The Stolen Triplets

PART 2 — THE WOMAN HE UNDERESTIMATED

When I opened my eyes, I was lying in a hospital bed.

A nurse was checking my blood pressure while another doctor examined the monitor beside me.

“Mrs. Hayes, can you hear me?”

I nodded weakly.

“Your babies are still alive,” she said gently. “But you’re experiencing contractions, and we need to monitor you very carefully.”

I immediately started crying.

“Please… save them. Whatever happens to me, save my babies.”

The doctor exchanged a glance with the nurse.

“We’ll do everything we can.”

A few minutes later, Harrison walked into the room.

His expensive suit was slightly wrinkled, and his expression was carefully arranged into one of concern.

“Chloe, sweetheart.”

I turned my face away.

He pulled a chair beside my bed.

“Listen to me. What you heard at the hotel wasn’t what it sounded like.”

I stared at him.

“Then tell me. Who are Harper, Madison, and Audrey?”

He hesitated.

“Business associates.”

“Business associates whose embryos are inside my body?”

His jaw tightened.

“You’re emotional. The pregnancy hormones are affecting your judgment.”

I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Even now, he was trying to make me feel crazy.

“Show me the IVF documents,” I demanded.

“They’re at home.”

“Then call the clinic.”

“Chloe, stop this.”

I looked directly into his eyes.

“Did you use embryos from three different women without telling me?”

He said nothing.

That silence was my answer.

I reached for the call button.

Harrison immediately grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t do something stupid. Think about what happens if you destroy everything we’ve planned.”

I pulled my hand away.

“Everything YOU planned.”

His face darkened.

“You have no idea how much money I’ve invested in this.”

I froze.

Money?

Not love. Not family. Not fatherhood.

Money.

Before I could ask another question, the hospital door opened.

A middle-aged woman in a dark navy suit entered, carrying a leather briefcase.

“Mrs. Hayes?”

I nodded.

“My name is Rebecca Collins. I’m an attorney specializing in reproductive law. Your doctor contacted me after reviewing a discrepancy in your medical records.”

Harrison stood abruptly.

“This is a private family matter.”

Rebecca didn’t even look at him.

“Actually, Mr. Hayes, it may be a criminal matter.”

She placed several documents on my bedside table.

“We’ve obtained preliminary records showing that the embryos transferred into your uterus were not created from your genetic material or the genetic material of your husband.”

My throat tightened.

“Can you prove it?”

“Not yet. But the clinic’s records suggest that your consent documents may have been altered.”

Harrison stepped forward.

“That’s enough. We’re leaving.”

Rebecca calmly blocked his path.

“Your wife isn’t going anywhere until her medical team clears her.”

Then she turned toward me.

“There’s something else you need to know.”

She opened her briefcase and removed a photograph.

It showed Harrison standing beside three women outside a fertility clinic.

Harper.

Madison.

And a third woman I didn’t recognize.

“Who is she?” I whispered.

Rebecca studied the photograph.

“Her name was Audrey Bennett. She died eleven months ago.”

My stomach twisted.

“Why would her family want a baby?”

Rebecca placed another document in front of me.

“Because Audrey left behind a substantial inheritance, and her will contains a provision concerning her biological child.”

I stared at the paper.

Then Rebecca spoke the words that changed everything.

“According to this document, Harrison was supposed to receive control of that inheritance only if Audrey’s child was born alive and legally recognized by her family.”

I slowly looked at my husband.

He had not simply deceived me.

He had used my body as part of a financial arrangement.

Harrison’s face had gone pale.

“Rebecca, put those documents away.”

She ignored him.

Instead, she placed one final envelope on my blanket.

“Mrs. Hayes, this was delivered to our office yesterday. It contains a message from someone who claims to have worked at the fertility clinic.”

I opened it with trembling fingers.

Inside was a handwritten note.

Mrs. Hayes, there is something your husband hasn’t told you. The three embryos weren’t the only ones involved. Before the transfer, someone made a fourth arrangement.

I read the sentence twice.

Then I looked up.

“What’s the fourth arrangement?”

Rebecca’s expression turned serious.

“That’s what we’re trying to find out.”

Suddenly, my phone vibrated on the bedside table.

An unknown number.

One message appeared on the screen:

Don’t trust your husband. One of the three women is still alive, and she knows exactly what he did. She’s coming to the hospital tonight.

I looked toward Harrison.

He was staring at my phone.

And for the first time, I saw something in his eyes that frightened me more than his betrayal.

He recognized the sender.

And he knew exactly who was coming.