standing beside him the entire time.

Celeste reached for his hand.

“Roman, please. Whatever you’re thinking, you have to trust me.”

He looked down at her fingers.

Then he pulled away.

“Don’t touch me.”

Her eyes widened.

“Roman—”

“If you’ve harmed my wife or my child, there will be nowhere in this city you can hide from the truth.”

Behind the closed door, a monitor began to beep.

Roman turned toward the sound just as Dr. Mercer stepped into the hallway again.

The doctor’s expression was grave.

“Mr. Sloane, I need you to come inside.”

Roman’s heart pounded.

“Is Mara all right?”

“She is conscious, and we’re monitoring her closely. But the preliminary results have raised another concern.”

Roman gripped the doorframe.

“What concern?”

Dr. Mercer glanced toward Celeste before lowering his voice.

“Whatever your wife has been exposed to, we need to determine how long it has been happening. Some of her symptoms suggest this may not have started recently.”

Roman felt the world shift beneath his feet.

Then the doctor added one final sentence.

“And Mr. Sloane, there’s something about your wife’s pregnancy that you need to hear before you make another decision about your family.”

To be continued…