Chapter 5 - The Secret Behind The Medical Records
The message on Julian’s phone was only one sentence.
But it changed everything.
"Ask Olivia why her father disappeared the night he discovered what Julian and Sienna were planning."
I read it again.
Then again.
Because sometimes your mind refuses to accept the truth even when the words are sitting directly in front of you.
My father disappeared because of them.
Not because he wanted to leave.
Not because he abandoned me.
Not because he stopped caring.
Because he found something.
Something Julian and Sienna were trying to hide.
I handed the phone back to Julian.
For once, he didn't look like the successful businessman everyone admired.
He looked like someone who had just discovered his entire life was built on a foundation he never understood.
"Who sent this?" Marcus asked.
Julian looked at the screen.
"I don't know."
That answer surprised me.
Not because I believed him completely.
Because I realized something.
Julian might not have known everything.
He might have been a part of the plan.
But he wasn't the person controlling it.
And that meant someone else had been moving behind the scenes.
Someone smarter.
Someone more careful.
Someone who knew exactly how to make everyone believe the wrong story.
Dr. Vance closed the envelope.
"We can't continue this conversation here."
He looked around the maternity hallway.
Families were still walking past us.
A father was laughing while holding flowers.
A mother was taking pictures of her newborn.
Life was continuing around us.
But mine had just changed again.
Julian nodded.
For the first time, he didn't argue.
He didn't demand control.
He simply followed.
That alone told me how serious this was.
We moved into a private consultation room near the end of the hallway.
The room was small.
A table.
Four chairs.
A window overlooking the hospital parking lot.
A place designed for difficult conversations.
I sat across from Julian.
The man I once planned my entire future with.
The man who promised me forever.
The man who now looked like a stranger.
Sienna sat beside him.
But there was no connection between them anymore.
No touching.
No reassuring looks.
No perfect couple pretending everything was fine.
The illusion was gone.
Dr. Vance placed the documents on the table.
"Before we discuss who was behind this, you need to understand how it started."
I looked at him.
"Tell me."
He opened the first folder.
"The original medical records showed that Olivia's fertility results were within normal ranges."
Julian closed his eyes briefly.
I noticed.
He knew hearing it would hurt.
But he needed to hear it anyway.
"The altered records created a completely different story," Dr. Vance continued.
"They suggested Olivia had severe complications and that her chances of pregnancy were extremely low."
I stared at the papers.
Those words had destroyed me.
Not because I believed them.
Because Julian believed them.
Or at least he allowed everyone to believe them.
For months, I blamed myself.
I wondered if I had pushed too hard.
If I had wanted a child so badly that I damaged our marriage.
I wondered if my sadness had made me impossible to love.
I wondered if Julian was right when he said he needed someone who wasn't "broken."
But the truth was much simpler.
I was never broken.
Someone had broken the truth.
"Who changed the reports?" I asked.
Dr. Vance looked at Sienna.
Her face immediately changed.
Julian noticed.
"Sienna."
She looked down.
"I didn't do it alone."
The words landed harder than I expected.
Because even after everything, some small part of me had hoped she would deny it.
A lie would have been easier.
Because then I could hate her.
But the truth was worse.
She was afraid.
"Who helped you?" Julian asked.
Sienna didn't answer.
"Who helped you?"
His voice became louder.
The baby sleeping in the stroller beside her moved slightly.
Sienna looked at him.
And I saw something.
She wasn't afraid of me.
She wasn't afraid of Dr. Vance.
She was afraid of whoever came next.
"I can't say."
Julian stared at her.
"You destroyed my marriage, my company, and my reputation."
His voice cracked slightly.
"And you're telling me you still can't say who?"
Sienna swallowed.
"Because you don't understand what happens if I do."
Nobody spoke.
Then Marcus placed another folder on the table.
"This is why."
Julian opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Emails.
Transaction records.
Private communications.
I watched his eyes move across the pages.
His expression changed slowly.
"What am I looking at?"
Marcus answered.
"The person behind this operation wasn't trying to destroy Olivia."
I looked at him.
"What?"
Marcus looked directly at me.
"They were trying to remove you from the board."
I frowned.
"But why?"
"Because you were the only person standing between them and complete control of Carter Enterprises."
Julian looked up.
"Control?"
Marcus nodded.
"Your divorce wasn't the goal."
He pointed toward the documents.
"It was the opportunity."
The room became silent.
Because suddenly everything made sense.
The divorce.
The medical records.
The company transfer.
My reputation being destroyed.
It wasn't about Julian finding a new wife.
It wasn't about Sienna taking my place.
It was about power.
Someone wanted me gone.
And they used the two people closest to me to do it.
I looked at Julian.
"Who knew about the company?"
He hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
"Julian."
He looked away.
"Several people."
"Names."
He stayed silent.
I felt something break inside me.
Not because he was protecting someone.
Because after everything, he still struggled to tell me the truth.
"Who?"
Finally, he whispered.
"My brother."
The room went quiet.
I had heard about him.
Everyone had.
Ethan Carter.
Julian's older half-brother.
The man who disappeared from the company years earlier after a public argument with Julian.
The man who claimed Julian had stolen their father's legacy.
The man who blamed my family for supporting Julian instead of him.
I looked at Julian.
"You never told me he was involved."
"Because I didn't think he was."
Marcus interrupted.
"That's the problem."
He pulled out another document.
"This was sent three days before your divorce papers were filed."
Julian grabbed it.
His face changed instantly.
"What?"
I looked at him.
"What does it say?"
He didn't answer.
Dr. Vance slowly turned the document around.
It was a transfer agreement.
A hidden agreement.
And at the bottom was a signature.
A signature that made my blood run cold.
Because it wasn't Julian's.
It wasn't Sienna's.
It belonged to someone who had been close to my family for years.
Someone I trusted.
Someone who had helped raise me.
Julian stared at the signature.
"No..."
Marcus looked at him.
"You know who signed this."
Julian slowly lifted his eyes.
And before he could say the name, the lights in the consultation room suddenly went out.
The emergency backup alarm started ringing.
Everyone froze.
Then Julian's phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
One sentence.
"Stop searching for the truth, Olivia. Your father didn't disappear because of Julian."
I looked at the screen.
Then at the second line.
May you like
And my entire body went cold.
Because the message revealed the one person who had been protecting the secret all along...
