My Late Business Partner's Stranger Protégé Demand My Last $650,000 to Save His Campaign — Then a DNA Test Brought His Empire Down
Marcus stood frozen, a statue carved from disbelief, his mouth slightly agape. Chloe’s face, usually so composed, tightened into a mask of pure fury. The ultrasound image and DNA report lay starkly against the mahogany table.
Arthur Bennett, the ethics attorney I’d met by chance, turned his gaze to me.
“Ms. Gable,” he said, his voice calm amidst the rising tension. “It seems our accidental meeting was rather timely.”
I remembered our conversation at the clinic two weeks ago. I was picking up a new prescription, and Arthur was waiting for a client, flipping through a news magazine. We started talking about the Kincaid campaign, and I mentioned some of the campaign’s odd financial demands, like the expectation for me to cover “household management fees” that felt exorbitant.
Arthur had leaned closer, intrigued. He’d mentioned a young woman, an intern, who had approached his non-profit legal aid office with similar concerns about campaign funds being improperly allocated.
“Sienna came to us after Marcus tried to silence her,” Arthur continued, gesturing to the young woman beside him. “She suspected campaign money was being used to cover up a personal indiscretion, and she refused to let it go.”
Sienna, her hand resting protectively over her slightly rounded stomach, spoke in a quiet but firm voice. “Marcus and Chloe told me my career would be over. They said I’d never work in politics again if I didn’t get rid of the baby.”
A tremor ran through her words, but her eyes held a steady resolve. She was a young woman, perhaps in her mid-twenties, facing down formidable power.
“They even suggested options for an abortion,” Sienna added, her voice dropping. “They said it was a ‘campaign imperative’ to keep Marcus’s ‘family values’ image clean.”
Chloe Kincaid scoffed, a sharp, dismissive sound. “This is absurd. We offered Sienna support because she was distressed. There was no coercion.” Her eyes darted to Marcus, who was still trying to find his voice.
“Support?” Sienna’s voice rose slightly. “You threatened me. You said if I didn’t comply, I’d be blacklisted from every political office in the state.”
Arthur stepped forward, retrieving a small stack of papers from his briefcase. He didn’t raise his voice, but his presence commanded attention.
“Actually, Chloe,” Arthur said, his tone dry. “My office started an independent investigation into Sienna’s claims. We privately funded the DNA test when her request for campaign transparency was ignored.”
He then slid a few bank routing slips across the table, right next to the ultrasound. The paper was crisp, official-looking.
“And these,” Arthur announced, “are records of payments made directly from the Kincaid for Senate campaign account, not to Sienna herself, but to her landlord, covering three months of rent. Totaling close to five thousand dollars.”
He paused, letting the numbers hang in the air.
“Hush money,” Arthur stated clearly, “funneled through a third party. A clear attempt to cover up the affair using campaign donations. And the DNA test,” he tapped the document, “confirms the reason for the hush money.”
Chloe’s carefully constructed composure finally cracked. Her jaw clenched, and a vein pulsed visibly in her temple. Marcus just stared at the documents, then at Sienna, then back at the documents. The room was thick with the silent crash of his public image.
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