Chapter 31

The room fell into a thick silence as the door closed behind Evelyn, her lawyer, and Dr. Emilio. Everyone slowly reclaimed their seats. Mr. Polo received a copy of the results, and Evelyn’s lawyer, Ms. Yada, took hers.

Mr. Polo opened the first copy. Evelyn’s lawyer opened the second.

Then he spoke, his voice unnaturally loud in the quiet: “She is pregnant.”

The news, clinical and definitive, hung in the air, a physical confirmation of the hospital’s catastrophic error. Evelyn sat beside Kannika, her face etched with stress, but her friend offered a tight, reassuring squeeze, having already known the outcome.

In that intense moment, Williams lifted her eyes. She did not look at Evelyn.

She looked at Kannika instead, and their eyes locked for a second too long, like two warriors silently acknowledging a shared burden. Polo offered Williams a copy of the results, but she did not touch it. Since the beginning of the case, she had refused to handle any document placed before her, only glancing briefly at the scattered evidence.

“Well,” Evelyn’s lawyer began, reclaiming the initiative. “First of all, my client agrees to the amicable settlement. That said, where are the parents?”

“The parents are not present,” Mr. Polo replied. “But they have already provided their written agreement to dissociate themselves.”

“May I see that document?”

He handed it over. Evelyn glanced at Williams, whose gaze was now severe and cold. For Williams, this confirmation meant the error was officially real and now needed to be erased. She had desperately wished for a negative result, but the two weeks lost to corporate bickering had allowed the embryo to attach itself to the wrong womb. Evelyn, for her part, felt a pang of sadness, knowing she was once again the cause of unhappiness in Williams’ life, even though the CEO still did not recognize her.

Yada scanned the page. “I only see parents dissociating themselves from the case. They have not given any explicit agreement regarding a possible termination. Do they know my client is currently pregnant?”

“The moment they dissociate, they bequeath full rights to decide the outcome to the hospital, and we had already proposed the termination,” Mr. Polo stated.

Emilio flinched, remembering Mr. Mayeur’s assumption that the abortion had already been performed. This detail changed everything.

Yada fixed Polo with a hard stare. “And if the patient does not wish to have an abortion?”

Polo slowly turned toward Evelyn. Before he could speak, Williams cut in sharply.

“What game are you playing? We already talked about removing this child. She cannot keep what is not hers.”

Mr. Polo signaled desperately for Williams to let him handle it, but she was beyond restraint.

“We have already discussed this with Evelyn,” Polo insisted to the lawyer. Evelyn looked at Kannika, then at Yada.

“I…” Evelyn tried to speak, as Kannika’s hand steadied her arm.

“Miss Evelyn, legally,” Yada interrupted, “I must ask you what your choice is. After this, I will only proceed in that direction. Right now, you must speak from your heart and not under the pressure of others’ expectations. You are now truly pregnant. If in the past it was an assumption, you now have the proof.” She slid the results closer to Evelyn.

Evelyn felt a high, sharp ringing in her ears. She looked at the expectant faces. Then she looked straight at Dr. Emilio and asked:

“Do the Mayeurs know I’m pregnant?”

“Who is in a position to answer that?” Yada added, turning the question on the hospital staff.

Emilio was forced to speak. “No.”

Dr. Williams shifted violently, running a hand through her hair, visibly struggling to maintain composure. It was clear to her now that she had lost control of the narrative.

“But…” Mr. Polo began to counter.

“Then I want them to know,” Evelyn cut in, her voice trembling but gaining a steely edge.

Polo blinked. “What do you mean?”

“This child isn’t mine, as you all said.” She turned toward Williams. “So, they should know I am carrying a life, and they should decide for themselves.”

Williams’ temper snapped like a wire.

“Is this a joke, Miss Hazel?”

“Doctor Williams!” Polo tried to restrain her, his hand reaching out.

“Be quiet!” Williams commanded, eyes widened. “I will not let you drag us around and play the interesting one.” Her tone deepened, and her presence dominated the room with a force that made everyone shrink slightly.

“We are talking about a life here, Williams, not your internal principles!” Evelyn shot back, the heat of Williams’ anger suddenly unlocking her own courage.

“Williams, calm down,” Yada gestured, trying to assert her authority.

“It’s Dr. Williams!” Williams spat, gesturing fiercely for the lawyer to silence herself. She was utterly unleashed, her fierce demeanor dominating the room. Her gaze was hardened, her words were clear, and her gestures were almost threatening. Her posture and raw influence embarrassed and intimidated every single member at the table.

