4: 4
The call had barely connected when Vanessa lunged and ripped the phone out of my hand, smashing it against the floor.
"Zoe, I kept this quiet for your sake, and you're actually going to call the police? You don't care about Graham's reputation at all?"
I glanced at Graham, standing off to the side, head lowered. His brow was furrowed, his face grim.
I understood. Squeezed between the boss's pressure on one side and Vanessa's accusations on the other, he had nowhere to stand.
The next second, the door to Chairman Lawrence's office flew open.
A crowd of reporters came surging in with cameras and mics leveled at Graham.
"So you're the rapist?"
"Word is you're a director at this company too. Have you got no shame at all, doing something like this?"
"The victim is this Ms. Jenner, isn't it? Ms. Jenner, tell us something."
Vanessa's face shifted at once into the picture of a fragile, wronged little flower.
"Everyone, please don't jump to conclusions. Graham, he... he didn't force me. It was all my choice."
"I just want him to take responsibility now..."
I shoved Vanessa aside and pushed to the front of the cameras.
"Don't let her one-sided story fool you. My fiancé, Graham Henson, had a vasectomy a year ago. There's no way he could have gotten Vanessa pregnant."
I pulled out the freshly reprinted vasectomy report.
But not one of the reporters moved.
"We already heard about that. You used AI to fake a vasectomy report to cover for your fiancé. You're just as bad as he is!"
"Fine. In that case, I'll call Graham's attending physician and get it straight."
"The doctor definitely won't lie!"
Before the call even went through, Vanessa was on her feet.
"Zoe, your aunt is the hospital director. Of course you can make them say whatever you want."
The reporters' eyes turned to me, thick with contempt.
Chairman Lawrence stepped up too, distancing himself. Facing the cameras, his voice earnest.
"I only found out about this today. I'm already processing Graham's termination. It takes effect today."
Vanessa lowered her voice at me, her tone laced with open provocation.
"Zoe, just let Graham own up to it. Otherwise this blows up, and it's bad for everyone."
I looked at her and let a calm, faint smile cross my face.
"Vanessa, the baby in your belly is Orson Lambert's, isn't it?"
Vanessa froze for a beat.
The next second, the office door was flung open.
A young woman came storming in, dragging a man past fifty behind her.
She jabbed a finger straight at Vanessa and let loose.
"So you're the one carrying my husband's baby?"
