Chapter 7 - The Doctor Who Never Said It
Dr. Feldman took Nina's call within an hour.
He sounded furious.
"I never wrote that affidavit. I never diagnosed Evelyn with emotional instability."
"Has Peter Voller contacted you?" Nina asked.
A pause.
"Twice."
My stomach tightened.
"About what?"
"He asked whether prolonged infertility treatment could impair judgment. I refused to speculate."
Nina put him on speaker.
"Did he ask for records?"
"Yes. Lukas had previously signed an authorization covering the joint treatment file. I told my staff to provide only what was legally permitted."
I looked at Lukas.
He was standing across the kitchen with both hands on the counter.
"You used our clinic against me."
"I was trying to protect the family."
"From what?"
He finally snapped.
"From losing everything!"
Silence.
Ingrid closed her eyes.
Peter muttered, "Lukas."
But the sentence was out.
I stepped closer.
"What do you lose?"
Lukas laughed without humor.
"You think my father built the company? My grandfather did. And he tied it up so tightly none of us can breathe."
"So you needed a child."
"I needed an heir recognized before forty."
"And Sophia happened to be pregnant."
His jaw worked.
"She came back into my life at the right time."
Sophia was not there to hear it.
I wished she had been.
Then Lukas added something worse.
"You wanted a baby. I was giving you one."
My hand moved before I thought about it.
I did not hit him.
I took off my wedding ring and placed it on the counter.
"You were giving me a lie."
Nina's phone buzzed.
She read the message and looked at Peter.
"Interesting."
"What?" I asked.
"Someone filed a guardianship petition forty-three minutes ago."
Peter's face drained.
Nina turned the phone toward me.
May you like
The petitioner was not Lukas.
It was Ingrid Vance.
