Chapter 6 - Diane's Hidden Betrayal
Diane took a step backward, nearly tripping over her own purse. "Mark, you don't understand... you had just met Emily. The Vance family was everything we had ever prayed for! You were finally happy!"
"What did you do, Mom?" Mark screamed, completely losing control in front of the entire assembly. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"
Diane began to weep hysterically, the polished country-club matriarch completely unraveling. "Claire came from a working-class family! She dragged you down for seven years! Then the lawyer's letter arrived at the house while you were in Cabo with Emily. It said Claire had given birth to twins and was giving you one final chance to be on the birth certificate or waive your rights!"
Emily gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. Her mother, Mrs. Vance, grabbed Emily by the elbow, pulling her physically away from Mark.
"You hid it?" Mark whispered, his eyes bulging. "You threw it away?"
"I didn't throw it away!" Diane cried out defensively, looking around the room as if hoping someone would sympathize with her. "I signed the refusal form as your proxy! I hired a private courier to return it! I did it for you, Mark! If the Vances found out you had twin babies with your ex-wife while courting their daughter, Richard would have canceled the seed funding! The firm would have gone bankrupt!"
"Good God," Richard Vance muttered in absolute disgust.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Luke tugged at my hand. "Mommy, can we go home now? I don't like this place."
"Yes, sweetheart. We're leaving right now," I said gently.
I turned around to walk toward the exit with David and the boys. But Mark lunged forward, grabbing my wrist.
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"Claire, wait!" he pleaded, his voice ragged, entirely devoid of the smug arrogance he had displayed thirty minutes ago. "They're my sons. You can't just walk away with my sons!"
David immediately grabbed Mark's collar, ripping his hand off my wrist and shoving him hard against the wall. "Don't you ever lay a hand on her again. You signed away your rights four years ago through your precious mother. Legally, biologically, and morally, you are nothing to them."
