Chapter 1

My husband secretly implanted in me the fertilized egg he made with his old flame, and I acted like I had no idea.

I devoted myself to raising their son for twenty-five years.

The day Vincent got his shares and officially became CEO of the Maxwell Group, my husband brought Kate to the press conference in a wheelchair.

"Laurel, Vincent is Kate and I's son. You've raised him for twenty-five years. It's time for him to return to Kate," he announced.

I gave a sardonic smile.

"That's fine, but I doubt my son would be on board with that," I replied.

*****

Kate looked at me and protested, "Laurel, how could you treat Vincent like this? He's just a little kid, and you're making him do all this homework?"

She immediately pulled the crying Vincent into her arms, fussing over him.

"Don't cry, Vincent. Grown-ups can be so unfair, making us kids write so much when we're this little," Kate said as she tossed the pen aside and took Vincent's hand.

"How about Aunt Kate takes you out back to catch crickets, huh?" she coaxed, her voice full of affection.

At the mention of cricket hunting, Vincent immediately stopped crying and grinned, throwing himself gleefully into Kate's embrace.

Then, as if remembering he needed permission, he shot a timid glance back at me.

Kate's husband had died in a car accident, and she lost both her legs trying to save my husband.

Since then, she lost any hope of ever becoming a mother herself.

So she poured all her motherly love into Vincent.

Everyone sang praises of Kate's selfless devotion, saying she kept herself a widow for decades in honor of her late husband, treated her parents-in-law with the utmost respect, and poured all her motherly love into Vincent.

Even in her wheelchair, she made sure to pick Vincent up from school every single day, never skipping once—no matter if it was pouring rain or heavy snow.

There was one stormy day when she toppled out of her wheelchair into the snow and split her forehead open, but that very evening, she still appeared at the school gate, bandage wrapped around her head, waiting for Vincent as always.

Every meal was made by her own hands, every outfit personally selected, and no matter how small the need—from fetching him water to playing alongside him—she was always right there for Vincent, ready to jump in at a moment's notice.

She liked to claim, "Since I can't have children myself, Vincent is basically my own son. When I'm old, he's the one I'm betting on to take care of me."

The truth was, Vincent really was her son, with my husband.

I never exposed her. I simply let her keep up her act and pour all the motherly affection she wanted into Vincent.

With endless responsibilities at the Maxwell Group, I barely had time to spare. Someone had to be there for Vincent during his childhood, after all.

Still, I never let up on his education. I always took him to important events to shape his worldview and teach him real values.

Because deep down, I worried he'd pick up those mistress-type antics—habits that had no place in polite society.

Just as Kate was about to whisk Vincent out of the living room, I stepped in and yanked him right back to me.

"Kate, you can't keep coddling him like this. If you always let him get away with things, he'll end up lazy and spoiled," I said, my voice firm.

Kate huffed impatiently at me.

"He's just taking a breather, Laurel. You seriously need to chill out," she scoffed.

She caressed Vincent's cheek with unmistakable affection.

"Listen, our Vincent's destined to run both the Maxwell Group and the Taylor Group—he's not some nobody scraping by. Even if he doesn't lift a finger, there'll be folks lining up to do everything for him," she added.

With that, she spun her wheelchair around, reaching for Vincent as if she wouldn't let go.

I snorted. 'Typical—she's so petty and shortsighted, like she was born to be a nobody,' I thought.

I couldn't be bothered to waste words on her. I just hauled Vincent back by my side. At the end of the day, Vincent was my son—at least on paper—and when it came to raising him right, I was never letting up.

With one firm tug, Kate slipped out of her wheelchair and hit the floor with a heavy thud.

She groaned in pain, clutching her head as she lay on the ground.

As Kate glanced up at me, her eyes flashed with jealousy and malice, just for a moment.

Suddenly, an anxious voice rang out from the doorway. "What happened? How did you end up on the floor?"

A tall, lean figure swept in and quickly scooped Kate up off the ground.

Kate's face suddenly crumpled, and tears began falling down her cheeks.

"Grover, I just wanted to let Vincent have a little break and some fun. He's been stuck with homework for over an hour," she whimpered, her voice thick with emotion.

"Laurel said I was spoiling him, and then she just..." she stammered, her words faltering as she tried to explain.

Then she threw herself into Grover's arm, sobbing even harder.

Grover's face twisted with irritation, and he stormed at me. "Laurel, you're such a workaholic. All you care about is your job—can't you just quit putting so much pressure on my son for once?

"He's only eight, for crying out loud. Stop trying to turn him into some little robot with all your uptight rules and lectures."