Chapter 7 - THE LEAK
By morning, the secret belonged to Manhattan.
The headline appeared at 6:17 a.m.
JULIAN STERLING’S EX-WIFE GIVES BIRTH HOURS BEFORE HIS LAVISH WEDDING.
At first, no reputable publication claimed Alexander was Julian’s son.
They did not need to.
Social media did the mathematics within minutes.
Eight months.
A full-term birth.
A bitter divorce.
A billionaire groom.
A former wife publicly branded infertile.
By eight o’clock, photographers were gathered outside Mount Sinai.
By nine, three television vans had arrived.
By ten, Sterling Global’s communications department was in crisis mode.
Chloe walked into the executive conference room wearing cream trousers, dark glasses, and the diamond wedding band Julian had placed on her finger less than twenty-four hours earlier.
She looked composed.
Everyone else looked terrified.
“Who leaked the hospital information?”
No one answered.
Chloe dropped a tablet onto the table.
“Find out.”
Her deputy cleared his throat.
“The story came from a gossip site first.”
“Source?”
“Anonymous.”
“Payment?”
“We’re checking.”
Chloe turned to the head of media relations.
“Prepare a statement.”
“What position are we taking?”
Chloe did not hesitate.
“Mr. Sterling wishes his former spouse and her child well and requests privacy for all parties.”
The room stayed silent.
Someone finally asked the obvious question.
“Do we refer to the child as his?”
“No.”
The door opened.
Julian entered.
Everyone stood.
Chloe turned.
“You should have called.”
Julian ignored her.
He looked toward the head of media relations.
“No statement.”
Chloe’s eyes hardened.
“Julian.”
“No statement until Elena approves it.”
Several people looked down immediately.
Chloe smiled tightly.
“She isn’t part of the company.”
“She is the mother of my son.”
The room became absolutely silent.
Julian had not intended to announce it there.
But once the words left him, he did not retract them.
Chloe’s face lost color.
Someone’s pen fell onto the table.
Julian looked around.
“Anything regarding Alexander goes through my personal counsel.”
Chloe stared at him.
“Alexander?”
“My son.”
“You named him?”
“Elena did.”
Julian walked toward the door.
Chloe followed.
“Conference room.”
“No.”
“Now.”
He stopped.
Everyone pretended not to listen.
Julian opened another door.
Chloe entered.
He closed it.
“You humiliated me.”
Julian looked at her.
“I stated a fact.”
“Less than one day after our wedding.”
“His birth did not wait for our schedule.”
“Stop defending her.”
“I’m defending my child.”
Chloe laughed sharply.
“A child you didn’t know existed yesterday.”
“That does not make him less mine today.”
Her expression changed.
There was genuine anger now.
Not polished irritation.
Not wounded dignity.
Anger.
“Do you understand what this does?”
“To what?”
“To everything.”
“What exactly is everything?”
“My position.”
Julian stared at her.
Chloe realized her mistake.
“Our position.”
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“You said your position.”
She looked away.
Julian stepped closer.
“Why does Alexander threaten your position?”
“He doesn’t.”
“You look terrified.”
“I am your wife.”
“You became my wife yesterday.”
“And she becomes what?”
“The mother of my son.”
Chloe shook her head.
“You are going to let Elena use this child to walk back into your life.”
Julian’s eyes hardened.
“Elena refused to let me upstairs.”
That surprised her.
“She did?”
“She told me to speak through her lawyer.”
For the first time, Chloe looked uncertain.
That was not the behavior she had predicted.
Julian noticed.
“You expected something else.”
“I expected her to exploit this.”
“She didn’t.”
“Yet.”
Julian studied his wife.
Then his phone buzzed.
His chief information officer.
ARCHIVED EMAILS RECOVERED.
Julian looked at Chloe.
“I have a meeting.”
May you like
“With whom?”
“Someone who remembers things better than you do.”
