The headlines broke the next morning.
| "Fashion Designer Maria Ailenie have A Daughter?" |
| "Renowned Behavioral Scientist Dr Liz Runbert Files for Custody of Designer Ailenie's Daughter?" |
Maria stared at the news in silence.
Sara barged in with fire in her eyes. "She actually did it. Liz. Not only did she expose you having a child but she's also trying to take your daughter."
Maria didn't flinch. Her voice came out cold.
"She calls Lila her daughter now?"
Sara dropped the court file on the desk.
"She claimed the IVF was a joint decision. That you used her eggs without consent. That you forged the documentation."
Maria's heart beat slowly. Deliberately.
"And the courts bought that?"
Sara nodded grirmly. "A judge approved an emergency hearing."
"For when" Maria asked.
"Tomorrow " Sara replied.
In court, the room was filled with murmurs, cameras clicking outside, and legal teams lined like chess pieces.
Liz stood confidently in a cream suit, eyes pretending to glisten with regret.
Maria, however, wore black. Sleek. Sharp. Untouchable.
Her daughter wasn't in court. She had made sure of that.
As the judge asked for statements, Liz's lawyer painted Maria as an unstable woman who had "unethically conceived a child from a failed relationship" and"cut off all parental access."
"Your Honor, my client has evidence that Ms Maria deliberately kept their child from her for malicious reasons." Liz lawyer stated.
Maria didn't blink not flinch.
"Ms Maria, how do you respond to this?" the Judge asked.
She stood, approached the stand, and said calmly:
"Your Honor, this isn't about a child. It's about control. And I can prove it."
That evening, after court was adjourned, Maria texted Liz.
| "Meet me tomorrow. 8 p.m.
Destination: Your hometown.
Location: Where it all began.
Come alone. No tricks." |
Liz responded only with:
| "Fine." |
The next night, Liz took her private jet back to her university in her hometown.
It was an old, abandoned auditorium – the same place where their department used to host parties during university. The same place it all started.
She walked through dust and faded posters, until she saw Maria standing under a dim spotlight.
"What is this?" Liz asked.
Maria turned around. In her hand was a file.
"You want to go to war over my child? Then I'll remind you where she came from."
She tossed the file to the ground.
Medical documents. Audio recordings. Emails.
But that wasn't the real twist.
Maria stared straight into Liz's eyes.
"You said the IVF was never completed. That I used your egg illegally."
She stepped closer. "But you lied. You manipulated the hospital. You wanted that child to exist."
Liz stiffened. "You can't prove that."
Maria's voice dropped low. "The head nurse from the IVF program signed an affidavit. You planned the procedure weeks before the party. You made sure I was on the donor list. You made sure your samples were used."
Liz's mask cracked.
"You wanted an emotional hold over me," Maria whispered. "You planted that child into me, like a ticking time bomb. But I didn't break, Liz. I raised her with love. Not hate."
A long pause.
Then, Liz's voice trembled.
"She's mine too."
"No," Maria said. "She was born of betrayal. But I gave her meaning. You don't get to rewrite history just because I survived."
Liz fell to the floor on her knees silently breaking down as Maria walks away, heels echoing in the same auditorium that once saw the beginning of their love... and the death of their innocence.