Bring her to me immediately

Back at Marshall Corp.

The secretary, Gina, had put off a particular conversation with Hardin for weeks but knew she couldn't delay it any longer. Her stomach was in knots just thinking about breaking the news to him. Hardin was an intimidating boss, always stern and unrelenting in his demands. Gina feared how he would react to what she had to say. 

She heard the elevator ding, signaling Hardin's arrival on their floor. His long strides could be heard down the hall as he approached his office. Gina slowly got up from her desk and walked over to meet him. 

"Good evening, Mr. Greene. Do you have a minute? There's something I need to discuss with you," Gina said, trying to keep her voice even. 

Hardin glanced at her impatiently as he unlocked his office door. "Make it quick, Gina. I have a lot of work to get through tonight."

She hesitantly followed him into his spacious office. Hardin tossed his briefcase onto the leather couch and turned to face her, crossing his arms expectantly. 

"Well? Out with it then," he said curtly.

Gina fidgeted with her hands, not wanting to meet his stern gaze. "A few weeks ago, when Miss Melanie was here in the office, she had some important news to share with you."

Hardin scowled. "Get to the point, Gina."

Taking a steady breath, Gina continued. "The thing is, sir... I think Miss Melanie was going to tell you that day, sir. That she was carrying your child."

For a long moment, Hardin stared at her in stunned silence as he processed this bombshell.

"And you're just telling me this now?" He said it in a low, dangerous voice.

Monica shook slightly under his scathing glare. "I know I should have said something sooner. But it wasn't my place, and you seemed to be moving on from that part of your life. I felt it was a private matter you'd work out between yourselves."

"Do you have any proof of this?" Hardin snapped.

Gina hesitated, then reached into her trouser pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. She held it out to him with a shaking hand.

"I found this in the bin. It's a printout of the early test results that Miss Melanie brought. Ma’am Natalia discarded it after Miss Melanie left in such a state."

Hardin snatched the paper from her and scanned the contents, his jaw tightening furiously. The dates lined up with Melanie's supposed timeline. But how had he not known about this?

He crushed the paper in his fist. "Get out."

Gina hurried to the door, pausing with her hand on the knob. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, sir. But I felt you had a right to know, for the sake of the baby."

With that, she slipped quickly from the office, closing the door on Hardin's seething expression. Melanie had been carrying his child all this time and said nothing. No wonder she had been so desperate to speak with him that day.

Hardin had always regarded his marriage to Melanie as a mere business arrangement.

He only wanted to prove to his parents that he was good enough, so acquiring their rival company was the best shot at gaining their approval.

Melanie had always been a loving wife to him, and before he proposed marriage to her, he knew she had always been in love with him. But he was in love with her sister, Natalia, and always thought she was below his standard. 

He wanted her out of his life so quickly but somehow felt torn, realizing she had actually left. It had only been a few weeks since they divorced, and Natalia had moved into the mansion with him. 

But now discovering he had a child with Melanie just stirred something in him. He didn’t understand why he was so aggressive about being in the dark about the baby. He didn’t know, maybe because it was the first time he was going to be a father. Even though it came from a woman he didn’t have feelings for,. 

His long legs carried him quickly to the elevator. He jammed the down button repeatedly, impatient for it to arrive. When the doors finally slid open, he growled at the only person inside to get off and slammed his fist onto the button for the ground floor. 

The elevator dinged its arrival in the lobby. Hardin burst through the doors and walked as quickly as he could across the smooth tile floor towards the double doors leading outside. 

Ten tense minutes later, he had pulled up in front of the mansion. 

"Natalia!" he bellowed the moment he entered the house.

She emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Hardin? What's going on? You scared me half to death by calling out my name like that! I was actually supervising the maids to make delicious pies for you."

"Don't play innocent with me, Natalia. I know you've been keeping secrets." Hardin advanced on her, backing her against the wall. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

Natalia remained indifferent. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're accusing me of, darling."

Hardin laughed harshly. "Don't bother denying it. My secretary told me you threw a test result in the bin. Care to explain what results you were so quick to dispose of?" 

Reaching into his pocket, Hardin drew out the crumpled paper Gina had given him, waving it in Natalia's stunned face. 

"Where did you get that?" she snapped, clearly caught off guard.

"Doesn't matter. The question is, Did you or did you not know about Melanie’s pregnancy?" 

“That doesn't prove anything," she bluffed. "I've never seen that before in my life."

"Cut the crap, Natalia!" Hardin exploded. "Gina told me you were the one who threw this away. So I'm going to ask you one more time: What do you know about Melanie’s pregnancy?"

She hesitated, her eyes darting around as she tried to think of another lie. Seeing the anger and impatience on Hardin's face, she finally gave in. "Fine, so what if Melanie was carrying your bastard? It doesn’t matter because she's out of the picture now either way. So it’s nothing you need to be concerned with."

Hardin started having an uneasy feeling in his stomach. "What do you mean 'out of the picture'? What have you done, Natalia?" 

She sighed dramatically. "Nothing, relax! But I may have heard that she got into a bad car accident or something. It probably does you a favor if she's dead now."

Hardin looked at her in disbelief and horror. "You're insane if you think I'd be happy about a woman dying while carrying my child. Where did this accident take place? Do you know if Melanie is alive?"

Natalia shrugged carelessly. "I don't know any details, Hardin. It was just office gossip. And who cares about her anyway? She was meaningless to you." 

Grabbing her arms, Hardin stared Natalia down intensely. "She may not have meant anything to me before, but not anymore. Not if she was pregnant with my child." He released her and whipped his phone from his pocket.

He dialed the number of his private security forces.

"Williams. Drop everything and listen closely. I need you and Tyler circulating the city, getting eyes and ears out everywhere. You find Melanie Marshall; you bring her to me immediately. Do you understand me?"