CHAPTER 7: FIGHT FOR CONTROL

Olive stared at her phone after ending the call with Dr. Harris. Her chest tightened with anger, frustration, and disbelief. The audacity of the situation was overwhelming, and the very idea of carrying Raymond Stone’s child felt like a cruel joke. She had been an unwilling participant in someone else’s mistake. The fact that she had been accidentally inseminated with Raymond Stone’s child felt like a violation of her very being.

“Surrogacy mistake,” she muttered bitterly. “As if that excuses anything.”

She got up from the couch and paced the living room, her thoughts spiraling. “How could they confuse me with someone else?” she muttered. “This is my life they’re playing with!”

At the same time, Dr. Harris sat in his office, staring at his phone. His palms were sweaty as he replayed Olive’s words in his mind: “Pretend it never happened. I’m terminating this child.”

Before he could gather his thoughts, his phone buzzed again. The name on the screen made his stomach drop—Raymond Stone.

Dr. Harris answered hesitantly, “Mr. Stone…”

“Has she agreed to carry the child?” Raymond’s voice was calm, too calm. Beneath the veneer of control, his tone carried an undercurrent of restrained anger.

Dr. Harris cleared his throat. “Mr. Stone, I… I explained the situation to Miss Bennett, but—”

“She refused, didn’t she?” Raymond interrupted, his voice now colder.

“She did, sir,” Dr. Harris admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “She intends to terminate the pregnancy.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. When Raymond finally spoke, his words were laced with controlled fury. “This situation is already unacceptable, and now you’re telling me I might lose the only heir I didn’t even consent to create?

Dr. Harris tried to interject, “Sir, I—”

“No excuses, Harris,” Raymond snapped. “This isn’t just about biology; it’s about legacy. I don’t care what it takes—convince her, compensate her, or appeal to her conscience. But do not let her terminate my child.”

“Mr. Stone, I—"

“Do you understand me?” Raymond cut in, his voice like ice.

Dr. Harris nodded, though Raymond couldn’t see him. “Yes, sir. I understand.”

Olive’s phone vibrated on the table. She ignored it. The world outside could wait; she had enough chaos in her life. But the persistent buzzing drew her attention back. She snatched up the phone. It was an unknown caller. She picked up.

"Hello, Miss Olive, it’s Raymond Stone," Raymond said from his end.

Her heart skipped a beat. The audacity of this man was unparalleled. She hesitated for a moment, then replied, her voice clipped. “What do you want, Mr. Stone?”

“Miss Bennett,” Raymond began, his tone calm but edged with authority. “I assume Dr. Harris explained everything to you.”

“Oh, he explained plenty,” Olive snapped. “But I’ll save you the trouble. This so-called ‘situation’ will be handled soon. I’m not carrying your child, Mr. Stone.”

There was a pause, and when Raymond spoke again, his voice was colder. “Handled? You mean terminated?”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Olive shot back. “I didn’t agree to any of this, and I won’t let someone else’s mistake dictate my life.”

Raymond’s tone hardened. “Do you think you can just walk away from this as if it never happened? This isn’t just about you, Miss Bennett. That child is mine.”

Olive let out a bitter laugh. “Yours? You mean the child I never consented to carry? This isn’t some business deal where you get to call the shots, Mr. Stone.”

“Business deal or not, that child has my blood,” Raymond said firmly. “You might not care about that, but I do.”

Olive clenched her fists. “Well, you can care all you want. I’m done with this conversation.”

Before Raymond could respond, she ended the call and threw her phone onto the couch. Her chest heaved with anger.

Raymond sat in his office, staring at the now silent phone in his hand. He leaned back in his chair, his jaw tightening as he processed Olive’s defiance. She was unlike anyone he’d ever dealt with—unyielding, determined, and completely unwilling to bend to his will.

He brought out his phone and dialed his assistant’s number.

“Daniel,” Raymond’s voice came through the phone.

“Prepare the legal documents,” Raymond said coldly. “I want a court order preventing her from terminating the pregnancy.”

Daniel hesitated. “Sir, are you sure about this? It could escalate the situation because the hospital intruded into her private life by infusing her with your semen, which she has every right to terminate.”

“I feel we should just call her and discuss things with her. We can agree to pay her a certain amount of money to give birth to the child,” Daniel suggested.

Raymond thought for a moment and then said, “Okay. A meeting should be fixed with Olive to discuss everything with her.”

Raymond walked to the window, gazing out at the sprawling city below. Despite his controlled demeanor, there was a storm brewing inside him. He wasn’t used to losing, and Olive Bennett was proving to be a stubborn opponent.

Olive sat on her couch, thinking about the whole situation. Deep down, she knew she couldn’t hurt an innocent child, but the fact of birthing a child she hadn’t consented to made her very angry. She just couldn’t hold her anger in.

Her phone buzzed again. When she picked it up, a warm greeting greeted her. This was Daniel, Raymond’s assistant, booking a meeting with her. Olive was hesitant to respond but agreed for the sake of clarifying everything and making sure she was free from Raymond’s control.

She couldn’t be dealing with Frank, Delilah, and Raymond all at the same time. It felt strange and absurd to her.

Daniel sent her the location via text. The next day, Daniel boarded a flight to New York, and they met at the specified restaurant.

“Miss Olive, you can order anything,” Daniel offered, but Olive declined. He could see the anger in her eyes. He went straight to the point and discussed the plans with Olive.