Chapter 3

My words hit like a bomb.

Everyone was stunned.

They all wondered what the dirty little secret could be.

Margaret was the first to react, shooting Vincent a suspicious look. "Vincent, what secret? What nonsense is Kylee spouting now?"

Clover and Damien exchanged confused glances. They clearly had no idea what was going on.

Vincent was frozen, his lips trembling, unable to get a single word out.

His eyes weren't panicked. They were terrified.

It was the kind of terror that hit when his darkest secret was dragged out into the open.

Callie picked up on the tension in the air.

She looked at Vincent and asked timidly, "Vincent, what secret?"

Vincent didn't glance at her. He stared at me, like I was a monster.

I smiled, "So, you don't dare say it, huh? That's fine."

I gestured for everyone to come in. "Come on in, don't stand there at the door. Let's sit down and talk things over."

I was the first to turn and head into the living room.

They paused for a second, and then came in after me.

The air in the living room was so heavy.

I sat on the single sofa like I owned the place.

They all crowded onto the long sofa across from me, looking like they were about to be put on trial.

Margaret couldn't hold back anymore. "Kylee, stop acting mysterious. Tell us what's going on."

I ignored her, reached under the coffee table, and pulled out a file folder.

With everyone watching, I took out a document and gently placed it on the table.

Then I pushed it right in front of Vincent. "Vincent, take a look at this."

His eyes landed on the document, and widened in shock.

It was a male fertility report.

Six months ago, I secretly took his sample to the hospital.

The results were crystal clear. [Diagnosis: Azoospermia.]

In other words, he was completely infertile. There was no way in hell he could get a woman pregnant.

Margaret saw the title and immediately snatched it up.

"What is this? Let me see." She put on her reading glasses and read it slowly, word by word.

The more she read, the darker her face became.

Her face went from flushed red to livid, then finally to a ghostly pale.

By the end, her hands were trembling like leaves in the autumn wind.

"No. Impossible. This has to be fake. You forged this, didn't you?" She suddenly snapped her head up and roared at me like an enraged lioness.

I didn't bat an eye. "If you think it's fake, ask your son. Or we can all head to the hospital right now and run the tests again. I'm more than happy to go along."

Margaret's gaze shifted to Vincent.

Vincent kept his head down, looking like all the fight had left him.

The last shred of hope in Margaret's heart was crushed.

She slumped onto the sofa, muttering to herself, "How could this happen? How could it be like this?

For the first time, she realized how absurd it was that she'd spent all those years calling me "a barren hen."

The real issue was with the son she'd always treated like a treasure.

Clover and Damien leaned in to check out the report.

When they finished, their expressions were absolutely priceless: shock, fury, and the sting of being deceived.

Callie looked like she'd been struck by lightning.

She stared at Vincent in disbelief.

"So, you really can't have kids?" she blurted out.

Her words landed like a loud slap across Vincent and Margaret's faces.

Vincent's head dropped lower.

But Margaret, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, blew up. "What nonsense are you talking about? You little bitch. You're the one who lured my son in."

Clover wasn't about to take that lying down. She shot back right away, "It's your son who can't have kids. Don't try to pin the blame on Callie. I have never expected all of you to be shameless liars."

In an instant, the two families erupted into a full-blown shouting match.

That was what I called drama.

I sat back, quietly watching as they argued, waiting for the shouting to die down.

Then, I reached into the file folder and pulled out the second document.

I gave the table a gentle tap. "Let's calm down a little, guys. The drama isn't over yet."

Everyone's eyes were fixed on my hand.

I pulled out the document.

The title at the top read: [Family Support and Property Gift Agreement.]

I unfolded it and laid it out on the table. "Vincent, this agreement should be pretty familiar to you, right?"

He looked up, and the moment he saw the agreement, his face went beyond pale. He was completely drained.

The agreement was pretty simple.

Vincent was the one making the deal.

The other party was his cousin, Henry Booth.

According to the agreement, Henry and his wife, Linda Booth, would "help" me and Vincent have a baby, using artificial insemination.

And in exchange, Vincent would hand over a house and ten percent of his company to Henry.

As for Callie, she was nothing but a smokescreen, a pawn to push me into divorce, or force me to accept this absurd agreement.

If I gave in, Callie would be kicked to the curb by Vincent.

If I refused, they'd slap the "infertile" label on me and throw me out penniless.

Then Vincent could go through with his scheme to have a baby with another woman and implement the artificial insemination plan.

This wasn't just about a husband cheating on his wife. This was a total conspiracy, a carefully planned scam, with me as the target.

And I was the sacrificial lamb they were ready to offer up.