His Unwanted Wife Is A Genius Scientist

"Mrs. Baker, I am so sorry," the doctor said, keeping his eyes fixed on the clipboard in his hands. "The fetal heartbeat stopped. We had to perform an emergency D&C."

Aliana Stevens stared at the white ceiling of the private VIP room in Manhattan. The sharp smell of bleach burned her throat. Beneath the thin hospital blanket, her lower abdomen ached with a dull, hollow throb. Her right index finger curled against the rough sheet, her nail digging into the cotton until the knuckle turned white.

She drew a shallow breath, feeling the cold air scrape against her ribs.

"Where is my husband?" she asked. Her voice sounded thin, cracked at the edges. "I called his private line ten times before the nurse took me into the operating room."

Dr. Evans adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses, his gaze darting toward the closed door.

"Mr. Baker's personal assistant contacted our reception desk an hour ago," he murmured, his tone stiff with professional discomfort. "He stated that Mr. Baker is currently out of the country on urgent corporate business and cannot be reached."

Aliana did not blink. The blood drained from her fingertips, leaving them ice-cold against her lap.

Urgent corporate business.

On the mahogany nightstand beside the bed, her phone screen lit up with a soft vibration. It was an automated notification from Instagram, flagging an update from an account she had set as a priority alert three years ago.

She reached out, her fingers trembling slightly, and tapped the glass.

The screen filled with the blinding turquoise water and golden sunlight of the Maldives. In the center of the frame stood Aaron Baker, wearing a crisp linen shirt unbuttoned at the collar. He was smiling down at the woman beside him with a tender warmth Aliana had not seen on his face in years.

That woman was Charline Winters-his widowed sister-in-law, whose husband had died six months prior.

In Charline's arms was four-year-old Chloe, Aliana's own biological daughter. Charline was wearing a matching ivory sundress, her soft blonde hair blowing in the island breeze.

The caption read: "A perfect family getaway. Thank you for always being my rock, Aaron."

Aliana stared at Aaron's left hand in the photograph. His wedding ring was missing. Only a faint, pale indentation remained around his ring finger where the platinum band usually sat.

Her chest seized so violently that for a second she could not draw breath. A bitter, cold laugh caught in her throat. Three years of marriage. Three years of managing his Long Island estate, running his household, and stepping down from her lead research position at Baker BioTech to give him a second heir.

It had all been a rehearsal for a ghost.

**The head nurse returned shortly afterward and found Aliana staring silently at the ceiling, her phone clutched in one hand. When she checked Aliana's vital signs, she reminded her that the procedure had taken a physical toll and that she would need to remain under observation.**

"You'll need to stay here for several days while we monitor your recovery," the **head nurse** explained gently. "Your doctor will determine when you're ready to go home. For now, please rest and don't push yourself."

Aliana gave a faint nod. She no longer had the strength to argue, nor did she have any desire to leave the hospital just to return to an empty marriage. For the first time in years, she had nowhere she needed to be for Aaron's sake.

Over the next several days, she followed her doctor's instructions, taking her prescribed medication, attending her follow-up examinations, and allowing her body the time it needed to recover. The physical pain gradually eased, but the hurt inside her only grew sharper.

She was not prepared to put up with it much longer, so Ariana grabbed her phone and called her best friend Maya. Her voice was calm as she said, "Maya, please find the best law firm on Wall Street for divorce cases. I'm getting divorced."

By the fourth day, Aliana had stopped crying. She began making notes on her phone, recording dates, financial details, and every suspicious incident she could remember. She would need evidence, not accusations. She would need a plan, not an emotional confrontation.

She had not yet decided exactly how she would make them pay. But she knew one thing with absolute certainty: she would no longer be the woman who stood aside and let them destroy her life.

On the morning of her sixth day in the hospital, Aliana was resting with her eyes closed when she heard the soft click of the room door. Assuming she was asleep, **the head nurse** entered quietly to check the IV line and adjust the monitor. Aliana kept her breathing slow and even, too exhausted to bother opening her eyes.

A few minutes later, **the head nurse** stepped into the corridor and pulled the door almost shut behind her.

Aliana might have drifted off again if not for the name that reached her through the narrow gap.

"Yes, Ms. Winters. I understand."

Charline Winters.

Aliana's eyes opened at once. Every instinct in her body told her to pay attention. Why was the head nurse speaking to Charline about her care? What business did her husband's sister-in-law have with the staff responsible for treating her?

Without moving her head, Aliana reached for the phone lying beside her pillow. Her fingers closed around it, and she unlocked the screen as quietly as she could. She opened the voice recorder and pressed the red button.

Beyond the door, the head nurse lowered her voice, apparently convinced that her patient was still sleeping.

"The emergency D&C records have been placed under sealed status as you instructed," she whispered into her phone. "The original surgical chart will not appear on the general portal. Mr. Baker will not be notified of the termination."

Aliana's fingers tightened around her phone.

Termination.

The word landed like a blow. She had already suspected that Charline's influence over Aaron extended far beyond what a grieving sister-in-law should reasonably expect. Now she was hearing a hospital employee confirm that Charline had personally intervened in the handling of her medical records.

Why would Charline care whether Aaron learned about the miscarriage? And why had she been able to give instructions about Aliana's confidential medical information in the first place?

Aliana forced herself to remain still. She wanted to throw open the door and demand answers, but anger would accomplish nothing if it cost her the only evidence she had. She kept the recorder running, capturing every word.

"Yes," the head nurse continued after a pause. "As far as the general system is concerned, there's nothing for him to see. I'll make sure the staff follows the instructions."

A brief silence followed. Then the **head nurse** murmured, "Of course, Ms. Winters. I'll keep this confidential."

Aliana waited until she heard the call end and **the head nurse's** footsteps retreat down the corridor. Only then did she stop the recording. She saved the file under a neutral name and checked that it had been stored successfully before slipping her phone beneath the blanket.

Her pulse was racing, but her thoughts had never been clearer.

This was no longer just a matter of an unfaithful husband and a shameless woman. Someone had deliberately arranged to conceal information about her pregnancy and surgery. Charline had enough influence to reach into the hospital, and the head nurse was willing to cooperate. Whether Aaron knew about the arrangement or not, Aliana could no longer afford to assume that the truth would protect itself.

She would preserve the recording, obtain copies of her medical records through the proper channels, and find out who had authorized the restrictions. She would not confront Charline until she understood exactly what she was dealing with.

For the first time since losing her baby, Aliana felt something other than grief. It was cold, steady resolve.

She had spent years trying to save her marriage. Now she would spend whatever time it took to uncover the truth and dismantle the comfortable little world Aaron and Charline had built at her expense.

When **the head nurse** returned, Aliana had put her phone away and closed her eyes again. She listened as **the head nurse** checked her monitor and made a note on the chart. Neither of them spoke about the phone call.

Aliana let her believe she had heard nothing.

She would leave the hospital when her doctor cleared her, not a moment sooner. She would recover properly, get her affairs in order, and make sure she was prepared before taking her first step.

Aaron Baker still believed she was the docile wife waiting patiently for him to come home. Charline Winters evidently believed that whatever happened behind closed doors could be kept from Aliana.

They were both wrong.

And when Aliana finally returned to the Baker estate in Long Island, she would no longer be the woman they remembered.