Chapter 9 - THE NIGHT THE TWINS ARRIVED
Brittany was twenty-nine weeks pregnant.
Her blood pressure had risen dangerously, and doctors were concerned about severe preeclampsia. They moved her into a monitored room while specialists evaluated whether the twins could safely remain where they were.
My mother was already at the hospital when I arrived.
She stood near the nurses’ station clutching her handbag.
“You came,” she said.
“Where is Brittany?”
“In the examination room.”
“Has her doctor been contacted?”
“Yes.”
She reached toward me.
I stepped back.
Her hand fell.
“I know you hate me,” she whispered.
“This is not the time.”
“I was trying to protect your sister.”
“And now I am here because she needs someone to make decisions calmly.”
The words wounded her.
I did not apologize.
Brittany had listed Jason as her medical contact. He could not be reached.
She had listed my parents second.
Dad was meeting with federal investigators.
Mom was too shaken to understand the questions.
When a doctor asked whether there were signed birth preferences, medication records, or information about the donor conception, no one had complete answers.
I called Brittany’s fertility clinic, obtained her permission, and arranged for the records to be sent.
The twins did not care who had betrayed whom.
They needed competent adults.
Three hours later, Brittany’s condition worsened.
The doctors recommended an emergency delivery.
She began crying when they explained it.
“It’s too early.”
“The neonatal team is ready,” I said.
“What if they don’t survive?”
“We are not going to assume the worst.”
She reached for my hand.
I almost pulled away.
Then I remembered that the person in front of me was not the woman smiling beside my husband at the Sunday dinner.
She was my frightened younger sister.
Both versions were real.
I let her hold my hand.
As nurses prepared her, she looked at me.
“Jason was seeing someone else.”
“I know.”
Her eyes widened.
“You know about Camille?”
“We found the messages.”
A tear slid into her hair.
“I thought I was different.”
“So did I.”
“I’m sorry.”
The words were small compared with what she had done.
But they were the first words she had spoken without defending herself.
“I believed him because I wanted to,” she continued. “Every time something didn’t make sense, I decided you were the reason.”
“You had many opportunities to stop.”
“I know.”
“I cannot forgive this because you are frightened.”
“I know.”
“But I will stay until the babies are safe.”
She squeezed my hand.
“That’s more than I deserve.”
The twins were delivered shortly before midnight.
A boy and a girl.
Tiny, fragile, and furious at the world.
The medical team moved them immediately to neonatal care. Their cries lasted only seconds before machines and careful hands surrounded them.
Brittany remained stable after the delivery.
When she woke, I showed her photographs the nurse had taken.
She touched the screen.
“They look so small.”
“They’re breathing.”
“Where is Jason?”
“No one has found him.”
Her expression closed.
The next morning, Evelyn arrived carrying two knitted blankets.
She stood outside Brittany’s room.
“I don’t know whether I should go in.”
Brittany heard her voice.
“Let her.”
Evelyn approached the bed slowly.
“I’m sorry Jason isn’t here,” she said.
Brittany looked toward the window.
“I’m not.”
Evelyn placed the blankets on the chair.
“These belonged to Jason when he was a baby. You do not have to use them. I only thought…”
“Thank you.”
They both began crying.
I left the room and found Noah waiting in the hallway.
He held two cups of coffee.
“How did you know where I was?”
“The entire executive team knows where you are. You have answered twelve emails from a hospital.”
“I needed something to do.”
He handed me a cup.
“The company is stable for the day.”
“What about the third client?”
“They renewed.”
Relief moved through me so suddenly that I had to sit down.
Noah sat beside me.
“We also found Jason.”
“Where?”
“An airport hotel under the name on the false passport.”
“Has he been arrested?”
“Investigators are obtaining a warrant. But he left the hotel before they arrived.”
“Where did he go?”
“We don’t know.”
My phone rang.
Jason’s name appeared.
I answered and activated the recorder Liam had installed.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“You know exactly where I am.”
“I don’t.”
“How are the twins?”
His voice contained concern, but beneath it I heard calculation.
“They were born last night.”
Silence.
“Are they alive?”
“Yes.”
He exhaled.
“I need to see them.”
“Then contact your attorney and the investigators looking for you.”
“You turned everyone against me.”
“You stole company data and attempted to flee.”
“I was protecting my work.”
“Your work belongs to Asteron.”
“Without me, Asteron is nothing.”
“It continued operating today.”
His breathing changed.
“Did Brittany tell you about Camille?”
“We found your messages.”
“She means nothing.”
“I am not the person you need to explain that to.”
“You think you and Brittany are allies now?”
“No.”
“She will turn on you again the moment she needs something.”
“Perhaps.”
“She has always resented you.”
“You used that resentment.”
“She came to me.”
“You were married.”
“So were you.”
The absurdity of the response left me speechless.
Then he lowered his voice.
“I have copies of every Asteron client file. I also have the encryption keys for the new security platform. If Northstar calls the loan or the board cooperates with prosecutors, I will release the data.”
“That would be another crime.”
“It would be the end of the company.”
I looked at Noah.
He was already writing instructions on his phone.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Withdraw the fraud allegations. Restore me as chief executive. Sign over Northstar’s preferred shares.”
“And then?”
“You walk away with ten million dollars.”
“You don’t have ten million dollars.”
“I have enough.”
“From the offshore accounts?”
He went silent.
I continued.
“The call is being recorded, Jason.”
His voice became cold.
“You should have accepted the life I gave you.”
“The life you gave me was built from lies.”
“You had everything.”
“No. I maintained everything.”
He ended the call.
Noah was already standing.
“We need to assume the encryption threat is real.”
“Can we replace the keys?”
“Yes, but it will require shutting down part of the platform.”
“How long?”
“Long enough for clients to notice.”
“Do it.”
He hesitated.
“If Jason releases the copied data first—”
“Then we tell clients exactly what happened, help them contain it, and take responsibility for every part that belongs to us.”
A nurse appeared in the doorway.
“Ms. Bennett, your sister is asking for you.”
I turned toward the room.
Before I entered, Noah caught my arm lightly.
“Jasmine.”
I looked back.
He held up his phone.
May you like
Security had detected a remote command entering Asteron’s network.
Jason had begun deleting files.
