My stomach tightened.

“Dr. Sterling signed them,” she added. “He is an old family friend of the Pierces.”

I realized then how deep their desperation ran, and how long they had been preparing for this.

“You fabricated medical documents,” I said, keeping my voice level.

“We did what was necessary to protect our family’s future,” she said.

She tapped the envelope with one manicured fingernail.

“If you do not sign the custody modification and authorize the release of the Riverview development funds, these will be delivered to the family court judge tomorrow morning,” she said.

“And then, of course, to the press.”

I looked from her cold, grey eyes down to the envelope.

“You would lie under oath to take a newborn baby from her mother?” I asked.

“You are a Hartwell,” Marjorie said, her face hardening into a mask of pure ambition. “You have billions. You do not need this child to survive.”

“But Nolan needs the credibility.”

A soft chime sounded from my laptop on the desk behind me.

A breaking news alert popped up on the screen.

I walked over and clicked on the link.