Chapter 1

"Mrs. Allen, why don't you give me a toast?"

Right in the middle of the lively birthday party, my husband Joshua Allen's intern, Lila Deleon, pushed a glass over to me.

The relatives around us fell dead silent.

Lila was wearing a white dress, sitting right on my mother-in-law Matilda Holmes' right, while I was sitting on Matilda's left.

It was quite the seating arrangement. Anyone walking in would think this was a party welcoming her into the family.

Joshua frowned. "Shannon, don't just sit there staring. Lila's young. She's just messing around."

I looked down at the glass. The sparkling cider inside was barely settled, the ice still swirling in the heavy pour.

Lila's eyes welled up with tears. Her voice was soft and fragile as she asked, "Mr. Allen, did I say something wrong? I just thought Mrs. Allen Senior was so nice to me, like a mother. I wanted Mrs. Allen to accept me, too."

Matilda slammed her spoon onto the table. "Shannon Lott, Lila's just trying to be polite. What's with that look on your face?

"You've been married to Joshua for seven years and haven't even popped out a kid. Now you won't even let Joshua have someone attentive around him?"

I laughed. "So attentive that she's wearing my watch?"

Lila instinctively tried to hide her wrist under the table, but it was too late.

The 38-thousand-dollar Patek Philippe was something my mother had put on my wrist before she passed.

She had said, "Shannon, if there's ever no one left to protect you, sell this watch. Don't compromise."

I never sold it. Instead, Joshua gave it away.

Joshua's expression shifted. "It was just sitting there doing nothing anyway. Lila helped the company secure a huge project. What's wrong with rewarding her?"

"What's wrong?" I nodded. "Nothing's wrong."

I pulled out my phone and called the hotel manager. "Cancel the dishes for the private room. Send in the order I just texted you instead."

Matilda glared at me suspiciously. "What kind of stunt are you pulling now?"

"Matilda, it's your 60th birthday. Of course we need to serve something special."

Ten minutes later, the waiter pushed open the door.

12 dishes were laid out neatly across the table, including pepperoni pizza, mac and cheese, loaded nachos, fried chicken, parmesan fries, and a container of onion soup—all in takeout boxes.

The relatives looked more stunned than the food itself.

Matilda's voice cracked in anger. "Shannon, are you insane? I invited respectable people here! Who are you trying to humiliate with takeout?"

I pushed the first box of pepperoni pizza in front of her.

A small slip of paper was taped to the lid. "Course one, my parents paid 80 thousand dollars for the down payment on our house."

Joshua snapped up from his seat. "Shannon Lott!"

I ignored him.

The paper on the box of mac and cheese read, "Course two, I raised your startup capital of 50 thousand dollars by selling gold bars my mom left me."

On the box of loaded nachos, the paper read, "Course three, that 38-thousand-dollar watch Joshua gave Lila was my mom's inheritance."

Lila trembled, sobbing softly. "Mrs. Allen, please don't do this. I didn't know it was yours."

I looked at her. "Well, now you know. Take it off."

Her fingers gripped the strap tightly, and she didn't move.

Matilda shielded Lila immediately. "It's just a damn watch. Is this really necessary?"

I burst out laughing. "A damn watch?"

I picked up the final container of soup and set it in front of Matilda. "Matilda, drink up."

Her face turned dark. "What is this supposed to be?"

"The Bloodline Ender."

The entire room went dead silent.

I whipped out a stack of documents and slammed them on the table.

"Joshua, we've been married for seven years, and your mom has blamed me every single day for not getting pregnant. But the medical report says it plain and simple. The infertile one is you."

All the color drained from Joshua's face.

I stared at him, pronouncing every single word clearly, "I can't offer this toast, because the baby in her belly isn't yours."