\u201cBefore you celebrate that pregnancy any further, Beatrice, perhaps you should ask your son how that baby could possibly be his,\u201d I stated calmly.<\/p>\n
Christian turned deathly pale right where he stood.<\/p>\n
Paige instantly pulled her hand away from her belly.<\/p>\n
\u201cValerie, you need to shut your mouth right now!\u201d Paige yelled nervously.<\/p>\n
Spencer walked over and handed me a freshly delivered medical envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a certified document from a prenatal clinic that Paige visited weeks before she ever met Christian,\u201d I announced loudly. \u201cThe clinical records show that her gestational age is not three months at all, but nearly five months along.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked up at the three of them standing on the driveway, knowing that their fake world was about to crumble entirely.<\/p>\n
PART 3<\/strong><\/p>\n Christian was the very first person to break the heavy silence in the driveway.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean by nearly five months along?\u201d Christian demanded furiously.<\/p>\n Paige tried to snatch the document from my hands, but my security officer immediately stepped between us.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a verified document retrieved during a legal background review,\u201d my lawyer explained clearly. \u201cThe initial consultation date recorded in these medical files predates her relationship with you by several months.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is a complete lie!\u201d Paige shrieked desperately. \u201cThe clinic made a huge mistake on those dates!\u201d<\/p>\n Christian began to breathe with great difficulty as he calculated the timeline in his head.<\/p>\n \u201cWe only met ten weeks ago at a lounge downtown,\u201d Christian whispered in horror.<\/p>\n Beatrice placed both of her hands over her mouth in absolute shock.<\/p>\n I did not even need to humiliate them further because the plain truth was doing all the heavy work for me.<\/p>\n \u201cChristian, there is something else that your mother truly deserves to know,\u201d I said, looking Beatrice directly in the eye. \u201cFive years ago, Christian was diagnosed with severe azoospermia after multiple medical tests confirmed he was completely infertile. He begged me on his knees to keep his condition a secret, so I allowed everyone in your family to believe that the fertility issue was mine.\u201d<\/p>\n Beatrice turned very slowly toward her son, her eyes wide open.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you talking about, Valerie?\u201d Beatrice stammered. \u201cChristian, tell me she is lying right now!\u201d<\/p>\n Christian lowered his head toward the pavement and said absolutely nothing.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you know that you could never produce a child, yet you sat there and allowed me to insult your wife for years?\u201d Beatrice screamed, her voice cracking with rage.<\/p>\n \u201cMom, please listen to me for a second,\u201d Christian begged quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cFor five entire years!\u201d Beatrice yelled hysterically.<\/p>\n For the very first time in seven years, Beatrice\u2019s destructive rage was directed entirely at her own son instead of me.<\/p>\n Paige attempted to use the chaotic moment to slip into the house and grab expensive items, but my legal team stopped her at the door, making it abundantly clear that she could only remove her personal garments and not the corporate furniture or luxury items listed on our master inventory.<\/p>\n Christian turned on Paige with absolute fury in his eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhose baby are you actually carrying inside you?\u201d Christian barked at her.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have no right to question me like that!\u201d Paige sneered back defensively.<\/p>\n \u201cYou looked me in the eyes and swore that this child was mine!\u201d Christian yelled.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you swore to me that you owned this multi-million dollar estate, that you had massive investments, and that you were about to become a senior partner at your firm!\u201d Paige retorted bitterly.<\/p>\n That single sentence destroyed their illusion completely.<\/p>\n They were never a couple in love. They were merely two selfish opportunists who had spun elaborate lies to exploit each other\u2019s wealth and status.<\/p>\n Paige had viewed Christian as a wealthy executive with a Buckhead estate and high-society connections, while Christian had viewed Paige as a wealthy businessman\u2019s daughter who could grant him the heir his mother demanded.<\/p>\n I had been the only real asset amidst their pathetic collection of fake appearances.<\/p>\n An hour later, the three of them were forced to step out of the gated residence carrying only their personal suitcases.<\/p>\n Christian was forced to surrender his vehicle keys on the spot, Beatrice was crying tears of bitter frustration, and Paige was frantically dialing her phone to find someone to pick her up.<\/p>\n Before crossing the outer security gate, Christian walked up to me with a desperate look on his face.<\/p>\n \u201cValerie, please, just give me a few days to sort this mess out,\u201d Christian pleaded pitifully. \u201cLet me stay in the guest house until I can figure things out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLast night you left me out in the pouring rain with a single suitcase and a forty thousand dollar check,\u201d I reminded him coldly.