The request did not demand that nobody mention the birth.
It asked the parties to avoid identifying her or discussing her medical information without authorization.
Vivien supported it in writing.
Charles’s office responded more slowly.
By the time the request was acknowledged, the online attention had faded.
Melissa still felt uneasy whenever her phone vibrated.
Her therapist explained that being watched and questioned during recovery could intensify stress.
Melissa began leaving her phone in another room during meals.
She needed time with her children that was not interrupted by strangers asking about a baby who lived elsewhere.
When Lily noticed the quiet, she asked whether the phone was broken.
Melissa smiled and said she was choosing to put it away.
They finished dinner without a single notification.
Chapter 30: The Family Office
Rachel met with a forensic document specialist and an employment attorney before sending another formal request to the Whitmores.
The request focused on the disputed initials, payment records, and communications concerning Melissa’s employment.
Charles’s legal team responded that all parties had acted voluntarily and that the contract was confidential.
Rachel replied that confidentiality did not remove the need to address possible irregularities.
She asked whether the family office would agree to preserve relevant records.
The response came two days later and contained a preservation commitment.
Vivien separately supplied copies of the correspondence she had received before the pregnancy.
Those documents showed that Charles had assured her Melissa already had independent legal representation.
Melissa had never signed an engagement agreement with such an attorney.
The mismatch did not by itself prove wrongdoing, but it raised questions that could no longer be dismissed as a marital disagreement.
Grant read only the portions Melissa chose to share.
He had no desire to know private medical details that were not his.
What bothered him was the way Charles had blurred professional authority and personal need.
Andrea eventually provided a statement through her own lawyer.
She confirmed that Charles’s office had requested attendance details and had discussed future staffing while Melissa was undergoing treatment.
The statement did not speculate about motives.
It described dates, meetings, and the people present.
Rachel thanked Andrea for resisting the temptation to exaggerate.
One accurate detail mattered more than ten dramatic guesses.
At work, employees heard rumors that Whitmore Logistics might be reorganized.
Some assumed Melissa was seeking money from a grieving couple.
Others had seen enough of Charles’s management style to question that account.
Melissa avoided public arguments because every conversation felt like another opportunity for her story to be taken away.
