39

Chapter 39:

Brittany’s Pov

Vivienne and I planned on going to girls' shopping today to change our wardrobes and get some new handbags to top up the game.

Just then as I entered my car instructing my driver to head to the shopping mall,Margaret Rodrigo called me, her voice carrying that polished calm rich woman's voice used when they’re hiding something serious.

“Brittany, dear. Can we have lunch today? There’s something we need to discuss.”

“Something” never meant anything good, but refusing her wasn’t an option. I agreed immediately.

It was 1pm already so I decided to cancel my meeting with Vivienne and head to the usual upscale restaurant. It was always quiet and private there. Margaret was already seated when I arrived, dressing elegant as always but I felt she was tense, it's usual.

“Thank you Brittany, for coming on such little notice,” she said.

“Of course,” I replied smoothly. “You said it was important?”

She waited for the waiter to pour our wine before lowering her voice. “It’s about Darcy. And the engagement.”

My pulse quickened, though I forced a polite smile. “What about it?”

“He’s being difficult,” she said with a tight jaw. “Richard and I presented the merger proposal last Friday. Everything was arranged, the benefits, the press strategy, the future partnership between our families. But Darcy refused. He said he wouldn’t marry for business reasons.”

I nearly dropped my glass. Darcy had actually refused? I had always assumed he’d cave eventually. But no—he’d stood up to them.

“That’s… surprising,” I said carefully. “Surely you and Richard can talk him around?”

“We’re still on that,” she snapped. “Richard even threatened to block his board access. He’s completely set against it but hopefully it would work out”

“What happens to the merger?”

“It can still proceed, technically. But the marriage was meant to seal the alliance. Without it, this is just another business deal.” Her voice dripped with disappointment.

I took a slow sip of wine, thinking quickly. Darcy’s defiance could ruin everything—not just for his parents but for me. My entire plan depended on that marriage.

Margaret leaned closer. “I asked you here because I think you can help. Use your… advantages.”

I arched my brow. “My advantages?”

“You’re a very beautiful woman with brains too. Brittany,you should know how these things work. Men like Darcy are proud. Sometimes desire can soften their resistance.” She lowered her voice. “Remind him that marrying you is not just for practical reasons but it would also be beneficial for him personally and even sexual rewards”

For a second, I actually thought I’d misheard her words. Margaret Rodrigo, the perfect, polished Margaret was seated in front of me advising I seduce her son into compliance.

“I understand,” I said, keeping my tone neutral while I speak.

Her eyes sharpened. “You’ve always known how to get results. I need you to do that again. Our families are counting on it.”

When lunch ended, her words echoed in my mind: Use your advantages. Quell his defiance.

It should have sounded empowering. Instead, it felt humiliating. Because I’d already tried. The cream dress, the touch, the kiss—Darcy didn’t even flinch. He looked at me as if I was his usual business proposal and he had no interest in signing.

How could I seduce Darcy and make him want me with all his mother had told me?

By the time I got home, I was angry, not humiliated by Margaret's words.

I’d done everything right—every calculated move, every social connection. Yet Darcy ignored me, while that nanny captured not just his daughter's attention but his. Adrian Martinez. The woman he should have fired long ago.

If I couldn’t win him with charm, I’d win by control.

And for that, I needed leverage.

So I called Luis.

He knows a groundskeeper at the Rodrigo estate—one who earned extra cash selling information. He’d already helped Martin before, digging into private files. This time, the groundskeeper was working for me through Luis.

“Ms. Hawthorne,” he answered on the third ring. “I was about to call you.”

“You found something?”

“More than something. You’ll want to see it in person.”

We met at a small café in Brooklyn—quiet, far from anyone who mattered. Luis sat in a back booth with a manila folder. His uneasy behaviour made me nervous.

“Well?” I asked, sliding into the seat opposite to him.

He opened the folder, revealing hospital forms. “You asked me to look into Pink’sDarcy’s daughter. I traced her records. Everything looked too clean, too perfect.”

“Go on.”

“She was registered as being born at St. Mary’s Maternity Ward. The one at Rikers Island.”

Rikers. The same place where I’d bribed a nurse three years ago.

