CHAPTER 11

My fingers tightened around my phone.

"He hired a lawyer?"

Adrian's expression changed immediately.

"Yes." He looked as troubled as I felt.

"He's actually doing this?" I said, my disbelief plain.

Liam had spent years making me feel like I wasn't enough. Not thin enough. Not attractive enough. Not successful enough. But this was different. He wasn't just trying to hurt me anymore. He was trying to claim a place in my child's life before my baby had even taken a breath — after he'd told me to abort it.

"He's only doing this to serve his own purpose," I said.

Adrian reached for my phone. "Let me see."

I handed it to him. His eyes moved across the message. His jaw tightened.

"He's not getting near you."

"This isn't about getting near me." I swallowed. "It's about the baby."

Adrian looked at me. "Then we'll deal with it."

The certainty in his voice should have comforted me. Instead, it scared me. Because Liam wasn't the kind of man who backed down when he lost. He got worse, and he'd do anything to take back the throne.

The next morning proved it.

I had barely finished breakfast when the private elevator opened. A man in a charcoal suit stepped into the penthouse, carrying a leather briefcase. Adrian immediately stood.

"Who are you?"

The man stopped several feet away. "Daniel Mercer. I'm representing Mr. Liam Vance."

My stomach dropped. Adrian's face went cold.

"You weren't invited."

"I don't require an invitation to serve legal documents."

Daniel opened his briefcase. I stared at the papers in his hand. My hands suddenly felt cold.

"Chloe Bennet?"

I nodded. He walked toward me and held out the documents. "I have papers for you."

I didn't move. Adrian stepped between us. "You can hand them to me."

Daniel smiled politely. "I'm afraid they're addressed to Ms. Bennet."

Adrian's voice hardened. "Give them to me."

"Adrian." I touched his arm. He looked at me. I shook my head. "I'll take them."

He didn't look happy about it, but he stepped aside. I accepted the papers.

The first page was filled with legal language I barely understood. Then I saw Liam's name. My heart sank.

"What exactly is he asking for?"

Daniel adjusted his cuff. "My client is requesting a formal paternity test immediately after the child's birth."

I looked at him. "Immediately?"

"Yes."

"He isn't even born yet." And Liam had rejected the pregnancy outright.

"Which is precisely why the request establishes his intention to secure his parental rights from the beginning."

My throat tightened. "What parental rights?"

"Depending on the test results, my client intends to pursue legal recognition as the child's biological father and seek appropriate custody and visitation rights."

I stared at the papers. The words blurred. Custody. Visitation. Rights. My baby. I pressed a hand against my stomach.

"No."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"He doesn't get to decide that."

"Ms. Bennet, the court will decide."

"He abandoned me." My voice shook. "He cheated on me. He humiliated me. He told me to find the father of the baby or terminate the pregnancy. And now that I'm keeping it, suddenly he wants to be a father?"

Daniel's expression remained calm. "I understand this is emotional."

"You don't understand anything."

Adrian moved closer. "She doesn't owe your client cooperation beyond what the law requires."

Daniel glanced at him. "Mr. Vance, my client is aware of your relationship with Ms. Bennet."

My body went still. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything may become relevant."

Adrian's eyes narrowed. "Choose your next words carefully."

Daniel gave a small smile. "I always do."

He pulled another document from his briefcase. "This is notice that my client intends to establish paternity immediately following the child's birth."

I looked at the page. There was Liam's name again. For a moment, I imagined him holding my baby. The thought made my stomach twist.

"I won't let him use my child to control me."

Adrian looked at me. "You won't have to face him alone."

I met his eyes. There was something different in his expression — not anger alone, but determination. He wasn't going to let Liam frighten me. And somehow, that gave me enough courage to look back at the lawyer.

"Tell Liam he can file whatever he wants." Daniel studied me. "But I won't surrender my child to him."

His lips curved slightly. "I'll pass along your position."

He closed his briefcase. I thought that was the end. Then he paused. "There is one more matter."

Adrian's entire posture stiffened. "What?"

Daniel looked directly at me. "My client has concerns regarding Ms. Bennet's circumstances."

I frowned. "What circumstances?"

He gave me a thin smile. "His concerns aren't merely about paternity."

My heart began pounding. "What are you talking about?"

Daniel picked up the final document. "There's also the matter of your fitness as a mother."

The room went silent. I stared at him. "My fitness?"

He nodded. "My client has instructed me to raise several character concerns about Ms. Bennet."

My blood ran cold. "What character concerns?"

The lawyer's smile deepened. "My client has evidence."

Adrian stepped forward. "Get out."

Daniel didn't move. Instead, he looked at me one last time and said quietly, "My client also has... character concerns about Ms. Bennet's fitness."

My hand instinctively moved to my stomach. For the first time since learning I was pregnant, I wasn't afraid of what Liam could do to me. I was afraid of what he might try to take from me.

---

By morning, everyone knew a new version of my story. I found out when Maya called me.

"Chloe, don't go online."

I sat up in bed. "Why?"

"Because you're going to see something you won't like."

My stomach tightened. "What happened?"

There was a pause. "Liam is talking."

I closed my eyes. Of course he was. "What is he saying?"

"That you trapped him."

My eyes opened. "With what?"

"The pregnancy."

For a second, I couldn't speak. Then I laughed — not because it was funny, but because I genuinely couldn't believe someone could lie so easily.

"He's telling people I made up my pregnancy?"

"Worse." Maya's voice dropped. "He's saying you've been trying to trap him for years."

My chest tightened. "For years?"

"Apparently, according to Liam, you became obsessed with marrying him and having his child. He claims you kept press—"