Chapter 5 - Photos On The Wall
The Mercer Island estate was a massive concrete and glass fortress overlooking Lake Washington, protected by biometric gates, private harbor patrols, and military-grade encryption. It was a place I had refused to live during our marriage, finding it too cold, too isolated, too much like a gilded cage.
Yet as Declan led me through the secure wing into his private quarters, I stopped dead in my tracks.
The master bedroom suite had been completely altered. On the sprawling mahogany walls, where multi-million-dollar modern artwork used to hang, were hundreds of framed photographs.
They were all of me.
There were photos of me laughing at a bakery in Seattle three months ago. Photos of me sitting on a bench in the park holding my growing baby bump under an oversized coat. Photos of me walking into the clinic for my prenatal checkups.
"You... you knew?" I whispered, turning to him in shock, my voice trembling. "You had private investigators following me the whole time?"
Declan handed James to a waiting, certified pediatric nurse whom Marcus had brought in, making sure the door remained wide open so I could see her at all times. Then he turned to me, his green eyes burning with unbearable pain.
"I didn't know you were pregnant, Clara," Declan confessed, his voice breaking. "I hired them the day after you left me. Not to stalk you. Not to harm you. I was losing my mind. I couldn't accept that you walked out. I told them to watch over you from a distance, to make sure you were safe, to tell me if you were sick or needed help."
He stepped closer, standing inches from me. "Two weeks ago, my lead investigator sent me a file saying you were seen entering a maternity ward. But yesterday, Julian’s agent intercepted the report and fed me a corrupted file—showing photos of you with a male doctor, claiming you were living with another man. They wanted me to go to your house in a rage, Clara! They wanted me to file for an immediate contested divorce decree based on infidelity before the new year!"
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"Because if you filed for infidelity, the court would strip my claims, and Julian would take the trust," I realized, the horrifying puzzle pieces finally locking together.
"Julian made one mistake," Declan said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, icy venom. "He thought I loved my fortune more than I loved you. He thought if I believed you cheated, I would destroy you. He didn't know that even when I believed you hated me... I was still completely in love with you."