“I cross-checked hospital records,” Luis continued. “That month, three babies were born there. One was listed as a Jane Doe, the other Adrian Martinez and lastly Lily Tam.”

The air in the café suddenly felt heavy.

The head nurse had told Darcy’s whore her baby died. That same nurse gave me a healthy baby which I made available for adoption. Did she give me another woman’s baby or the one I asked for?

“What else?” I asked, my voice low.

Luis flipped to another sheet. “There were payments made to staff—large ones. Fifty thousand dollars to the nurse who handled Darcy’s whore delivery. From an anonymous source.”

The exact amount I had paid.

I froze.

“But that’s not all,” he added. “later I found out she received another fifty thousand two days after—from a different account.”

“What?” I leaned forward. “From who?”

“Couldn’t trace it fully. But the funds came through offshore accounts connected to a man named Martin Reeves.”

Martin. Adrian’s ex. That means Darcy's whore is Adrian and Martin, her ex boyfriend, the one who framed her, who destroyed her life, paid to eliminate her baby.

“So Martin paid her too?”

“Yes. Which suggests two people paid the same nurse for very different reasons.” He hesitated. “My theory? You paid her to take the baby. Martin paid her to eliminate it.”

The words hit like ice. “To kill the baby?”

Luis nodded grimly. “After that, the nurse quit, moved to Florida, and vanished six months later. No trace—no forwarding address, no bank activity. Like she ran. Or someone made her disappear.”

I held the table, trying to stay calm as my thoughts wandered . If Martin paid to have Adrian’s baby killed and I paid to take that same baby. What had the nurse actually done? Was Pink actually the right baby?

Had she handed me Adrian’s real child? Or switched the babies, kill it and take my money and his before disappearing?

“Are you certain about the second payment?” I pressed.

“As certain as I can be without access to sealed federal records. But if this gets out, Ms. Brittany Hawthorne, if anyone discovers that Pink might have been taken from a prisoner...”

“It won’t get out,” I cut him off. “You’ll keep this between us.”

Luis nodded quickly, but worry clouded his face. “If Martin believes the baby died, and she’s actually alive—he’s in danger if anyone connects the dots.”

So was I.

If anyone knows the truth that I bribed a nurse to take Adrian’s baby, then I'm ruined. Then they would charge me with Human trafficking, fraud, conspiracy... my life would be over.

I needed answers before anyone else found them.

“I need proof,” I said. “I need to know if Pink is really Adrian’s child.”

“The nurse is gone.”

“You said she disappeared,” I countered, but where could she be?”

He paused , then kept a photo on the table. It was an image of a woman in a nurse’s uniform. “I tracked her. She’s in Florida, using a new name, working at a clinic in Tampa.”

I stared at the photo. The same woman I had bribed three years ago. The one who could expose everything or bury it forever.

“Does anyone else know?”

“No,” he said. “But if you confront her...”

“I’ll handle it,” I interrupted coldly. “She won’t talk to anyone.”

Luis didn’t respond, but his silence said enough. He understood.

As I sat there, looking at the woman’s picture, everything became clear. I had two problems: the past and the present. The past being the nurse who could destroy me. The present being Darcy, who was slipping further away every day.

I couldn’t afford either.

If the truth came out, I’d lose everything. But if I could tie myself to Darcy, make him need me—I’d have his protection. His resources. His loyalty. Once I'm his wife, maybe he will get to love me.

And if I wanted that, I had two weeks.

Two weeks until the engagement announcement. Two weeks to make Darcy want me. Two weeks to ensure Adrian is fired from her job, and the nurse never spoke again.

My fingers touched the photo one last time before putting it into my purse.

No one should ever find out about Pink Identity— not Adrian, not Darcy, not anyone. It should remain that she came from the orphanage. Until my findings.The truth would stay buried, even if I had to bury the person who knew it.

Darcy might hate me now. But when this was over, he’d have no choice but to keep me close. Because I’d make myself the only person he could rely on.

And once I was Mrs. Darcy Rodrigo, everything would change for real. Then I'd create a plan to eliminate Martin,Adrian and Pink.