<\/p>\n \u201cI was completely confused last night, Valerie!\u201d Christian claimed desperately.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, you were not confused at all,\u201d I replied steadily. \u201cYou were simply convinced that you no longer needed me to fund your life.\u201d<\/p>\n He stood there unable to form a single sentence in response.<\/p>\n \u201cThe key difference between us,\u201d I added softly, \u201cis that I am not throwing you out on the street illegally. The legal procedure has been followed, your personal clothes are in your hands, and my lawyers handed you the official paperwork. What hurts you right now is not any form of injustice, but the painful realization that luxury was never truly yours.\u201d<\/p>\n The heavy iron security gate clicked shut behind them.<\/p>\n That very same afternoon, Christian was formally summoned by his corporate board. Their internal audit confirmed that he had misappropriated corporate funds for personal travel, expensive dinners, and unauthorized business commitments under our corporate umbrella.<\/p>\n He was terminated from his position immediately.<\/p>\n He lost his job not because I personally demanded his firing, but because he had spent years confusing the corporate access I granted him with his own personal talent.<\/p>\n Having lost his estate, his vehicle, and his executive salary, Christian was forced to rent a cramped, two-bedroom apartment in a noisy neighborhood in East Point alongside his mother. Paige agreed to follow them there initially only because she still foolishly hoped Christian had hidden assets somewhere.<\/p>\n That arrangement did not last a single night.<\/p>\n The broken window unit, the endless traffic noise outside, and Christian\u2019s sudden lack of funds destroyed their fake sophistication instantly.<\/p>\n \u201cI am certainly not going to live in a dump like this!\u201d Paige shrieked as soon as she saw the apartment. \u201cThis is not the life you promised me!\u201d<\/p>\n Beatrice exploded with anger right back at her.<\/p>\n \u201cThen why don\u2019t you call your multi-millionaire father in Nashville to come save you?\u201d Beatrice screamed.<\/p>\n Paige responded with a harsh, mocking laugh.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you call your wealthy CEO daughter-in-law to save you instead?\u201d Paige mocked loudly.<\/p>\n Christian slammed his fist onto the wooden kitchen table in frustration.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of you shut up right now!\u201d Christian yelled at the top of his lungs.<\/p>\n It was far too late for order. The three of them began blaming each other for their total collapse.<\/p>\n Beatrice blamed Paige for trapping her son with a fake pregnancy, Paige blamed Christian for posing as a wealthy heir, and Christian blamed his mother for pressuring him his entire life about having a male successor.<\/p>\n Not a single one of them was willing to accept personal responsibility for their choices.<\/p>\n Two days later, I received a message from our ground floor reception desk stating that Christian was standing in the main lobby of Summit Crest Group, demanding an audience with the Chief Executive Officer.<\/p>\n At that point, he still could not accept that the woman he had treated like an inferior dependent was the powerful executive ruling the entire organization.<\/p>\n I decided to grant him a five-minute meeting in my office.<\/p>\n When Christian stepped into my suite on the top floor of the tower, he stared in total disbelief at the panoramic glass windows, the private boardroom, and the architectural models of our commercial projects across Miami, Nashville, and Atlanta.<\/p>\n Then his eyes met mine as I sat behind my desk.<\/p>\n His face fell completely.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it was all completely true,\u201d Christian muttered weakly.<\/p>\n \u201cI never once lied to you about who I was as a human being,\u201d I stated calmly. \u201cI simply chose not to disclose the exact size of my bank accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would you keep something like that from your own husband?\u201d he asked softly.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause when I first met you seven years ago, I truly believed you were an honest man,\u201d I explained sincerely. \u201cYou were deeply in debt back then, but you shared your limited meals with me. You rode in my beat-up truck when I was still building this business from scratch, and I fell in love with that humble man.\u201d<\/p>\n Christian sat down in the leather chair without waiting for an invitation.<\/p>\n \u201cValerie, that same humble man is still standing right here in front of you,\u201d Christian pleaded desperately.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, that man died the moment you started believing the world owed you luxury for simply existing,\u201d I corrected him.<\/p>\n He rubbed his shaking hands together anxiously.<\/p>\n \u201cPaige deceived me about everything, Valerie,\u201d Christian claimed mournfully.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you deceived me for seven long years,\u201d I pointed out directly.<\/p>\n \u201cShe told me her father was ready to invest millions into my firm, and she swore the baby was mine,\u201d Christian whispered quietly. \u201cShe made me feel like\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n