The tension snapped.
“What’s wrong?” Patricia asked, rushing in.
The doctor turned to them all.
“Based on the development, the conception occurred about four weeks earlier than what was stated.”
Silence.
Mark stared at Lauren.
“A month?” he said slowly. “That’s not possible. We weren’t even—”
“That means,” the doctor said calmly, “she was already pregnant before your relationship timeline.”
The room exploded.
“Whose baby is it?” Mark shouted.
Lauren panicked. “It’s a mistake!”
“It’s not,” the doctor said.
Jessica snapped. “You used him!”
At that exact moment, Mark’s phone rang again.
It was his CFO.
“Mark, we have a serious problem. Contracts are being terminated. The IRS is here.”
Mark went pale.
“What?”
“They’ve received evidence—financial misconduct.”
His phone slipped from his hand.
Everything unraveled at once.
A nurse stepped in. “Your payment was declined. Account frozen.”
