Chapter 4 - Rachel Reaches for the Report
Rachel moved too quickly.
That was her mistake.
The moment Claire lifted the surgical report, Rachel lunged across the desk and reached for it.
Claire pulled it back before Rachel’s fingers touched the folder.
The movement was sharp, controlled, and final.
Justin stared at Rachel.
“Why do you care if I read it?”
Rachel’s face twisted.
“Because she’ll twist it!”
Claire almost smiled.
“I am not letting you read it yet.”
Justin looked at her.
That startled him more than if she had thrown it at his chest.
Claire wanted him close to the truth, but not in control of it.
Rachel’s voice rose.
“Those babies are his. You’re only trying to destroy us.”
The twins stirred faintly in their carriers.
Claire’s eyes cut toward the foyer.
Everyone lowered their voices at once.
The babies remained safe.
Sleeping again.
Justin’s breathing turned uneven.
He looked at the hospital photographs scattered across the desk.
In them, Rachel appeared radiant.
He appeared proud.
The twins rested nearby, proof of the life he thought had justified destroying his marriage.
Martha stared at the photographs with a grief so deep it seemed older than this night.
Claire noticed.
Justin noticed too.
“Mother,” he said slowly. “Why did you ask whether Claire told me?”
Martha’s mouth trembled.
“Justin, please.”
“Please what?”
She looked at Rachel.
Rachel shook her head violently.
The silence that followed became unbearable.
Claire placed the surgical report flat on the desk, one palm covering it.
“No diagnosis will be spoken in this room tonight.”
Justin flinched.
Diagnosis.
The word entered him like ice.
He stepped closer.
“My diagnosis?”
Claire did not answer.
Martha began crying silently.
Rachel’s panic became visible now.
Her hands shook as she adjusted the delicate strap of her satin dress.
Justin looked at all three women.
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For the first time, his arrogance failed to produce an explanation.
Read Chapter 5 👉 Because the word diagnosis changed everything, and Justin realized the report might concern him more than Rachel.
