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Beside him, Celeste stood in a tight champagne dress, young, polished, and smug. She placed a hand over her flat stomach as if she were the delicate one in the room.
“She shouldn’t have yelled,” she said softly.
I had yelled because Daniel had arrived at our baby shower with her. Because he had kissed her in front of my friends. Because his mother, Elaine, had tapped a spoon against her glass and announced that finally, Daniel had found a woman who could give the family what it truly deserved. Everyone had turned toward me then, some horrified, some curious, all hungry for scandal.
My baby moved faintly beneath my hands, and I forced myself to breathe. Daniel’s father, Victor Ashford, billionaire founder of Ashford Global, stepped forward with his perfect silver hair and a smile sharp enough to cut glass.
“Enough drama, Mara,” he said. “You were always too emotional for this family.”
Elaine gave a small clap. Then another. Then Victor joined her. The two of them applauded while I lay on the floor, pregnant and hurt, in front of everyone.
Daniel looked down at me with disgust.
“She’s carrying the real heir,” he sneered, looking toward Celeste. “Not you.” A few guests gasped. My sister screamed my name and tried to run to me, but Daniel’s security blocked her path. I should have cried. I should have begged. I should have fallen apart.
Instead, I smiled. That smile made Daniel flinch, because for the first time that afternoon, I looked calm.
What he did not know was that I had spent fourteen months inside his father’s company as the invisible wife no one bothered to respect. He did not know I had copied ledgers, recorded conversations, tracked shell accounts, and sent everything to federal investigators. He did not know the raid was scheduled for exactly 2:00 p.m.
My broken watch ticked once. 1:59. I whispered, “You should have checked who you married.”
Part 2