Chapter 4

Even though I'd long known how biased my parents were, I never imagined they'd go so far as to frame me for cheating with a beggar just for Zelda.

Nicholas fixed me with a smoldering, tightly restrained glare. His voice was hoarse with the effort of holding back his rage.

"Lauren, you schemed against me and humiliated me. Just how much do you despise me?"

He gripped my wrist so tightly it felt as though he wanted to tear me apart.

I looked into his bloodshot eyes, and my heart suddenly ached.

I turned my head, took a deep breath, and explained, "I have nothing to do with them. Paternity tests can be faked. I'm not taking the blame for something I never did."

"I've got proof!"

Nicholas had kicked the beggar so hard he was barely alive. The moment he opened his mouth, he spat out a mouthful of blood. He pointed an accusing finger at me and said, "Lauren has a butterfly-shaped birthmark on her chest. Only someone close to her would know about it.

"And my son looks almost exactly like her! You can see for yourselves!"

At those words, Nicholas's expression darkened completely.

Whispers and murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"Sounds like what he's saying might actually be true. I can't believe someone would go so far as to sleep with a beggar just to manipulate someone."

"What do you people know? Ms. Lauren is making an emotional investment. People at the bottom of society will be eternally grateful for even the slightest kindness and do whatever it takes to climb the social ladder."

"Ms. Lauren certainly knows how to turn a small investment into a huge return. Her first attempt failed, but the second one worked. Everyone knows Mr. Zane started out with nothing and only climbed to where he is today thanks to Ms. Lauren. They say a man who cherishes his wife will prosper in everything he does. Mr. Zane, you'd better thank your wife properly. Hahahaha!"

Zelda slipped her arm through Nicholas's and gently tried to reason with him. "Nicholas, if you don't believe me, take her to get a paternity test yourself. It'll be easy to find out whether the results were faked."

Nicholas dragged me to the hospital. He didn't say a word the entire way. When he reached over to pull me out of the car, he covered his hand with a handkerchief.

The results weren't even out yet, and he already thought I was dirty.

I couldn't quite put the feeling into words. I just thought it was all so pointless.

I obediently let the nurse draw my blood, then waited silently for the results.

Half an hour later, the nurse apologized. "There was a problem with the equipment, so we couldn't complete the test. Would you like to come back another day, or should we run it again?"

Nicholas said nothing. I held out my arm. "Let's draw blood and run the test again."

But the equipment malfunctioned again and again. Even on the thirtieth attempt, it was still malfunctioning.

The nurse glanced at my pale lips and the cold sweat beading on my forehead. She hesitated. "Maybe we should stop. Any more blood draws could put this woman's health at risk."

"Keep going," Nicholas said coldly. "I don't care if you have to drain every last drop of her blood. I want those results today."

The needle went into my vein again.

I lost count of how many more times they drew blood. All I remembered was that when they could no longer draw blood from my wrist, they started taking it from the top of my foot instead.

I had no idea how many needle marks covered my body. I was so weak that I couldn't even muster the strength to press a cotton ball against the needle marks. I wanted to ask Nicholas for help, but the moment I moved closer to him, he stepped away as if I were something filthy.

As my consciousness began to fade, I saw a nurse hurrying over to speak to Nicholas.

I couldn't make out what she was saying. Thinking the test had failed again, I numbly raised my arm, already streaked with blood.

"Are you really that shameless?"

Nicholas asked suddenly, his back still turned to me.

"What?"

The pages fluttering through the air smacked me in the face. I heard Nicholas's furious voice. "That child is your son. What more do you have to say for yourself?"

I saw the test results confirming the biological relationship and went cold all over. "That's impossible!"

"Lauren, are you still going to deny it?"

At some point, Zelda had moved to Nicholas's side. She looked at me with a sweet smile. "You hurriedly sold off the gifts Nicholas had given you just to raise enough money to bribe the nurse and delay the test results, didn't you?

"If Nicholas hadn't sensed something was wrong and arranged for a test at another facility, these results might never have come out."

She leaned closer, bringing her lips to my ear. "Lauren, that inheritance you wanted is quite a prize, isn't it? All I did was say I liked it, and Mom and Dad went out of their way to make sure you wouldn't get a penny of it. So, do you still think I'm a good-for-nothing?"

"Zelda!"

I surged to my feet, grabbed her by the throat, and slammed her against the wall.

Nicholas's gaze sharpened. He quickly caught Zelda, then shoved me to the ground with his other hand. "Get away from her! Don't you dare touch her!"

A sharp pain shot through my abdomen. I clutched my stomach as a warm trickle spread beneath me.

The sight of blood was reflected in Nicholas's stunned eyes.

"You... you're pregnant?"