You Want My Grandma’s $8 BILLION Inheritance DREAM ON! SCUMBAG, Watch Your Empire COLLAPSE Overnight! Chapter 06
That afternoon, Julian called.
“Ms. Grant, I found it.”
“Go ahead.”
“The original startup capital for Langford Properties totaled three hundred million dollars. Two hundred million came from a loan issued by New York Commercial Bank.”
He paused.
“The remaining one hundred million… was secured under your name.”
“What?”
“Seven years ago, someone used your personal information to guarantee a one-hundred-million-dollar loan with New York Commercial Bank. The collateral was one of your grandmother’s office buildings.”
He took a breath before continuing.
“The signature on the guarantee is yours. But after comparing it with your current signature…”
“It doesn’t appear to match.”
A cold laugh escaped me.
A fake marriage certificate.
A forged signature.
A bank fraud investigation.
That man had been plotting against me from the very beginning.
“There’s something else,” Julian continued. “I’ve scheduled your appointment with Dr. Margaret Finch for three o’clock this afternoon. But she said… there are some things she can only discuss with you in person.”
“Alright.”
At three o’clock, I arrived at New York General Hospital.
Dr. Margaret Finch was a woman in her fifties with streaks of gray in her hair and gold-rimmed glasses. She carried herself with the quiet authority of someone who had spent decades in medicine.
After I sat down, she studied me for a moment before letting out a soft sigh.
“Ms. Grant, you’re requesting your gynecological records from seven years ago?”
“Yes.”
She slid a medical file across the desk.
I opened it.
November 3, 2017.
Chief Complaint: Unable to conceive after six months of marriage.
Test Results: Severely ovarian function. AMH: 0.3.
Recommendation: Consider assisted reproductive treatment (IVF).
That report had been the reason I’d begun the long, painful journey through IVF.
“Is there something wrong with these records?” I asked.
Dr. Finch removed her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“The problem is this.”
She pulled out another report.
“This physical examination was performed one month before you were admitted.”
I looked down.
AMH: 3.2.
Ovarian function: Completely normal.
“Excellent for your age.”
I slowly lifted my eyes.
“In other words,” Dr. Finch said, “within a single month, your ovarian function supposedly dropped from completely healthy to nearly ovarian failure.”
She met my gaze.
“That doesn’t happen naturally.”
“Unless…”
“Unless there was outside intervention,” I finished.
She nodded.
“Certain medications can suppress ovarian function in a very short period of time. If taken over an extended period, the damage may become irreversible.”
My fingers tightened around the edge of the file.
“Dr. Finch… if I’d stopped taking those medications immediately back then, could I have recovered?”
“Seven years ago?”
Regret flickered across her face.
“Yes. There was a good chance.”
She hesitated.
“But now…”
“I’ll need to perform a complete examination before I can tell.”
“Schedule the earliest appointment you have.”
“I can see you tomorrow morning.”
“That works.”
I stood and gathered my medical records.
As I reached the door, Dr. Finch called after me.
“Ms. Grant.”
I turned around.
“If the examination confirms what you suspect,” she said, “I can issue a forensic medical report that will hold up in court.”
“Thank you.”
When I stepped out of the hospital, the sky was overcast.
It looked like rain was coming.
I got into my car but didn’t start the engine.
That tonic.
Diane had handed it to me herself with a warm, motherly smile.
“Evie, this has been in our family for generations. It’s wonderful for a woman’s health.”
I’d been so touched I had nearly cried.
I had thought I’d been blessed with the kindest mother-in-law anyone could ask for.
After that, every month, she had someone deliver another bottle of the tonic to me.
I drank it for an entire year.
One year later…
My menstrual cycle never returned to normal.
Everyone said it was just “my body worked.”
Alex held me in his arms and whispered,
“It’s okay. I don’t care whether we have kids. Having you is enough.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t care.
He’d never planned for me to bear his children.
Sophia had already done that for him.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Alex appeared.
**Evie, how about dinner at the Peninsula Grand Hotel tonight? I’ve reserved a private dining room for just the two of us. Let’s celebrate our anniversary properly.**
I stared at the screen before typing back.
**Sounds good. Which dress should I wear?**
His reply came instantly.
**The red one. You look beautiful in it.**
I set the phone down and started the engine.
Fine.
Then I’d give him one last performance before the curtain fell.