Gwen felt like she'd just been punched in the stomach. All of the air had been sucked out of her lungs in less than a second. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't speak. Nathan was alive. Her baby was alive. He was out there in the world, somewhere, with out his mommy and daddy to take care of him.
Or was he? This was Alistair she was dealing with. He could be playing her like a fool.
"You're lying," she finally managed to spit out. "Nathan... we did a procedure. To save one of the babies. He – he's gone. He can't be alive. You're just trying to trick me into leaving Ethan." The longer Gwen spoke, the more she began to realize how stupid she'd been. There was no way Nathan could be alive. Her heart sank back down to its original location in her chest.
Before Gwen could react, Alistair had taken out a file and opened it. He took out a piece of paper and tossed it across his desk.
As she reached for the paper, Gwen realized that it was actually a photograph. In the picture was a tiny baby boy, obviously premature, who couldn't have been more than a day old. With trembling hands, Gwen picked up the picture.
She found her breath knocked out of her for a second time. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed into the chair that Alistair had offered her earlier. The baby had Ethan's eyes. The Bennett eyes. And the Winthrop nose. The Hotchkiss chin, too.
"Nathan..." Gwen whispered, lovingly tracing the outline of his precious little face. Tears began to well up in her eyes as the reality hit her – she really, truly had a son. And he was alive. "But... how? Theresa was only six months pregnant when the procedure was done."
Alistair stood up and moved around to the front of his desk and leaned against it. "I had the best doctors money could buy attend to him. He was in NICU for several months, but the doctors eventually released him. He's perfectly healthy now."
Gwen's elation quickly turned to anger as she realized exactly what Alistair had done. "And so you did what? Put him in an orphanage? Took him away from his parents who love and miss him? Who the hell do you think you are?"
Alistair snatched the picture from Gwen's hands. "I'm Alistair Crane. I can do whatever the hell I want. Now, I've given you an option here. I don't even allow most people that. Divorce Ethan, and Nathan will be yours."
Gwen considered this for a moment. "And how do I know that you won't double-cross me? How do I know that this isn't just a plot to get Ethan back for Theresa?"
"You don't," Alistair smiled. "But, tell me, Gwen – what other choice do you have?"
Gwen bit her lip and averted her gaze. As much as she hated to admit it, Alistair had a point – what else could she do? He was Alistair Crane. He was a monster. He was unbeatable.
But if she agreed to divorce Ethan, who knew what else Alistair would ask her to do? She could end up his whore, much like Theresa had become over the past few weeks. And Gwen would be damned if she got caught up in Alistair's web without ever setting sight on her baby boy.
Alistair must have grown impatient with Gwen's silence, because soon he was telling her, "Look, you don't have to make your decision this instant. In fact, I think that you should sleep on it, give it some more thought. Though I think you'll find that my way is the only way."
"Fine," Gwen responded after a pause. This way, she could talk to Ethan about her and Alistair's little "chat". "That sounds fine. Good day." With that, Gwen left the study on shaky legs.
Alistair, meanwhile, went back behind his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a cigar. He lit it, and took a celebratory puff.
By the end of the day, he'd have Gwen Winthrop right where he wanted her.
About the same time that Gwen was making her way out of Alistair's study, Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald was heading to that exact same place. When she saw the door open and Gwen come out, she flattened herself up against the wall next to an oversized potted plant. Theresa watched with nervous eyes as Gwen made her way down the intersecting hallway. Her mind was racing at a mile a minute. Had Gwen just made a deal with Alistair? Would she never be able to get Ethan or Jane back? Or, an even worse though – had Alistair been on Gwen's side all along? Had she been duped?
Fury mounting inside of her, Theresa stormed into Alistair's office. "You bastard! What the hell was Gwen doing in here? Have you been plotting with her behind my back?"
Alistair took another puff of his cigar. He grinned, clearly amused. "Don't you know how to knock? Or do people not do that in Puerto Rico, or wherever it is your family is from?"
"Shut up, Alistair, and answer me. What was Gwen doing in your office?"
Alistair just grinned wider. "Nothing that should concern you, my dear."
"The woman who stole the love of my life and my child is seen exiting your office, alone, and you're telling me that it shouldn't concern me?"
"Theresa, if anything, what Gwen and I talked about will help you, not hurt you."
At that news, all of the fury in Theresa disappeared within an instant. "Oh. Well, why didn't you say so before, then?"
"Because I love it when you get all riled-up," Alistair chuckled.
Theresa grinned at him seductively. At first, she'd been repulsed at the idea of being intimate with Alistair, but she'd found out that he wasn't so bad. He was in pretty good shape for a man of his age, and he was actually pretty good in bed. Not that she'd ever admit that to anyone, of course.
"Now," Alistair said, voice low and husky. "I believe that you owe me an apology." Alistair scooted his chair away from his desk and swiveled it to the side so that Theresa could straddle his lap. Once she was situated, Alistair crushed his lips against hers. Theresa had never been very fond of when he did that, but now Theresa didn't it mind so much. It was only temporary, after all.
Because Theresa was quite certain that she'd have Ethan back in her bed before either of them knew it.