Chapter 21

It was a long and painful night. When it was all over, Avery was so tired that she passed out. The next morning, Elliot showed up at Sterling Group around ten in the morning as usual. Once he entered his office, Ben walked in. "I went to Twilight to see you last night, but I didn't catch you. Did you and Avery Tate leave early?" Elliot raised his brows and said, "That's what you're here to talk about?" Ben smiled bitterly and placed the file in his hand on Elliot's desk. "This is the financial reports for Tate Industries from the past few years. I took some time to look into it. They're in pretty deep trouble." Ben paused, then added, "Their finance director embezzled at least three hundred million dollars. I heard that he was Jack Tate's brother-in-law." Elliot's eyes twitched slightly. If what Ben said was true, then developing the new product was not the only reason Tate Industries was facing bankruptcy. "This is the lesson. All of us should be careful about picking the correct wife," Ben sighed. "If Jack Tate hadn't had an affair with Wanda Tate back then, the Tates wouldn't be in this mess." Elliot's expression was cold as he said, "This proves that women are obstacles on the road to success." "It looks like you're really determined to divorce Avery Tate!" Ben said. "When do you plan on going through with it? Should we have a party to celebrate your return to single life?" Elliot cocked an eyebrow and said icily, "Don't you have work to do? Do you have that much free time on your hands?" Ben jumped up from his seat, cleared his throat, and said, "I'm going now… Just a friendly reminder, though. Shouldn't you do something about that bruise on your neck? If I didn't know better, I'd think you got scratched by a cat. It looks like you two had a steamy night!" "Get out!" Elliot cleared his throat and said hoarsely. Ben immediately hurried out of the room. Fifteen minutes after Ben had left, Chelsea knocked on Elliot's office door. "Are you busy, Elliot? I have something outside of work to talk to you about," she said as she walked in and closed the door behind her. Elliot glanced at the emails in his inbox and said, "I'm busy right now. You can talk about non-work related matters after work!" Chelsea froze for a moment, but she stubbornly walked over to his desk and said, "I'll just tell you now! This is more important than work." She handed the file she brought in to Elliot and said, "Take a look at this. I'm sure its contents will shock you." She took a seat on the chair across from him, and her eyes immediately fell on the scratch on his neck. She didn't have to think hard to know what it was. A wave of jealousy rose inside of her. "Did you sleep with Avery Tate last night?" she exclaimed with a slight tremor in her voice. "Elliot, she's not worth your sincerity!" "Shut up!" Elliot's furrowed brows reflected his impatience. "My relationship with her has nothing to do with you!" As he said those words, he opened up the file and looked at the documents within. Maternal Health File Name: Avery Tate Sex: Female Gestational Age: 12 Weeks The vein on Elliot's forehead throbbed as he read the file. The chill in his eyes could kill. He held back his rage and continued reading. Father: Cole Foster Elliot threw the file onto the table. Avery was pregnant, and Cole was the father!