Chapter 4

“Her? She’s not even worthy.”

Bruce looked down at Charlotte, his contempt and disgust plain on his face.

“Who knows who knocked her up? Kiki is my only daughter. I’m not about to let just anyone show up and claim some connection to me.”

He was the one who had arranged for her to sleep with another man.

And now, just to protect his mistress, he was humiliating Charlotte in front of everyone.

Seven months pregnant, Charlotte stood alone in the middle of the ballroom, surrounded on all sides.

Her hand clenched at her side, then slowly relaxed.

Charlotte let out a cold laugh.

“I’m not worthy? Then maybe you should explain why your name is on my marriage certificate.”

She pulled the certificate from her bag.

She had carried it with her ever since the day they got married. It was silly, she knew, but she had loved Bruce so much that sometimes she needed to look at it just to reassure herself that their marriage was real.

Now, the same piece of paper had become a weapon against him.

The ballroom erupted.

Bruce’s expression changed instantly.

He snatched the certificate from her hand and tore it to pieces.

“Charlotte, shut your mouth!”

“Lottie, don’t get the wrong idea.”

Xena walked over, concern perfectly arranged across her face.

She leaned close to Charlotte’s ear, and the heavy scent of her perfume filled Charlotte’s nose.

Then her voice dropped to a vicious whisper.

“Actually, Bruce was in the room right next to yours that night. He was on a video call with me the entire time.

“I never would've guessed my sweet, innocent little sister was so wild in bed. Those sounds you made...” Xena gave a soft, mocking laugh. “I still remember them.”

Charlotte’s nails dug into her palm.

When she spoke, there was the faintest tremor in her voice.

“Who was the man?”

“Oh, Bruce picked him out especially for you from one of his business contacts. Some old married man. But apparently, he knew how to show you a good time.”

Xena smiled sweetly.

“Bruce really went out of his way for you.”

She deliberately brought Bruce into it again, hoping to push Charlotte over the edge.

Instead, Charlotte slowly relaxed.

Xena was lying.

Fragments of that humiliating night flashed through her mind.

The room had been pitch-black, but she still remembered the strong arms around her.

She remembered the man’s deep, rich voice and the strange way it had somehow calmed her.

Whoever he was, he had been young.

There was no way he was the old married man Xena was describing.

Charlotte rested a hand on her pregnant belly.

The baby shifted faintly inside her, almost as if sensing her anger.

“Really?”

A faint smile crossed Charlotte’s face.

“Too bad you’re not very good at making up stories.”

Her fingers quietly moved to the tiny object hidden in an inside pocket of her clothes.

Summer had practically forced the miniature voice recorder on her when she visited her at the hospital.

“People with money always have a few dirty tricks up their sleeves. It never hurts to have proof.”

Charlotte had turned it on the moment she entered the ballroom.

She knew she was no match for Bruce right now.

This was the only way she could protect herself and her baby.

Charlotte leaned toward Xena’s ear, mimicking what her sister had just done.

“I recorded everything you just said. And I have the phone call with Bruce recorded too.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“What do you think would happen if all of that got out? How do you think Ford Corporation’s stock would react?”

She paused.

“And what do you think it would do to your reputation?”

The color drained from Xena’s face.

For a split second, her carefully composed expression twisted with rage.

“You bitch. How dare you...”

Then she noticed the startled looks from the people around them and abruptly stopped.

Panic filled her eyes.

She had been trying to provoke Charlotte into losing control and humiliating herself in front of everyone.

Instead, Charlotte had turned it right back on her.

Three years ago, before Xena went overseas, Charlotte had been such an easy pushover.

When had she learned to fight back?

Charlotte watched her sister lose her composure and smiled coldly.

Xena had always been proud and self-important, convinced she could manipulate everyone around her.

What she had never realized was that Charlotte had never been stupid.

She had simply spent years giving her sister whatever she wanted.

Charlotte tilted her head innocently.

“Xena, how could you call your own sister a bitch?”

“Shut up!”

Xena was completely rattled now.

If those recordings ever got out, the perfect image she had worked so hard to build would be destroyed.

And so would her chance to finally become Mrs. Ford.

She stopped caring about appearances and lunged for the recorder.

But just as she was about to grab it, Charlotte pulled it out herself and smashed it on the floor right in front of her.

Xena stared at the broken device in shock.

Charlotte smiled.

“Forgot to mention, the recordings upload automatically. Taking the recorder won’t do you any good.”

“You!”

Xena clenched her fists, no longer able to hide the hatred in her eyes.

At that moment, she deeply regretted bringing Charlotte here.

If she had known this would happen, she would have found a way to get rid of her quietly from the start.

And that reaction was exactly what Charlotte had wanted.

She had never been a pushover.

She had simply cared too much about the little bit of family and love she thought she had, so she had let them walk all over her again and again.

Adam and Susan had no idea what had happened between the sisters.

But the fact that Xena was upset was enough for them to immediately blame Charlotte.

Susan stepped protectively in front of Xena and glared at Charlotte.

“Charlotte, what did you do to upset Xena this time? Apologize to her right now!”

“Sometimes I really wonder if I’m even your daughter.”

Charlotte laughed bitterly, though her eyes had begun to redden.

Growing up, Xena had always been their precious little princess.

Charlotte, on the other hand, had been treated worse than the hired help.

She had slept in a storage room, worn Xena’s hand-me-downs, and even gotten scolded for doing better than Xena in school.

How was any of that fair?

“There’s no way I could’ve given birth to a shameless bitch like you...”

Susan was still going off on Charlotte when Kiki suddenly burst into tears.

The shouting seemed to scare her. She squirmed out of Susan’s arms and reached for Xena.

“Mommy!”

Something flickered in Xena’s eyes.

She immediately hurried toward Kiki, putting on a worried expression.

“Sweetheart, don’t be scared. Aunt Lottie was just joking with Mommy.”

Charlotte was still reeling from Susan’s words and barely registered what was happening.

Then Xena suddenly cried out and stumbled forward.

Kiki was standing right in front of her.

Xena crashed into Kiki, knocking her to the floor.

Kiki immediately started screaming even louder.

Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but the sight of Kiki crying so hard made Charlotte’s heart clench.

She instinctively moved toward her.

Then she looked up and met Xena’s furious, hate-filled gaze.

Everything suddenly clicked.

Xena had set her up.

“I didn’t... Ah!”

Charlotte instinctively tried to explain, but a searing pain suddenly shot through the back of her hand.

Before she could say another word, one of Bruce’s bodyguards clamped a hand tightly over her mouth, silencing her completely.

Bruce had already scooped Kiki into his arms.

The man who was usually so ruthless in business now handled his daughter with extraordinary care, checking her over as if he were afraid even the slightest touch might hurt her.

Xena rushed to his side, looking every bit the worried mother.

Then she turned to Charlotte, her eyes full of accusation.

“She’s just a child. How could you do that to her?”