“Jarvis, get me legal.
Have them send a cease-and-desist letter to the San Fernando Valley Entertainer and to this Rosalie Payne woman.
If they keep running their mouths, they can see us in court.”
Tony glanced at the photo in the article and rattled off the order to Jarvis.
If it had been one of the well-known actresses, Tony might have actually remembered her.
But Rosalie?
He’d forgotten her existence entirely.
He figured she was just another woman gone money-mad, or angling for a little fame off the back of his name.
He’d seen this exact scheme play out more times than he could count.
He gave Jarvis the instruction and promptly put it out of his mind.
Thomas Clinic.
The next day, Rosalie had Daphne pick up another copy of the San Fernando Valley Entertainer.
This time, her story was nowhere to be found.
In its place sat an apology notice.
**[This paper regrettably published an unverified news story yesterday, which has caused some harm to the reputation of Mr.
Tony Stark.
We sincerely apologize and hope for Mr.
Stark’s understanding.]**
Clearly, the moment the little tabloid had received Stark Industries’ legal letter, it had folded without a fight.
“How could this happen!”
Rosalie’s face fell.
The one paper willing to run her story had caved.
Now the odds of her news ever reaching Tony Stark had shrunk to practically nothing.
*Knock knock!*
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
Before Rosalie could even respond, a sharply dressed young man carrying a briefcase strode into the room.
“Hello.
Are you Ms.
Rosalie Payne?”
He walked over and looked at Rosalie on the bed.
“I…
I am.”
Rosalie looked up at him, dazed, and nodded.
“I’m Grayson Taylor, attorney with Stark Industries’ legal department.”
He pulled out a letter and handed it to her, his expression stern.
“On behalf of Mr.
Tony Stark, I’m here to formally issue you a legal warning.
If you make any further defamatory statements about Mr.
Stark’s reputation, in the media or in any public setting, our legal department will file suit against you immediately, and we will pursue it to the fullest extent.”
“No, you can’t do this!
Mark really is Tony Stark’s biological son.
If you don’t believe me, bring him to a hospital for a paternity test…”
Rosalie cried out, her voice rising with emotion.
“Ms.
Payne, Mr.
Stark is under no obligation whatsoever to submit to a paternity test.
Stark Industries has the finest legal team in the country.
Trust me when I say we could put you behind bars without breaking a sweat.”
Grayson glanced over at Mark in his crib, who was staring right back at him with unnervingly sharp eyes, and his tone softened slightly.
“Just look at this little guy.
Isn’t he adorable?
Surely you don’t want him losing his mother right out of the gate, only to end up in the foster system?”
Hearing the threat, Rosalie’s fierce expression crumpled instantly.
“Fine…
fine, I promise.
I won’t say another word to the media or in public that could be seen as defaming Tony Stark!”
She wasn’t afraid of his threats for her own sake, but she couldn’t let Mark lose his mother the moment he was born, only to be shipped off somewhere like that.
“I trust you’ll remember what you said today, Ms.
Payne.”
Grayson nodded, satisfied, then turned and strode out of the room looking rather pleased with himself.
Once he was gone, Rosalie couldn’t help but pull Mark into her arms, tears spilling down her face.
“Baby, I’m sorry.
Mommy’s useless.
Mommy can’t even give you a better life…”
Held against her chest, Mark felt a tangle of emotions he couldn’t quite untangle.
This lifetime’s mother was scatterbrained and vain, and beyond her beauty, she didn’t seem to have much else going for her.
But the love she had for her son was genuine, through and through.
That, even after living two lifetimes, was enough to move him.
“Rosalie…”
Just then, Daphne walked into the room and handed her a bill.
“Your three days of hospital stay, delivery, and nursing care comes out to eight thousand six hundred and fifty dollars total.
Mr.
Thomas asked me to have you settle it, or he’ll have to ask you to leave.”
“This…”
Looking at the total, Rosalie’s face twisted with distress.
What little she earned on film sets barely covered her rent and daily expenses.
There was no way she could scrape together that much money all at once.
“Daphne, take me to fill out the discharge paperwork.
And please let Mr.
Thomas know I’ll pay off what I owe the clinic as soon as I can.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Rosalie made up her mind.
“This…
all right.
Come with me.”
Daphne had wanted to convince her to stay a few more days so they could keep an eye on mother and baby, but seeing how much Rosalie was struggling, she could only nod and agree.
Fortunately, Rosalie was still young, and years of dance practice had kept her in good health.
She was already walking steadily on her own.
Daphne led her out of the room to handle the discharge paperwork.
“Phew…
finally getting out of here!”
Once the two women had left, Mark, lying in his crib, let out a breath of relief.
The sunlight in this room had never been much to speak of to begin with, only an hour or two each afternoon.
And Rosalie had been watching him like a hawk, whisking his crib into the shade the moment he’d caught even ten minutes of sun.
Because of that, he’d only managed to scrape together ten Sunlight Points in all these days.
The efficiency was abysmal.
Once he got out of here, Mark figured, he’d finally have more chances to soak up some real sunlight.
Before long, he drifted back off to sleep without realizing it.
By the time he woke, Rosalie and Daphne had returned to the room, arms loaded with bags large and small.
The two of them hadn’t just handled the discharge; they’d also gone out and bought a stroller, along with formula, bottles, diapers, and other baby essentials.
Daphne settled Mark into the stroller while Rosalie packed up her own things, and together they wheeled him out of the hospital.
Rosalie was still a little weak, so Daphne had specifically asked the clinic’s owner, Thomas, for time off to personally see her home.
“Daphne, thank you.
I really don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
Rosalie said gratefully to Daphne, who was pushing the stroller beside her.
Back when Rosalie had left home against her family’s wishes to chase her dreams in Hollywood, it had already driven a wedge between her and her parents.
And now, pregnant and unmarried, she certainly didn’t have the nerve to tell her devoutly Catholic, conservative parents about any of this.
These past few days at Thomas Clinic, it had been Daphne alone running herself ragged to take care of her.
“Don’t mention it.
We’re practically sisters.
This is just what I’m supposed to do.”
Daphne replied with a smile.