Chapter 3

I looked down at the photo of the pregnancy test on my phone and glanced up at Lucas downstairs, the "son" Edward treated like a treasure.

Suddenly, I realized one thing: my child would never get that kind of love from him.

Even if I told him the truth, what would he do? Maybe he'd give me some money to deliver the baby, so the Hawthorne bloodline would continue.

But then what? My child would have to grow up in a family where his father's heart belonged to another woman and her son, watching his father pour all his affection on that "brother."

No, my child should never have to endure that kind of future.

I placed my hand on my flat belly, where a tiny life was growing. I was the only one responsible for him.

I took a deep breath, went back to my room, opened my phone's photo album, selected the picture of the pregnancy test, and hit delete.

[Confirm deletion? This action cannot be undone.]

I didn't hesitate and tapped [Confirm.]

Edward, the moment you crushed everything I worked on for someone else's child, the moment you softly told him, "Daddy's here," you killed the old me and our baby.

*****

From that day on, I changed.

I stopped mentioning divorce, stopped fighting with Edward, and stopped wandering around the lab. I put on the mask of the perfect Mrs. Hawthorne as he wanted.

Edward seemed pleased with the changes. His gaze at me was still cold, but at least the impatience was gone. He probably thought I finally accepted the reality and chose to behave.

Olivia let her guard down, too. Now that she saw me as no threat, she poured all her energy into acting like a perfect, loving mother and the ideal future lady of the house.

Meanwhile, I was putting my real plan into motion.

I proactively assumed responsibility for Lucas's day-to-day care, including his meals and daily routines.

"Ms. Lane, it must be tiring for you to look after Lucas alone. I've got plenty of free time, so I'll lend a hand," I said to her with a smile, my demeanor meek and accommodating.

Olivia gladly accepted, eager for a break.

So every day, I made meals for Lucas myself, played with him, and told him bedtime stories. I acted patient and loving, sometimes more caring than Olivia.

Edward noticed, and every now and then, he'd give me a rare look of approval. He probably thought I was finally sensible.

But he had no clue what purpose was hidden behind my gentle smile.

While brushing Lucas's hair, I quietly picked up a few fallen strands, sealed them in a bag, and slipped it into my pocket.

After he finished eating, I collected his dishes under the guise of cleaning up, carefully collecting the saliva left on the spoon with a sterile cotton swab.

When he was playing, I used his favorite toy car as a distraction and quietly switched out the cup he'd drunk from.

I took every step with caution, like walking on thin ice. In this house filled with the watchful eyes of Edward's men, I acted like the most meticulous spy, carrying out a secret mission that no one else knew.

Using my old lab connections, I got in touch with a trusted senior from my university days. The testing facility he worked at was the top in the country.

"I need a favor. Can you run a paternity test for me? Rush it, and I need the results to be accurate," I said.

I sent over the samples I'd collected from Lucas, along with a strand of hair I'd secretly snagged from Edward's study.

"What's this?" He hesitated on the phone.

"Don't ask," I cut him off. "Send the results straight to my encrypted mailbox. Don't tell anyone else."

After everything was done, I felt like I was walking a tightrope over a cliff. My heart was racing, but my gaze was full of determination.

Edward, Olivia, you treated me like a puppet you could manipulate at will.

But soon, you'd see this puppet cutting its own strings, and when that happened, you'd plummet from the heights, shattered to pieces.

While I waited for the results, I kept up my act as the perfect wife and "mother," asking the experts about Lucas's condition. When they saw that I was Mrs. Hawthorne and how concerned I looked, they let their guard down.

I, one of the world's top neuroscientists specializing in sleep, pretended to be another clueless housewife, piecing together the information I needed from their offhand remarks.

Edward thought he was in control of everything.

But he didn't realize that I'd set an invisible trap for him, using his reason and judgment that he was proud of.

His world was about to face a grand downfall, and I'd be the one who was going to light the fuse.