MY BILLIONAIRE HUSBAND OFFERED ME $20 MILLION TO LEAVE BECAUSE HIS MISTRESS WAS PREGNANT. I DEMANDED $40 MILLION INSTEAD—BECAUSE THE MEDICAL REPORT IN MY HANDBAG PROVED SOMETHING NEITHER OF THEM KNEW.

I couldn't stop staring at the photograph.

Daniel stood outside Harrison Fertility Center, holding a sealed medical envelope. Vanessa was beside him, her pregnant belly barely visible beneath her coat.

But the reflection in the glass entrance showed someone else.

Me.

Or someone who looked exactly like me.

"Richard, enlarge the photograph.""

He pulled it onto his computer screen and zoomed in.

The woman's face became clearer.

Same dark hair. Same oval face. Same camel-colored coat I owned. Even the small silver earrings looked familiar.

But I had never visited that clinic with Daniel.

I was certain.

"That's not me," I whispered.

Richard studied the image.

"Are you absolutely sure?""

"I've never met Daniel at that clinic. I've never even been there before my husband's appointment.""

"Could someone have been wearing your clothes?""

"Why would anyone do that?""

Richard didn't answer.

My phone buzzed again.

Another message from the unknown number.

You should remember March 14. That's when everything started.

I checked the calendar on my phone.

March 14.

My stomach tightened.

It was the day I had attended a charity luncheon with Daniel while Ethan was traveling to London.

Daniel had insisted on driving me home because my car was being serviced.

I remembered that afternoon clearly.

We had stopped at a coffee shop. He had taken a phone call outside. When he returned, he seemed distracted.

But something else happened.

He had asked me for my identification.

At the time, he said he needed it to confirm my identity for a private family investment document.

I had handed it over without thinking.

"Richard, can I ask you something?""

"Of course.""

"Could Daniel have used my identification to access medical records?""

Richard's expression hardened.

"Possibly. But we need to establish what information was submitted and whether your identity was actually used.""

I opened my handbag and searched through my old photographs.

There it was.

A picture from March 14.

Daniel and me standing outside the coffee shop.

I enlarged the image.

Daniel was holding my driver's license between two fingers.

I remembered laughing because he had joked that my photograph looked like a mugshot.

But why had he photographed it?

I showed Richard.

He studied the image.

"Do you remember giving him permission to photograph your identification?""

"No.""

"Then don't delete anything. We need to preserve the original image and its metadata.""

Before I could answer, Richard's office phone rang.

He listened for several seconds.

Then his face changed.

"Yes. I understand.""

He hung up.

"That was Harrison Fertility Center. Dr. Harrison has reviewed the original records.""

"What did he find?""

"An electronic authorization was submitted using your personal information. The request was for a preliminary genetic screening connected to Ethan's medical history.""

My mouth went dry.

"What did the screening show?""

Richard looked directly at me.

"It wasn't a standard fertility test. It was a request to compare biological samples from three individuals.""

"Which individuals?""

"Ethan, Daniel, and an unidentified male donor.""

I felt the blood drain from my face.

"Why would they do that?""

"Dr. Harrison doesn't know. But he found something else.""

Richard turned his computer toward me.

A scanned document appeared.

It was a medical authorization dated March 14.

The signature at the bottom looked like mine.

Except I had never signed it.

"Someone forged my signature.""

"That's what it appears to be.""

I sat down.

The room suddenly felt too small.

Daniel hadn't simply accessed Ethan's medical records.

He had used my identity to authorize a test involving my husband and himself.

And Vanessa had been involved.

My phone rang.

This time, the caller ID displayed Ethan's name.

I answered.

"Olivia.""

His voice was unusually quiet.

"Where are you?""

"With Richard.""

"Don't leave his office.""

"What happened?""

"I want you to listen carefully. Daniel is gone.""

"What do you mean, gone?""

"He left the penthouse before the police arrived. His apartment is empty. His office has been cleared.""

"Have you spoken to Vanessa?""

A long pause followed.

"She's here.""

I heard a woman sobbing.

Then Ethan said something that made my stomach tighten.

"Olivia, Vanessa admitted she knew about the medical report before I ever took the test.""

I gripped the phone.

"How?""

"She said Daniel showed it to her.""

"Before your appointment?""

"Yes.""

I looked at Richard.

He was already writing something down.

"Ethan, did she tell you why?""

"She said Daniel promised her something.""

"What?""

Another silence.

Then Ethan spoke.

"Control of the Blackwood family trust.""

I closed my eyes.

So the pregnancy wasn't merely an affair.

It was potentially part of a plan to manipulate the succession of an empire.

But I still didn't understand why Daniel had used my identity.

"Ethan, there's something else. I received a photograph of Daniel and Vanessa outside the clinic. It shows someone who looks like me in the reflection.""

"That's impossible.""

"I know.""

"Olivia, listen. I need you to come home.""

I almost laughed.

"Your mistress is living in my home. Your brother is apparently stealing your identity. And you want me to come home?""

"I need your help.""

"For what?""

His answer came in a whisper.

"Because Daniel has just transferred control of my personal investment accounts to a company registered in your name.""

The line went silent.

I stared at the phone.

Then Richard slowly turned his computer toward me again.