Chapter 3

"Still claim this child is Sanford blood?" I snorted.

Zane snatched the report, his eyes scanning it with disbelief that quickly morphed into stunned outrage.

"Pathetic!" Roland laughed. "Thought you'd secure a foothold in our family with a love child? Turns out, he is not related to us. Oh, and you might want to check if that kid is even yours. Raising someone else's child like your own would make you the biggest joke."

"Shut up!" Zane shot back. "Don't even think about driving a wedge between us. Martha is faithful, and the child is mine. Your lies won't break us."

Roland snorted, and I signaled for them to be escorted out.

Days later, I was handling family affairs in my office when my assistant entered, holding a box. "Ma'am, this was sent by Mr. Grimes's people. Said it's a gift."

Inside the box was the urn that held my mother's ashes. My phone rang, shattering my shock. The caretaker of our ancestral graveyard reported that my mother's grave had been desecrated.

Rage and grief consumed me, a fire that burned through my veins. Zane had gone out of his way, defiling my mother's memory like this.

I shot to my feet, my chest heaving. "Gather our people! We're going to the Grimes Mansion!"

Thirty minutes later, a fleet of black cars blockaded the mansion's gates. I stormed in with a dozen bodyguards, my anger a living thing.

Zane greeted me with a taunting smirk. "Enjoy my gift?"

I crossed the room in three strides and slapped him hard. The sound echoed through the hall, and a handprint bloomed on his cheek.

Martha screamed, "How could you hit him? If you're angry, take it out on me! He hasn't done anything wrong!"

She lunged at me, but I sidestepped, letting her crash to the floor. Zane helped her up, growling, "You venomous snake!"

I ignored his outburst and signaled my guards, who swiftly placed a dozen boxes in the center of the room.

"You enjoy digging graves?" I said, my voice cold as steel. "These are from your family's ancestral plot. Feast your eyes."

I turned around and left without another word.

My mother had doted on Zane when she was alive, shielding him from the world's cruelties. And this was how he repaid her kindness, with betrayal that cut deeper than any blade.

The next day, I began dismantling their businesses, ready to bankrupt them. Zane burst in, wild-eyed. "You viper! Where are you hiding Martha and the child?"