Red ink bled across the student essay beneath my pen when my office door crashed open.
"You! Matthews! Where is your husband? Did you hide him?"
Alex Donaldson stormed in, murder written across his face. "He knocked up my sister and wants to bail? Keep dreaming!"
Georgia Donaldson stood behind him, hands cradling her stomach like a shield. Her eyes were swollen, ringed with red. Beside her, another girl held up a phone—the red recording light blinking.
Livestreaming.
I set down my pen. "Georgia? Why are you here?"
Her voice cracked with performative sobs. "Ms. Matthews, I really have no other choice. Mr. Sawyer has cut off all contact. I can't find him anywhere…" She sniffled. "And the doctor said my constitution is too weak—I can't have an abortion…"
I leaned back, studying her. The trembling lip. The downcast eyes that wouldn't quite meet mine.
"So? You came here today demanding what, exactly?"
Alex sneered. "Two options! Either Sawyer marries my sister, or you pay up! My sister is a top student at a prestigious university—she was completely ruined by that beast of a husband of yours!"