Chapter 8 - THE BETRAYAL INSIDE THE BETRAYAL
Grant reacted badly.
Not immediately.
At first he cooperated.
Then online speculation began.
Headlines suggested Maddie might be his biological half-sister.
One tabloid published photographs of Grant and Vale side by side.
The resemblance was obvious.
Same eyes.
Same jaw.
Same asymmetrical eyebrow.
Grant stopped answering Rachel’s messages.
Then his lawyer filed a motion seeking temporary restrictions on Rachel’s ability to discuss Maddie’s genetic information publicly.
Rachel read the filing twice.
Then called him.
“You’re trying to gag me?”
“I’m protecting her.”
“No. You’re protecting yourself again.”
“There are reporters outside my office.”
“There are reporters outside my sister’s house.”
“This could destroy my company.”
Rachel closed her eyes.
There it was.
Again.
His company.
His name.
His embarrassment.
“Withdraw it.”
“I can’t.”
“You mean you won’t.”
“Rachel, there are fiduciary responsibilities.”
“Maddie is five.”
“That doesn’t mean I can ignore thousands of employees.”
“You’ve found another sophisticated way to say the same thing you said in the ballroom.”
Silence.
Rachel continued.
“When pressure comes, you choose yourself.”
“That’s unfair.”
“It’s consistent.”
Grant’s voice hardened.
“If you release private DNA details—”
Rachel hung up.
That afternoon she hired attorney Naomi Brooks.
Naomi was not impressed by the Mercer name.
“Your husband wants control.”
“Yes.”
“Give him consequences instead.”
They filed for divorce.
Full temporary residential custody.
Child support.
Protection of Maddie’s medical privacy.
And an injunction preventing either parent from commercializing or selectively leaking genetic information.
May you like
Grant’s motion collapsed.
For the first time since the scandal began, Rachel controlled the terms.
