Her Billion Dollar Exit

THE SECRET IN THE SILENCE

EVELYN

​The hospital smell was still clinging to my clothes as I pushed open the heavy front doors of the Hayes mansion, and my hand was trembling so much that I had to shove it into my coat pocket to hide the crinkled ultrasound report that the doctor had handed me only an hour ago. I walked through the foyer like a ghost, my mind spinning with the news that I was six weeks pregnant, and it didn't make any sense because Arthur had always been so careful to make sure we never had a child together, often reminding me that he wasn't ready for that kind of tie to me.

​I sat down at the edge of the dining table and stared at the empty chair where he usually sat, wondering how a person’s life could flip upside down in a single afternoon, and I was still trying to find the right words to tell him when I heard his car pull into the driveway. He came through the door a few minutes later, looking stressed and checking his phone as usual, and he barely glanced in my direction before heading toward the stairs to change his suit.

​"Arthur, can we talk for a second, I really need to tell you something important that happened today and it can’t wait until the divorce papers are finalized on Friday," I said, standing up and following him to the bottom of the staircase.

​"If this is about the settlement money or the furniture, Evelyn, just send an email to my lawyer because I’ve had a very long day and I really don't have the energy to argue with you about who gets the silverware," he replied, not even slowing down as he reached the landing.

​"It's not about the money, Arthur, I went to the doctor this morning because I haven't been feeling well lately and there's something you need to know about why that is," I started to say, but his phone suddenly started ringing in his hand, and the look on his face changed instantly when he saw the caller ID.

​"Hello, Samantha, is everything okay, you sound upset," he said, his voice turning soft and concerned in a way that he hadn't used with me in years, and I watched him stop mid-step to listen to whatever she was saying on the other end.

​"You sprained your ankle? Where are you right now, are you at the apartment or did the driver take you to the clinic, because I’m coming over right now to make sure you're alright," he continued, and he didn't even wait for her to finish before he was turning back around to head for the door again.

​"Arthur, wait, you didn't even hear what I had to say, and you're really going to run to her house when we're still technically married for the next three days," I said, blocking his path before he could reach the coat rack.

​"She’s hurt and she’s alone in a city she hasn't lived in for years, so move out of the way, Evelyn, because your little health update can wait until tomorrow morning when I have more time to deal with your drama," he snapped, reaching for his keys.

​I felt a surge of coldness wash over me as I looked at him, and I realized that he didn't care if I was sick or dying as long as Samantha needed someone to hold her hand over a minor injury, so I straightened my back and looked him in the eye.

​"You're not going anywhere yet, because until those papers are processed by the court, I am still the lady of this house and you are still my husband, so I’m forbidding you from seeing her publicly or bringing her anywhere near this property for the next seventy-two hours," I said, my voice surprisingly firm.

​Arthur stopped and stared at me, his eyes narrowing as if he were seeing me for the first time, and he let out a sharp, mocking laugh while he gripped his phone tighter. "Forbidding me? You’ve certainly grown a backbone now that you’ve secured your billions, or maybe this is just another part of your plan to make me look like the bad guy so you can walk away with even more of my reputation," he accused.

​"I don't care about your reputation, Arthur, I care about my dignity, and if you leave this house right now to go to her, then you’re going to pay for it just like you’re paying for the divorce," I countered, feeling the ultrasound paper crinkle in my pocket as I thought about the baby he didn't even know existed.

​"What do you want now, Evelyn, another billion dollars just for me to walk out the front door, or are you going to ask for the family jewelry too while you're at it," he sneered, checking his watch again with an impatient flick of his wrist.

​"I want the penthouse in the Santa Monica Estate, the one with the private elevator and the ocean view, or I want ten percent of the shares in that entire property development transferred to my name tonight," I said, picking a number that I knew would sting because he had spent years working on that project.

​"You're absolutely heartless, you're sitting here haggling over real estate while a woman I love is in pain, and I honestly can't believe I ever felt sorry for you when my father died," he said, pulling his laptop out of his bag and typing something furiously before turning the screen toward me.

​"There, I’ve sent the authorization to my legal team and the penthouse is yours as soon as they draft the deed, so I hope you're happy with your blood money because I’m leaving and I don't want to see your face when I get back," he growled, slamming the laptop shut and brushing past me so hard that I stumbled against the wall.

​I watched him disappear into the night, the sound of his tires screeching on the gravel as he sped toward Samantha’s place, and the house felt colder than it ever had before as the silence returned. I slowly walked back to the kitchen and sat down, pulling the ultrasound photo out of my pocket and laying it flat on the table where the light could hit it.

​I placed my hand over my stomach, feeling the tiny life inside me that was a part of a man who couldn't wait to get away from me, and I wondered what he would do if he knew that his careful planning had failed him at the very last second.

​The phone on the table vibrated, and I saw a message from a number I didn't recognize, but the words on the screen made my blood run cold.

​I know about the clinic visit, Evelyn, and you should know that Arthur will never believe it’s his.