Chapter 6 - Victor Had Lied About The Boy
Victor agreed to talk only after hospital administration told him his access to the maternity floor had been revoked.
He wanted his attorney.
Fine.
This was not a criminal interrogation.
It was a daughter-in-law asking why her father-in-law had built a pregnancy around a boy who never existed.
We met in a public family lounge with security nearby.
My daughter stayed with Claire.
My father stayed with her too.
I wanted him protecting the baby.
Not me.
Victor sat across from Julian and me.
For once father and son looked less like allies than men trying to determine which one should be sacrificed first.
I put the question on the table.
“Why did you tell Julian the test said male?”
Victor's expression barely moved.
“Because that's what I believed.”
Marcus, standing near the doorway, said nothing.
I asked:
“Did you see my result?”
“Yes.”
“Did it say female?”
Victor looked at me.
“Yes.”
Julian turned slowly toward him.
“What?”
Victor kept his eyes on me.
“I believed the result was wrong.”
I almost laughed.
“Based on what?”
“Your earlier ultrasound.”
“My ultrasound didn't show sex.”
“I thought the technician had indicated—”
“No.”
I cut him off.
“You read FEMALE and told Julian MALE.”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
Julian stood.
“You lied to me.”
Victor looked at his son.
“You wanted a son.”
The sentence did not absolve Julian.
It exposed him.
Julian sat again.
Victor continued:
“You were already anxious.”
“So you lied?”
“I gave you certainty.”
Marcus looked at the floor.
Even he seemed disgusted.
I asked:
“Why?”
Victor took time.
Then:
“Because when you thought the baby might be a girl, you started talking about leaving.”
I looked at Julian.
He went still.
“When?”
No answer.
“Julian.”
“Second trimester.”
My chest tightened.
“You told your father you might leave me if we had a girl.”
Julian stared at the table.
“I was angry.”
“At a fetus?”
Nothing.
Victor spoke:
“I thought if he believed he was having a son, he would settle down.”
I almost laughed again.
“You manipulated him into staying married to me.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“I kept my family together.”
“There it is.”
Then another question.
“Why the second newborn record?”
Victor's fingers tightened.
“I wanted privacy.”
“No.”
He looked at Marcus.
Marcus did not help him.
I continued:
“You used the same wording from Maya's case.”
“That wording came from hospital staff eleven years ago.”
Marcus finally spoke.
“No. It came from your attorney.”
Victor's face changed.
Small.
Enough.
Julian looked at him.
“What attorney?”
Victor said nothing.
Marcus continued:
“Your family asked to have Maya’s child listed temporarily under a restricted profile because you believed she would give the baby her surname.”
I stared.
The motive was even smaller than I expected.
“Maya wanted Collins.”
“Yes,” Victor said.
“You wanted Hayes.”
“Yes.”
“So you tried to use hospital process to win a last-name argument.”
Victor bristled.
“It was not merely a name.”
I looked at Julian.
“Of course it was.”
Victor continued:
“It was whether Julian was going to be treated as the father.”
Marcus shook his head.
“His paternity was not disputed.”
Victor ignored him.
I saw it now.
A surname had become control.
A girl had become legacy.
A hospital profile had become a way to make the world reflect Victor's version.
“What did you want with my baby's second profile?”
He stared.
“Same thing.”
I almost smiled.
“My daughter already has Julian’s last name.”
“For now.”
My pulse changed.
“What does that mean?”
Victor looked at Julian.
Wrong move.
I followed his eyes.
Julian looked sick.
“Tell me.”
Julian whispered:
“Dad thought you might leave after the birth.”
Victor cut in:
“She has threatened it.”
I stared.
I had.
Once.
Six weeks ago.
After Julian punched a hole in the pantry door because I said I didn't want Victor in the delivery room.
I had told Julian:
If you ever scare me like that after she's born, I will take the baby and leave.
Victor had heard.
He had taken my boundary as a threat against the Hayes family.
“What was the second record for?”
Victor finally said:
“To keep options open.”
The phrase chilled me.
“What options?”
Silence.
I stood.
Victor's eyes moved toward the door.
I understood.
Not kidnapping.
Not some movie switch.
Something more realistic and more revealing.
He had wanted administrative leverage ready before I gave birth.
A second profile.
Different privacy restrictions.
Different family access.
Enough confusion that if the marriage exploded, his side would not begin from zero.
Marcus said:
“You tried to create uncertainty before there was a conflict.”
Victor looked at him.
“I prepared.”
My hands shook.
Not because I didn't understand.
Because I did.
May you like
Victor had spent his life calling control preparation.
And Julian had spent his life letting him.
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