Chapter 4

The revelation of Ethan' s infertility stunned Chloe and her legal team, but Eleanor Hamilton was not so easily deterred.

A pre-trial mediation was convened, a tense affair in a sterile conference room.

Chloe, coached and supported by a furious Eleanor, presented a new piece of evidence.

A DNA test.

"This test proves," Chloe' s lawyer announced triumphantly, "that young Leo Hamilton shares significant genetic markers with the Hamilton family. Specifically, with his paternal grandfather, Mr. Richard Hamilton."

Eleanor smirked at Ava, a look of pure malice.

"Ethan was Richard' s only acknowledged son," Eleanor declared. "Clearly, Leo is Ethan' s. Perhaps a medical miracle. Or perhaps your so-called records are incomplete, Ava."

Ava listened, her expression one of mild weariness.

She let out a theatrical sigh, as if burdened by their foolishness.

"A miracle? Perhaps," Ava conceded, her voice soft. "Or perhaps there' s a simpler explanation for Leo sharing genetic markers with Richard Hamilton."

She turned to her own lawyer, Marcus, who produced another set of documents.

"It seems Richard Hamilton has been rather... prolific in ensuring the continuation of his line."

Ava' s gaze drifted to Eleanor, whose smirk was faltering.

"You see, Eleanor," Ava said, her voice carrying a delicate edge of pity, "Richard has another son. A toddler, in fact."

She paused for effect.

"With his young, very devoted personal assistant. A charming girl named... Maya."

Gasps rippled through Chloe' s side of the table. Eleanor' s face went rigid.

Ava continued, "We have irrefutable proof, of course. Photographs of Richard doting on the child. Financial records detailing lavish support payments, a trust fund. Even a rather touching, secretly recorded conversation where Richard discusses his 'true heir,' the one who will inherit the 'real strength' of the Hamilton line."

She leaned forward slightly.

"Eleanor, you once told me that powerful men often have their... discretions. That it was a wife' s duty to look the other way. I believe those were your words?"

Eleanor' s face was a mottled canvas of shock and fury. She looked as if she might physically strike Ava.

Richard, who had chosen not to attend this particular mediation, was suddenly the unseen elephant crushing the room.

The claim that Leo must be Ethan' s child because he shared DNA with Richard now looked utterly ridiculous.

Chloe' s immediate claim to Ethan' s fortune, based on Leo' s paternity through Ethan, was in tatters.

Eleanor, publicly humiliated, her own words thrown back in her face, looked utterly defeated. For now.