Chapter 13 - The Father Ashley Chose for the Headlines.
Ashley's statement spread faster than the edited foyer video.
Within thirty minutes, reporters were parked outside three Mitchell properties, Grant headquarters, and the private clinic named on the forged report.
By the end of the hour, Nathan's name was trending beside the word paternity.
Lauren sat at the safe house dining table and watched professionals turn a lie into a debate.
One television host asked whether Nathan had led "a double life."
Another wondered whether the confrontation between Lauren and Ashley had been "a love triangle exploding in real time."
No one on screen knew any of them.
That did not slow anyone down.
Nathan switched off the television.
"We're releasing the exclusion report."
David Sloan shook his head.
"Not until the lab authenticates it directly."
"They already know it's real."
"We know because it came from Caleb's archive."
David pointed toward the forensic computer.
"The public needs a source they cannot dismiss as your employee's stolen file."
Lauren looked at Owen.
"How long?"
"The lab's legal department is reviewing the chain of custody now."
Nathan began pacing.
"Ashley is accusing me of fathering her child."
Lauren watched him.
"Then don't give her the frantic reaction she wants."
He stopped.
"You aren't angry?"
Lauren laughed softly.
"I'm furious."
"At me?"
"At the situation."
She looked at him steadily.
"If I thought there was a chance you were lying, we would be having a different conversation."
Nathan's shoulders lowered slightly.
"There isn't."
"I know."
Those two words mattered more than anything being said online.
Lauren turned her phone facedown.
"So we prove it."
At two in the afternoon, the private laboratory named in Caleb's archive issued a written verification through counsel.
A prenatal sample had been submitted three weeks earlier alongside a reference sample labeled as Nathan Mitchell.
The result excluded that reference sample as the biological father.
The laboratory confirmed that it had never generated the 99.7 percent report Ashley displayed.
David read the statement twice.
"This is enough for a response."
Nathan looked at Lauren.
"Together?"
She nodded.
Their statement was only four paragraphs.
It did not mention Charleston.
It did not insult Ashley.
It did not speculate about who fathered her child.
It said the paternity allegation was false.
It said an independent laboratory had confirmed Nathan was excluded.
It said evidence had been preserved regarding altered security footage and fabricated records.
And it asked the public to respect the privacy of two unborn children who had nothing to do with the conduct of adults around them.
Lauren insisted on that final line.
Ashley had chosen conflict.
Her baby had not.
Nathan posted the statement through his attorney rather than his personal account.
For several minutes, there was silence.
Then everything changed again.
The clinic where Ashley received prenatal care announced that it had never performed a paternity test involving Nathan.
The lab announced the same.
A legal analyst on television called Ashley's document "highly questionable."
The tone online shifted.
People who had attacked Lauren began deleting comments.
Others demanded to know who had edited the foyer video.
For the first time, Ashley's story was losing oxygen.
Then she went live.
Owen saw the notification first.
"She's broadcasting from the Grant house."
Lauren reluctantly looked.
Ashley sat in a sunlit room wearing a pale pink dress and no visible jewelry.
Her voice trembled perfectly.
"I never wanted any of this public."
Lauren nearly threw the phone.
Nathan touched her shoulder.
"Don't."
Ashley continued.
"I have loved Nathan for most of my adult life."
She looked down.
"What happened between us was complicated."
Nathan stared at the screen with open disbelief.
"Nothing happened."
Ashley spoke about Charleston without naming the year.
She described a kiss.
She described promises that had never existed.
Then she implied that contact had continued secretly over the years.
She never offered a date.
She never described a meeting.
She used fog instead of facts.
It was effective.
Then she addressed the laboratory contradiction.
"I was given documents by people I trusted."
Lauren laughed once.
"Now she's the victim of her own forged report."
Owen was typing notes.
Ashley dabbed one eye.
"If I was misled, I will cooperate fully to understand how."
Nathan shook his head.
"Richard wrote that sentence."
David agreed.
The live broadcast ended after six minutes.
It was enough to muddy the truth again.
Lauren walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of water.
Her phone rang from an unknown number.
She almost ignored it.
Something made her answer.
"Hello?"
A man's voice spoke carefully.
"Is this Lauren Mitchell?"
"Yes."
"My name is Cameron Vale."
Lauren did not recognize it.
"How did you get this number?"
"From someone who works at Grant Development."
Lauren looked toward the dining room.
Nathan saw her expression and approached.
The caller continued.
"I think we need to talk about Ashley's baby."
Lauren put the phone on speaker.
"Why?"
The man inhaled.
"Because I'm the father."
Nathan and Lauren looked at each other.
Cameron continued before either could respond.
"And Ashley knows it."
David moved closer.
"Mr. Vale, I'm counsel for Nathan Mitchell."
"Good."
Cameron's relief sounded genuine.
"Then maybe you'll believe me when I say I've been trying to stay out of this family war for months."
"Do you have proof?" David asked.
"Yes."
"What kind?"
"Messages."
Cameron paused.
"Photographs."
Another pause.
"And a paternity test."
Lauren closed her eyes.
David spoke.
"A legitimate one?"
"Court-admissible chain of custody."
Nathan's expression changed.
"When was it done?"
"Five weeks ago."
"Result?"
Cameron answered quietly.
"99.99 percent."
Lauren sat down.
"Why didn't you come forward when Ashley named Nathan?"
Cameron was silent for several seconds.
"Because Richard Grant told me if I spoke publicly, he would destroy my company."
Nathan looked toward Caleb's files.
"What company?"
"A small architectural firm."
Cameron laughed bitterly.
"Half our contracts come through Grant projects."
Lauren understood immediately.
The method was always the same.
Debt.
Contracts.
Access.
Then obedience.
"Why call now?"
Cameron's voice hardened.
"Because I watched Ashley say Nathan was the father on television."
He paused.
"And because that child is mine too."
Lauren softened despite herself.
"What do you want?"
"The truth on record."
David arranged a meeting at his office.
Before ending the call, Cameron added one final thing.
"There's a message you need to see."
"From Ashley?" Lauren asked.
"Yes."
"What does it say?"
Cameron's voice dropped.
"She told me not to worry about paternity."
"Why?"
"Because she said she only needed Nathan to look like the father until Lauren's baby was born."
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