The CEO’s Secret Baby Mama

The Digital Trap

The "private lab technician" Vanessa brought into the penthouse looked more like a bodyguard in a lab coat. He didn't have the sterile, professional aura of the doctors Teni had seen in Ibadan.

I need the child’s sample now, the man said, pulling a sterile swab from his kit.

"Wait," Teni said, her voice sharp. She saw the man glance at Vanessa, a quick, silent communication that made her skin crawl. "I want to see the credentials of the lab. And I want to see the digital portal where these results will be uploaded."

Vanessa rolled her eyes, her gold bracelets clinking. "Oh, for heaven’s sake, Teniola. This is MedCore Labs. They handle the health records for half the billionaires in Lagos. Don't act like you even know how a database works."

Teni felt a cold smile touch her lips.

Vanessa, I spent the last three years building systems that make MedCore’s portal look like a child’s drawing. Alexander, give me your laptop.

Alexander didn't hesitate. He handed her his sleek MacBook. Teni’s fingers flew across the keyboard, her mind switching into "Dev Mode." She wasn't just a mother now; she was a coder looking for a back door.

She quickly searched for MedCore Labs and looked at their server security certificate. Her eyes narrowed. Alexander, look at the IP address on this technician’s tablet. It’s not routing to MedCore. It’s routing to a private server in Lekki.

The technician froze. Vanessa’s face went from smug to pale in a split second.

"What are you talking about?" Chief Solomon demanded, looking between Teni and the tablet.

He’s not a tech, Chief, Teni said, turning the laptop screen so they could all see the redirected data path. "He’s using a spoofed portal. Whatever results he 'finds' tonight won't be from a lab. They’ll be whatever Vanessa typed into that server ten minutes ago."

The silence in the room was deafening. Alexander stepped toward the technician, his presence suddenly terrifying. "Is that true?"

The man looked at Vanessa, then at the exits. He didn't answer. He didn't have to.

You tried to fake a DNA test?

Alexander’s voice was a low, dangerous growl. He looked at Vanessa as if she were a bug under a microscope. "In my own home? Using a fake server to disinherit my son?"

Alexander, I was just trying to protect you!

Vanessa cried, her voice hitting a high, desperate note. "She’s a scammer! I knew she would find a way to cheat, so I... I just wanted to be sure!"

"You're done, Vanessa," Alexander said. He turned to the technician. "Leave the kit. Leave the tablet. And if I see your face in this city tomorrow, you’ll find out how much I can spend on a legal team."

As the technician scrambled out the door, Chief Solomon looked at Teni with a new, begrudging respect. He had called her a commoner, but he had just watched her dismantle a billionaire’s plot with nothing but a laptop and her brain.

Teni closed the laptop with a satisfying click. "Now," she said, looking at the Chief. We will go to the hospital of my choice. Tomorrow morning. And Alexander, if you want me to stay in this penthouse tonight, you’re going to have to explain why you ever let a woman like that near our family.