“Does it please you to see these parents suffer?” she asked Evelyn, her voice like a knife.

“That is not my intention,” Evelyn countered, remaining steady under the barrage.

Kannika watched, along with the others, transfixed by the CEO’s terrifying transformation.

“I just want them to make the choice.”

“The choice? They already made it by turning the page!” Williams slammed her hand onto the table, and the sharp, hollow sound echoed through the room. “Mrs. Mayeur doesn’t want to see you, or your face, or the image of a child she sought so hard in another woman’s womb. Do you understand her pain? You have to be clueless to think a woman who came here to carry a life will accept that life carried by another!”

“Dr. Williams, pull yourself together!” Evelyn’s lawyer gripped the edge of the table.

“Please, Dr. Williams,” Mr. Polo pleaded, fear in his eyes.

It was then he saw it: a thin trickle of blood flowing from her nose. She paused, her rage suddenly fracturing, and glanced wildly at Evelyn.

“I told you to think carefully,” Williams managed, her voice suddenly breathy.

“Williams!”

“What?”

“Your nose!” Mr. Piboun, Polo’s associate, instantly offered her a handkerchief.

She blinked, touched her face, and saw the red on her fingers. For a moment, she seemed stunned, then furious with herself. She pressed the handkerchief against her nose. Evelyn stared at her, worry gripping her chest. In her memories, Williams never had nosebleeds.

Something was wrong.

Williams stood up abruptly, her body rigid.

“This charade ends today, or we will do it another way!” she ordered before spinning on her heel and slamming out of the room.

Evelyn’s lawyer turned to Mr. Polo, who was already on his feet. “I am truly sorry, so sorry.”

Kannika struggled to maintain her composure. She stared briefly at the door, remembering the detective’s cold warning about Williams and the hell she had endured. Was this situation difficult for the Mayeurs, Kannika wondered, or rather for her? She worried about why Williams did not recognize Evelyn (whose real name was Esther Dara), and most of all, she feared the sheer violence Williams had just contained. If that was the controlled version of Williams, what horrors was the uncontrolled version capable of?

As for Emilio and Mr. Polo, their eyes met. The reaction they feared had just been confirmed. Evelyn’s lawyer, though initially frustrated, now felt genuine fear.

Mr. Polo, regaining his composure, spoke in a calm, professional tone to Evelyn. “Evelyn, what do you want now?”

“I want to see the parents first,” Evelyn reiterated, her determination solidifying after the storm.

“I do not think that is possible,” Emilio added. “They do not want to talk about it anymore. I doubt they will come here.”

“Then take me to them,” Evelyn insisted.

“Evelyn, are you sure about this?” Kannika asked, worried about the next step.

“Yes.”

“Mr. Polo, I know you can do it,” Evelyn pleaded, laying her hope bare. “Please, Mr. Polo.”

“Hmm,” Emilio grunted, stepping forward. “Let us try anyway.”

Mr. Polo was cornered. While he wanted to follow Williams’ lead and end her distress, he was bound by his ethics and by his humanity. They were discussing a life. After a moment of heavy hesitation, he relented.

“I will take you myself, but under two conditions.”

“Which ones?” Evelyn’s lawyer asked.

“I take Evelyn alone. And you, Evelyn,” he looked at her intently, “you promise me that at the end of this meeting, if they do not want this child, we…”

“I know,” Evelyn replied, her voice firm. “I will do it.”

“And if it is the opposite,” Yada added, striking a counter-bargain, “you will no longer put any pressure on my client.”

Mr. Polo and Emilio left the room together.

“I will wait for you in the parking lot, Miss Evelyn.”

Down the hall, Mr. Polo and Dr. Emilio whispered, the tension palpable between them.

“Why did you agree to that, Emilio?” Polo hissed.

“We could not get out of this situation by playing hardball, Polo. Not after that.”

“I asked you to let me handle this. Go back to your office. I am going to talk to Williams.”

“No. You go with Evelyn. I will go see Williams.”

“What are you playing at?”

“As far as I know, Williams is still my friend,” Emilio stiffened, almost unrecognizable in his resolve.

“Do you want to confess?”

“If I had to do it, then you would know first, since you are my lawyer. Go ahead, Polo.”

Dr. Emilio adjusted his jacket and headed back toward Dr. Williams’ private office, while Mr. Polo, still stunned by Emilio’s sudden defiance, headed toward the parking lot with the necessary documents.

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