Chapter 8: Desperation**
"Get out?" Vanessa laughed, a harsh, jagged sound that filled the study. "You think you can just throw me out? I am your wife, David! Half of everything you own is mine, and I have a child with you!"
"You have nothing," David replied with chilling composure. "Eleanor protected this family even from beyond the grave. The prenuptial agreement you signed is ironclad under these fraud clauses. You leave tonight, or I hand these financial records over to the District Attorney."
Vanessa’s facade cracked completely. The polished, elegant socialite vanished, replaced by a desperate, cornered predator. Her eyes darted from David to Clara, her hands clenching into fists.
"You think you’ve won?" she hissed, backing toward the doorway. "You think you can just erase me?"
Without warning, Vanessa turned and bolted down the hall toward the main staircase.
"David!" Mrs. Gable’s voice shrieked from the upper landing. "The nursery!"
David’s heart stopped. "Leo!"
David and Clara rushed out of the study, taking the stairs two at a time. The heavy oak doors of the nursery were wide open. Inside, Vanessa was lifting two-week-old Leo from his crib, wrapping him roughly in a travel blanket. The infant began to wail, startled by the sudden, violent movement.
"Put him down, Vanessa!" David shouted, reaching the nursery threshold.
Vanessa backed toward the open balcony doors, where a cold night wind whipped the sheer white curtains into the room. The balcony overlooked the three-story drop to the stone courtyard below.
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"If I leave, he leaves with me!" Vanessa screamed, her eyes wild. "He’s my meal ticket, David! You will pay me every single month, or you will never see your son again!"
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