Chapter 4

The Nolan family's villa on the edge of town was where they sent relatives who wouldn't toe the line. Security guards stood at the entrance, and your phone would be confiscated.

"What if I refuse to go?" I asked.

Margaret sneered, "Then don't blame us if we have to send someone to drag you there."

Two bodyguards had already come in through the door.

Betty stepped forward anxiously. "Mr. Nolan, Mrs. Nolan got out of the hospital."

Margaret glared at her. "Say one more word, and you're out of a job tomorrow."

Betty fell silent, but tears streamed down her face.

I set the box down and pulled out a small silver bell.

It was the gift I'd prepared for our baby's one-month birthday.

When James saw the bell, his eyes flickered. "Claire, don't take it this far."

I asked him, "Do you remember the name you gave our baby?"

He didn't answer.

I said to him, "Andrew Nolan. You said you hoped he'd have a lifetime of peace."

Emily let out a soft sob at the worst possible moment. "Claire, you're making James upset."

I turned to her. "Shut up."

James's eyes darkened. "Claire."

I put the silver bell in my bag. "If you let them lay a finger on me today, I promise you'll regret it more than this."

Margaret scoffed, "You promise? With what? That barely surviving Lane family of yours?"

I didn't answer.

James's phone rang in his pocket.

He glanced at it, his expression shifted, and then he stepped aside to take the call. "What is it?"

The caller was loud enough for me to catch a few words: "Mr. Nolan, the Chamber of Commerce canceled your spot for tomorrow night's event. They said they're reviewing the list again."

James frowned. "Who said that?"

There was no answer.

James hung up and fixed his gaze on me. "Was this your doing?"

"I don't even have a phone," I said.

Margaret scoffed, "Of course you couldn't pull that off."

Emily nestled closer to him and said softly, "James, could it be David? Claire saw him at the hospital today."

James's suspicion deepened. "Claire, what's really going on between you and David?"

I looked at him. "Whatever's between me and David is a lot more innocent than whatever mess you and Emily have."

He raised his hand.

I didn't flinch.

But the slap never came.

An elderly voice rang out from outside the door. "The Nolan family sure thinks they're above everyone else. You really believe you can hit my child whenever you feel like it?"

My grandmother didn't come inside.

She stood outside the Nolan family's entrance, wearing a dark blue dress, her hair perfectly neat, leaning on an old wooden cane.

Margaret's face fell.

She knew exactly who my grandmother was.

Everyone in Hayberland's herbal cuisine business knew Mary Bennett. The Bennett family wasn't some legendary clan.

With a century-old name, they always got the main table at those business parties the Nolan family was always dying to get invited to.

James froze for a moment. "Mrs. Bennett?"

My grandmother didn't spare him a glance. Her eyes were fixed on me. "Claire, have you packed your clothes?"

I picked up the box. "Yeah, I'm done."

Margaret's tone shifted instantly. "Mrs. Bennett, what brings you here?"

My grandmother replied calmly, "I'm here to take my granddaughter home."

Margaret forced a stiff smile. "You must be mistaken. Claire belongs to the Lane family."

My grandmother finally looked at her. "Her mother's last name is Bennett."

The living room went dead silent.

James stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time.

Emily's face turned pale.

Of course, she knew my mom's last name was Bennett, but the Lane family never mentioned it all these years.

My mom married my dad against the Bennett family's wishes, and my grandmother was so angry she cut her off for years.

After my mom died, my dad moved Emily and her mom in. The Bennett family came to take me away, but I refused to leave.

Back then, I thought the Lane family was at least the home my mom left behind for me.

I was wrong for way too long.

James finally spoke up, "Claire, why didn't you ever tell me?"

I looked at him. "Did you ever ask?"

James's face flushed with embarrassment.

Margaret hurried over with a stiff smile. "Mrs. Bennett, it's all a misunderstanding. You know how young couples are. Arguments happen.

"Claire just lost her baby; she's not herself right now. We thought she could use a little peace."

My grandmother tapped her cane against the floor. "So, where were you planning to send her? That villa out by the city limits, the one with bars on the windows?"

Margaret's smile froze in place.

James looked at me, suspicion in his voice. "You told her, didn't you?"

My grandmother said, "The Nolan family is loud enough. Claire didn't need to say anything."

Emily pressed a hand to her stomach and stepped forward. "Grandma, I'm your granddaughter too, aren't I?"

My grandmother fixed her gaze on Emily. "The day your mother moved into the Lane family, my daughter hadn't even finished her seven-day mourning."

Emily was stunned into silence.

Margaret protested, "Mrs. Bennett, why bring the younger generation into all this old family drama?"

My grandmother fired back, "But when you dragged my granddaughter's unborn child into your schemes, did you even care how far along she was?"

James's face darkened. "Mrs. Bennett, Claire is my wife. If she wants to leave with you, that's her choice. But the divorce, it's between the two of us."

My grandmother looked at me. "Do you want to talk?"

I said, "No talking. Just sign."

James gritted his teeth. "Claire, don't think you can go overboard because the Bennett family has your back."

I fired back, "Is that any worse than you getting me kidnapped?"

His expression shifted for a second.

Margaret snapped, "What are you talking about?"

Emily burst into tears. "Claire, how could you accuse James like that?"

My grandmother didn't press further. She fixed her gaze on James. "I'm taking her with me today. We'll deal with the rest later."

James stepped up to me, his voice dropping to a low, urgent whisper. "Claire, if you walk out with her now, there's no coming back for us."

I hugged the box to my chest. "I never planned to come back."

He reached for my arm.

David stepped in from the doorway, planting himself between us. "Mr. Nolan, don't touch her."

James sneered, "David, who the hell do you think you are?"

David handed over a document. "Mr. Nolan, I'm representing Mrs. Bennett. Starting today, I'll be in charge of Ms. Winters' divorce proceedings."

Margaret's expression soured. "A divorce? Claire, you actually have the nerve?"

I said, "Divorce is the beginning."

I turned to Emily. "I'm going to get to the bottom of that plate of soup, the kidnapping, and everything each of you did before my baby died."

Emily's hand slipped from her stomach, then she quickly pressed it back.

My grandmother caught that movement. She didn't call her out. She only said to me, "Let's go."