Chapter 4

I froze in place.

Penny grew even more brazen, nearly pressing her stomach into my face.

“You’d better think carefully.

“If this baby doesn’t make it, you’ll be the greatest sinner among the Rembrandts. And when you die, maybe your own father-in-law will have something to say about it!”

Martin sprang to his feet, his voice full of excitement.

“Are you really pregnant, Penny?”

“Yes, Martin,” she cooed.

“Our first child. We have to protect our baby.

“Girl or boy, I’ll love them all the same,” Martin said proudly.

Penny froze as his words settled on her.

Sure enough, the moment Martin left, she sneaked off to a private hospital to determine the child’s sex.

I secretly bribed the doctor so that no matter the actual gender, the report had to say it was a girl.

I also installed hidden cameras all over the house to gather evidence.

When the report came back, and Penny learned the child was a girl, her expression turned venomous.

She pounded her belly with all her might.

“Of course, it is!

“Trying to win her father over even before she’s born!

“I can’t allow that. No one can take my place!

“You little wretch, just you wait!”

From that day on, whenever the house was empty, Penny began tormenting the baby in her tummy, hoping for a miscarriage.

She deliberately vomited the folic acid the doctor prescribed, poured all her specially prepared meals into the toilet, binged on mountains of ice cream, and even secretly drank alcohol.

“You little brat, I refuse to believe you’ll survive this. Even if you do, you’ll be so ugly no man will ever want you!”

She even ran up and down the house without restraint.

Sweat poured from her head, but she didn’t stop, growing ever more reckless with each passing day.

Yet, despite all her schemes and torment, her belly grew bigger by the day.

When a checkup confirmed the child was healthy, Penny completely lost it.

That night, through the surveillance cameras, I saw her sneak into my room, brimming with excitement as she began eating my specially prescribed medication.

Before, she had always used morning sickness or bad taste as an excuse.

But this time, the moment she downed it, she put on a performance as she clutched her belly and cried loudly.

Martin and Chris rushed her to the hospital.

After a thorough examination, she was found to be in perfect health.

She jumped up, disbelief written all over her face.

“How is this possible? I clearly took the medicine…”

“What medicine did you take?” Martin asked, his gaze sharp.

“Penny, if anything happens to my baby, I’ll hold you solely responsible!”

Meeting my gaze, Penny finally realized I had switched my medication.

She shot me a vicious glare before reluctantly swearing that she would take good care of herself.

In the blink of an eye, the due date arrived.

Martin appeared full of anticipation, while Chris looked the complete opposite.

At the same time, a memory belonging to Felicity surged into my mind.

A plan that could completely shatter Penny’s relationship with Martin began to take shape in my head.

That day, Penny had asked me to accompany her to the hospital.

As we went downstairs, she suddenly leaned close.

“You old hag—trying to make me give birth to this worthless thing so you can team up with it to steal Martin? Dream on!”

Then she tumbled down the stairs right in front of me.

When Martin and Chris rushed over, Penny’s face was deathly pale as she pointed at me.

“Why would you do this to me, Mom?”

Martin rushed her to the hospital, while Chris stayed behind to berate me.

“If anything happens to Penny or the baby, don’t blame me for showing no mercy!”

I wasn’t afraid in the slightest.

I patted his face lightly.

“It’s not even your child. Why are you making such a fuss?”

Guilt flickered briefly in his eyes before he hurried off to the hospital.

At that moment, my assistant called.

“The file is ready, Mrs. Rembrandt.”

“Good. I’m heading to the hospital now,” I said with a smile.

I wanted to see who would truly show no mercy.

Because Penny had recklessly abused her body throughout the pregnancy, the delivery was extremely difficult.

Her screams echoed through the corridor the entire night.

The moment the baby was born, she weakly demanded, “Well? It’s that little wretch, right? I suffered for so long, of course, it must be that little wretch!”

“It’s a boy…”

But the instant Martin looked at the baby’s face, his joy came to an abrupt halt.

“What the hell…Penny, what did you do?”

Penny hurried to look at the baby and nearly fainted.

“How could this happen? The doctor said it was a girl, that’s why I…”

As if a realization struck her, she suddenly pointed at me and screamed hysterically.

“It was you! You old hag, this had to be your doing!

“It was Mom! She bribed the doctor to say the baby was a girl and told me our baby would steal your love. I really didn’t mean to do it! I was just so scared—”

Before she could finish, everyone in the delivery room turned to stare at me in shock.

Martin’s face filled with disbelief and disappointment, while Chris called for the bodyguards.

“Take her to a psychiatric hospital!”

I let out a cold laugh.

“Before you make a move,” I said calmly, “you’d better figure out whose child that really is.”

Then I pulled out a diagnostic report and slammed it down in front of everyone.