Chapter 6

TWO DAYS BEFORE THE BOARD MEETING.

“Grandmother, listen to me! I can’t just accept – ”

“The unexpected blessing that’s fallen right into your lap?” She interrupted.

“What?” Ezra was appalled. “This is hardly a blessing! This is obviously the scheming of a desperate woman!”

“What scheming?” His grandmother asked. “Doctor Allan plainly told me that it was a mistake by the hospital.”

“Such a coincidence is not suspicious at all,” Ezra said sarcastically. “She just so happened to bring a sample labelled the same way as mine, and the sample just so happened to be inviable. Right.”

“What is wrong with you?” she fumed. “This is obviously in your favour. Do you know anyone who would scheme out something off this extent just to have it favour you? The board members all dislike you, and so does that sister of yours, even though she tries to hide it. You’re not stupid. You know this.”

“She could be working on her own.”

“Ah, yes. She could be an outsider who just happens to know what you need at this very moment and decided to take advantage of that fact so that she can worm her way into the Grey family.” His grandmother’s penchant for sarcasm was not any less than his. “Do you hear how that sounds? Not many outsiders know the terms of inheritance in the Grey family.”

“Information can be bought.” Ezra was not budging.

“You know what I think?”

“No, but I assume you’re going to let me know soon,” he muttered in a bad-tempered manner.

“Don’t you dare give me that tone,” his grandmother warned, continuing on with her rant. “I think you already know that it's highly unlikely that this woman has an ulterior motive, but you’re rejecting her anyway because you don’t like people dictating what you should do. And also because you’re scared.”

He scoffed, disbelieving. “Scared? Scared of what?”

“Connection,” his grandmother replied with a straight face as if what she was saying was completely rational. “You work so hard to keep people at arm’s length that you now want to do the same thing to your own child and the mother.”

“Child? It's barely a fetus,” he said derisively. “One that won’t make it to term.”

“EZRA GREY!” The sudden shout shocked Ezra although his expression remained totally unchanged. Her face was pale the way it usually became whenever she was furious. “You don’t have my permission to abort that child! Do you hear me?! I won’t – mmph!” She abruptly started coughing, while still furiously glaring at him and trying to speak through the wheezing.

“Grandmother.” Ezra frowned, wheeling his chair a bit closer to her bedside. “Drink some water…”

“You… shut up!” She wheezed. “Unfilial grandson!” Cough. Cough. “Speak of… murdering your own child…”

“Its not murder. It doesn’t even count as a human life yet,” he argued, pissed off.

“I won’t condone it!” Cough. “I won’t – “

“Grandmother, be realistic.”

“If you won’t consider it for the sake of yourself and the inheritance, then…” Cough. “…then at least… for your grandmother… Do you want to see me dead first…”

At her words, his expression darkened even further. “I won’t – ”

As if triggered by words he hadn’t even said yet, her coughing fit suddenly grew worse and her face switched from an alarming shade of red to an equally alarming shade of white. Ezra watched in horror as she clutched her chest and began to wheeze painfully. Moving as quickly as he could, he pressed the button for the doctor frantically while yelling for his assistant.

As Jason burst into the room, Ezra yelled at him. “DON’T JUST STAND THERE, GET THE GODDAMN DOCTORS!”

By the time the doctors arrived, she had almost completely passed out. Ezra was wide-eyed in shock as he and Jason were shooed out of the room and his grandmother was wheeled into another room hurriedly.

The hospital hallway was silent as Ezra tried to digest what had just happened. His grandmother was right when she said he detested having people try to dictate what he did, and usually, no one would even dare. However, he considered her his last true remaining family. She doted on him, and he did the same for her. He acted stubborn and she let him do what he wanted usually, but anyone who knew him knew he loved her very much and would do just about anything for her. Which was why her vehement refusal this time greatly disturbed him.

After what felt like hours of silence, Ezra finally spoke. “Jason.”

“Sir?”

“I want a background check on the woman supposedly carrying my child. Find out everything you can about her, and do it quickly.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Ezra remained in the hospital until he got news that his grandmother’s condition was under control, and left when she refused to see him.

He was nursing a glass of scotch at home that evening when Jason sent over the information he‘d asked for. He clicked on the document and was immediately greeted with the sight of a passport photograph of Mia. Studying her face for a second, he scrolled down, past her academic records, qualifications, and other random information like that.

The first thing of interest he noticed was that her mother was terminally ill, admitted in the Grey family hospital, and her condition had recently turned critical.

So that’s why she’d been in the hospital too. One coincidence solved.

As he read further, he found out that the medical bills were piling up and her insurance was shit. Ezra almost scoffed. She was already in such an emotional and financial situation, and she was still willing to keep the child of a man she didn’t even know? She was either really calculative, or she was stupidly naive. Probably the former though.

He scrolled. The next information truly made him pause, because it was almost too outrageous to be a coincidence.

The document stated clearly that Mia Reeds had recently gotten engaged to Ethan Grey. And below that, a photo of Ethan appeared.

Yes, Ethan. His nephew. Olivia’s son. The very one who happened to be competing with him for the inheritance his father left.

Ezra would have laughed if this was happening to anyone but him. Shaking his head, he continued reading.

Mia and Ethan had only been engaged for a short while – it wasn’t even up to a week. They hadn’t even formally announced it yet.

So was Ethan so desperate for the inheritance that he and his fiancee resorted to artificial insemination when it turned out that the old-fashioned way wasn’t working? They weren’t even married yet. They were certainly in a hurry for kids.

However… Ezra recalled the doctor’s words. The sample Mia brought in wasn’t viable, further prompting the mistake that led to her pregnancy with his child.

Not viable. What exactly did that mean?

Ezra used the keypad mounted on his chair to call Dr Allan. The man picked up on the first ring. He was probably terrified of what Ezra would do to him. As he should.

“Hello, Mr Grey, Sir.”

“What did you mean by the sample brought in by Miss Reed not being viable?” He went straight to the point.

“Sir?”

“The semen sample,” he snapped impatiently. “The one brought in by Mia. Don’t waste my time.”

“Oh! I meant that the sample she brought in was sterile, Sir. There was no live sperm in it.”

“Meaning the owner of the sample is sterile?” Ezra asked, already smiling inwardly.

“Yes, sir. Although with everything that’s happened, I haven't had the chance to break the news to Miss Reed. I’m not entirely sure she paid much attention in our last meeting. I understand her mother was in – ”

Whatever. He didn’t care to hear the rest. He pressed the end call button, and immediately called Jason.

“Find out exactly what happened in the Grey residence today. Report back immediately.”

He didn’t have to wait long. In less than an hour, Jason called back. Ezra was very greatly pleased with the news he got. It seemed there was trouble in paradise. Poor, foolish Ethan.