Chapter 5 - The Confrontation at Peachtree
At 2:00 PM, I pulled up to the gates of 1422 Peachtree Lane—the sprawling white manor home I had spent five years decorating, gardens I had planted, and hallways I had painted.
A moving van was parked in the circular driveway. Two deputy sheriffs stood by the front porch, watching as Madison frantically shoved designer clothes, shoes, and baby gear into cardboard boxes.
She looked entirely unspooled. Her expensive hair highlights were messy, her eyes red and swollen, her designer clothes rumpled.
When she saw my black SUV pull up, she ran toward me, screaming. “Claire! Claire, please! Stop this!”
The deputy sheriff immediately stepped in front of her, holding out a hand. “Ma’am, stand back.”
I stepped out of the vehicle, wearing a crisp ivory suit, my silver-and-gold watch catching the afternoon sun. I looked at the house, then at Madison, feeling an overwhelming sense of clarity.
“Claire!” Madison wept, dropping to her knees on the manicured lawn. “I’m sorry! I was desperate! Ethan was going to leave me for someone else! He was looking at younger women! I thought... I thought if I gave him what you couldn't, he would stay with me forever!”
“I couldn't give him a child because you paid a doctor to lie to us, Madison,” I said quietly, looking down at her. “You let me believe my body was broken for an entire year. Do you have any idea what it feels like to sit alone in a room, wondering what you did wrong to deserve being abandoned?”
“I know... I was evil! I was wicked!” Madison sobbed, grabbing at the hem of my trousers. “Please, don't take everything! Where am I supposed to go with the baby? I don't have any money left! My accounts are frozen!”
“The baby’s paternity test results came back an hour ago, Madison,” I said softly.
Madison froze, her sobbing instantly cutting off.
“The donor was a paid profile from an international sperm bank,” I continued, my voice unwavering. “Ethan is not the father. He never was. You lied to him, you lied to the courts, and you lied to your own child.”
Just then, a sleek red sports car pulled up near the gates, screeching to a halt. Ethan stumbled out, looking completely unkempt, his tie undone, his eyes bloodshot.
He marched straight up to Madison, grabbed her by the shoulders, and shook her. “You bitch! The DNA test came back zero percent! Zero!”
“Ethan, get off me!” Madison shrieked, hitting his chest.
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“I ruined my life for you!” Ethan roared, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks. “I divorced Claire! I lost my company! My father’s board is voting to remove me as CEO in thirty minutes! My name is trash in this city! And you gave me a bastard!”
“Enough, Ethan!” I shouted, my voice booming across the lawn with an authority that instantly stopped both of them in their tracks.
