Chapter 5 - The Confrontation on the Stairs
Grant walked around the sofa, placing himself between me and the exit toward the front hall. His eyes were wide, bloodshot at the corners, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.
"Claire," Grant said, his voice forced into a low, desperate hiss. "You need to listen to me very carefully. You are tired. You are confused. You are suffering from severe anxiety caused by a high-risk pregnancy."
"Save the psychiatric script for the judge, Grant," I said, reaching into my handbag and pulling out the hard copies of the Vanguard Asset Holdings bank statements and the signed donor contract. I tossed them onto the glass coffee table between us. "Every document has been notarized and delivered to Arthur Pendelton's office. At ten o'clock this morning, a motion for emergency asset freezing and a petition for sole legal custody of the unborn children was filed with the Mecklenburg County Superior Court."
"Custody?" Victoria laughed—a sharp, shrill sound that echoed off the high ceilings. "You don't have custody rights, Claire! Those babies carry my DNA and Grant's DNA! You are nothing but an incubator we hired because your husband didn't want to deal with your hysterical weeping after your fourth failed IVF cycle!"
"Victoria, keep your mouth shut!" Grant warned, spinning toward her.
"Why should I?" Victoria snapped, stepping closer to my sofa, her face contorted with arrogance. "She knows! It's over! The contract is signed, Grant! Dr. Keller has already executed the legal proxy forms! The moment those babies are cut out of her, she has zero legal standing in the state of North Carolina!"
"I am their mother," I said, standing up slowly, supporting my heavy back with one hand while keeping my eyes locked onto hers. "Every cell in their bodies was nourished by my blood. The law in this state recognizes the birth mother as the primary legal parent until a court orders otherwise. And no court in this country will grant custody to an adulterous developer and a corrupt physician who committed medical fraud to harvest eggs without consent."
Dr. Keller backed toward the hallway door, his hands trembling violently as he reached for his coat. "I'm leaving. Grant, this is out of control. I'm calling my attorney."
"You step out that door, Adrian, and I release the private wire transfer records from your offshore account in Grand Cayman," Grant threatened, turning his terrifying gaze back onto the doctor. "Nobody leaves this house until we settle this."
"There is nothing to settle," I said, stepping past Grant toward the grand curved staircase leading up to the master bedroom suite. "I am going upstairs to pack my things. My attorney and two uniformed officers from the sheriff's department will be here in twenty minutes to enforce the emergency protective order."
"Protective order?" Grant roared, lunging forward and grabbing my upper arm with a grip so violent it pinched through the thick wool of my sweater. "You think you can just walk out of my house with my children?!"
"Let go of me, Grant!" I demanded, my voice sharp and ringing with absolute authority.
"Grant, don't let her leave!" Victoria shouted, running up behind him. "If she gets to the sheriff, the medical board will freeze the clinic records before Keller can wipe the local servers!"
Grant shoved me back toward the base of the grand staircase. My foot caught on the bottom step, and I stumbled backward, clutching the handrail to keep from falling.
The grand staircase of the Myers Park estate was a magnificent architectural feature—curved, polished mahogany steps with white wainscoting lining the wall, sweeping down twenty feet from the second-floor gallery to the marble foyer below.
I scrambled up three steps, my heart pounding against my ribs like a trapped bird, holding my heavy stomach with both hands.
"Grant, stay away from me!" I yelled, reaching into my sweater pocket to press the record button on my silver device.
"Claire, give me the phone and the paperwork," Grant commanded, breathing heavily as he mounted the first step, his hands outstretched. "We can fix this. We can write a private settlement. I'll give you five million dollars. Ten million! Just hand over the legal files and agree to sign the adoption consent after the delivery!"
"No amount of money will ever buy these babies from me," I said, backing up another step, my knuckles white against the mahogany balustrade.
Victoria bounded up the stairs behind him, her face twisted in a manic, terrifying rage. "She's not going to sign anything, Grant! Look at her! She's going to ruin everything we built!"
Victoria shoved past Grant on the narrow step.
"Victoria, no!" Grant reached out to grab her coat, but she was already too fast.
Victoria lunged forward, her fingers clawing at the thick collar of my wool sweater. "Give me those files!"
I pulled back violently, twisting my body to shield my stomach from her impact.
Victoria’s hand slipped from my collar, slipping down to my shoulder. With a vicious, deliberate shove, she drove her palm full force against my chest!
"Get out of our lives!" Victoria screamed.
My feet slipped on the smooth, polished mahogany tread of the fifth stair.
Time seemed to slow down into distinct, agonizing frames.
I saw Grant’s eyes widen in horror as my weight shifted backward over empty air. I saw Victoria’s face frozen in a mask of triumph. I saw Dr. Keller standing at the bottom of the stairs, dropping his medical bag in sheer terror.
My body tilted backward.
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I didn't scream for myself.
I wrapped both arms tightly around my seven-month belly, tucking my head down against my chest, curling my spine into a protective shield around the twins as gravity dragged me violently down the steep, hard wooden stairs.
