Todos los capítulos de The Ex-wife He Regrets Losing!: Capítulo 81 - Capítulo 90

DAMIAN "Wait," I said, standing. "Before you leave, you need to hear the whole story." Vanessa stopped at the coffee shop door. "I've heard enough." "No, you haven't. You know pieces. But not the full picture." I gestured back to the table. "Please. Ten more minutes. Then if you want to hate me, fine. But at least you'll know why this happened." She hesitated, then walked back slowly. "Ten minutes. That's it." We sat again. I took a breath, organizing my thoughts. "Five years ago, Claire Hoss orchestrated a baby swap. She paid off hospital administrators at Mount Sinai. Bribed nurses. Falsified birth certificates and medical records." "Why?" "Because her daughter-in-law, Mabel, had just given birth. And Claire had decided Mabel wasn't fit to be part of the family." I leaned forward. "But it wasn't just about getting rid of Mabel. It was about control. Claire wanted that baby raised by someone she could manipulate. Someone who owed her." "So she stole Mabel's child." "Yes. And

VANESSA "Proof," I said, standing at the coffee shop door. "If what you're saying is true, show me proof." Damian looked up. "What?" "You're accusing one of New York's most powerful women of murder and baby trafficking. You're telling me my entire life is built on lies." I walked back to the table. "Show me proof. Real, concrete proof. Not just theories and suspicion." "Okay." Damian pulled out his laptop. "Sit down. This will take a while." I sat, my heart pounding. He opened the laptop and pulled up a folder labeled "Hoss Investigation - Confidential." "I've been collecting evidence against Claire for fifteen years," he said. "Everything in this folder is verified. Cross-referenced. Documented." He clicked on a subfolder labeled "Baby Swap - January 2022." Hospital records appeared on screen. "Mount Sinai Hospital. January 15th, 2022." Damian pointed at the screen. "Two women gave birth that day. Mabel Hoss in Room 412. Hailey Brooks in Room 408." I leaned closer, reading

VANESSA I didn't go home. Instead, I drove to Central Park and walked. Aimlessly. For hours. The flash drive sat heavy in my pocket. Proof that Liam was Mabel's biological son. Proof that my entire life was built on a crime. Proof that changed everything. It was nearly midnight when I finally sat on a bench, staring at the dark water of the lake. What was I supposed to do? I loved Liam more than anything. More than my business. More than my own life. He was everything to me. But if Mabel truly was his biological mother... If she'd had him stolen from her... If she'd spent five years searching for him... What did that make me? The woman who'd benefited from that crime. Who'd unknowingly raised a stolen child. But I hadn't known. I'd thought the adoption was legitimate. Had trusted the agency, the lawyers, the system. Did that matter? Did my ignorance excuse anything? I pulled out my phone and looked at photos of Liam. His first birthday. His gap-toothed smile at three

MABEL I sat across from Vanessa in her office, my hands trembling. This was really happening. We were really going to talk. Not yell. Not throw accusations. Actually talk. Vanessa looked exhausted. Like she hadn't slept at all. Her normally perfect hair was pulled back messily. No makeup. Dark circles under her eyes. She looked how I felt. "Coffee?" she offered. "No. Thank you." We sat in awkward silence. Finally, Vanessa spoke. "Damian showed me his evidence. The hospital records. The emails. All of it." "And you believe him?" "I believe the documentation. It's hard to argue with that much proof." She leaned forward. "But I want to hear it from you. Everything. From the beginning." "Okay." "And Mabel?" Her voice was firm. "If you're really his mother, if this is all true, I need you to prove it. Show me everything you have. Every piece of evidence. Every document. I need to see it all." "I will. I brought everything." I pulled out my folder. "Where do you want me to star

MABEL"Wait," I said as Vanessa moved toward the door. "We need to talk about what happens next. Specifically."Vanessa turned back. "I just said I need time to think…""I know. But we need to at least discuss the options. So we both know what we're considering."She hesitated, then nodded. "Okay. What are you proposing?""Shared custody." I said it quickly, before I could second-guess myself. "We both raise him. Together.""Together how?""I don't know exactly. We'd have to work out the details. But the concept is that we're both his mothers. We both have time with him. We both make decisions about his life."Vanessa sat back down slowly. "You're talking about joint custody. Splitting time.""Yes.""Like divorced parents.""Sort of. But different because we're not fighting. We're cooperating. For his benefit.""How would that even work?" Vanessa leaned back in her chair. "Where would he live? With you? With me? Back and forth?""I don't know. We'd have to figure it out.""And school?