When the Truth Was Born

'I better get back soon, or they'll walk all over me,' I thought.

I gave Marvin an icy look.

"Marvin, you've really outdone yourself! A dean and a dad, all at once. However, let's be real, you've got to be squirming inside, knowing that kid came from another man's wife!"

My words hit a nerve, and the room went tense.

Yet, Marvin kept his cool, his voice dripping with false compassion as he said, "Daniel, I get it, you're upset. However, hey, what can you do when Rebecca's heart's set on me?

"Relax, the kid's mine, but she's still your wife, right?"

That smug reply set me off, and I let loose a string of expletives.

"Marvin, you're so shameless! How low can you go, messing around with your own sister-in-law? And your poor wife, looking down from heaven. How would you square that with her?"

Marvin's brow creased ever so slightly, but his eyes were gleaming.

"Come on, Daniel, no need to get hot. If you'd been up to the task, maybe Rebecca would be carrying your baby. However, no, I had to step in and give the Harris family a future. Imagine Dad and Mom without a grandkid. That's just sad."

Was it really my fault that Rebecca could not get pregnant?

She never wanted to; that much was clear to me.

Five years of marriage, and I had lost count of how many times I had brought up having kids. However, she always brushed it off, saying we were too young, not ready. I backed off to respect her wishes.

Then, I was the bad guy.

Marvin was not done yet.

"The baby's here, but it's going to be rough for you. Rebecca was scared that a C-section would dumb down the baby, so she went all in for a natural birth. She ended up with a pretty bad tear."

I balled my fists, my anger boiling over into a bitter chuckle, and then I grabbed my phone and punched in a number.

"Get me the lawyer on the line. I want a thorough review of every asset owned by the Harris Group. They've let someone without even a college diploma run the show. Who knows what else is going on here that I'm clueless about?

"And draft me a divorce settlement. Rebecca's affair with Marvin is going to cost her. She'll leave with nothing, and I'll make sure the whole world knows about her betrayal."

Rebecca thought she had climbed to the top as CEO on her own smarts and grit, but it had all been my doing behind the scenes.

Without my help, how could she have risen from her humble clinic to helm such an empire?

She had betrayed me, and I would make sure she felt the sting of losing everything.

A flicker of doubt crossed Marvin's smug face when he heard my call.

"Daniel, is this necessary? You know how hard Rebecca worked for her success. You're going to ruin her completely!"

I nodded, resolute. "That's right. I'm going to ruin her and you. Neither of you will have an easy time after this."

Marvin's confidence shattered, his earlier bravado gone.

"Daniel, let's talk this through. There's no need for extremes. You've lived well thanks to Rebecca. If you take her down, you're just hurting yourself too."

He stepped closer, the child in his arms.

"Look at how cute this baby is; he's got Rebecca's smile. Can you really stand to see him suffer?"

I tried to step back, to put distance between us.

However, he yanked my arm, let out a shout, and then toppled backward, the child tumbling from his grasp.

The baby's wails captured everyone's attention.

"My son..."

Marvin scrambled across the floor, his face etched with worry, and scooped his child back into his arms. His voice broke as he turned to me, his words laced with accusation.

"Daniel, I know you're jealous of me, but how could you do this to my son? He's just a baby. If he's hurt, how are Rebecca and I supposed to go on?"

The nurses and doctors, already loyal to Marvin, witnessed the scene and rounded on me with harsh words.

"What's wrong with you? Have you lost all sense of decency? Not only do you slander our dean, but now you've gone and deliberately dropped his son on the floor."

"Call security, quickly! We've got a madman on the loose, attacking even a newborn."

Security arrived in a rush.

I tried to explain, to tell them I had not laid a finger on Marvin.

However, they would not listen. In a flash, I felt the sting of electric batons and the weight of iron rods as they struck me, sending me into darkness as I hit the floor with a heavy thud.

At that moment, a familiar voice echoed down the hallway.

"Stop! All of you."