Chapter 4

I took a deep breath outside the office building and pushed the door open.

I pressed my fingerprint to enter Henry’s office.

When I pushed open that heavy door, my hand was still on the knob—I didn’t step inside.

Ann’s voice drifted out first.

Low, controlled, yet clear enough to feel deliberate, like she wanted someone to hear.

“Henry, don’t play games with me,” she said. “I’ve read your family’s trust terms. I understand succession. I’m only asking you one thing—if Rory ever has a child in the future, what then? Will her child still have inheritance rights?”

Henry’s voice carried that familiar, soothing steadiness.

“It won’t come to that.”

He didn’t raise his voice. If anything, he sounded even gentler.

“I won’t let Rory get pregnant with my child.”

Ann went silent for half a second—then laughed once, the kind of laugh with no warmth.

“Sounds nice. You think you can control a woman’s body? You think she won’t use a baby as leverage?”

Henry stayed calm.

“She won’t.”

Ann pressed, sharper:

“And why are you so sure?”

Henry answered quietly:

“Because I know her.”

Ann seized on that word, her tone turning cutting.

“You know her? Or you think if you keep her ‘safe’ in the spot you assigned, she’ll stay obedient forever? Henry, let me remind you—the board, the old foxes in the family, the media… they’re all watching you.”

Henry seemed to smile faintly, voice light.

“They’re watching money and power. Not Rory.”

“What about me?” Ann asked bluntly, her voice dropping even lower. “They’re watching me too. And the one in my womb.”

My fingertips tightened around the cold metal of the doorknob.

Henry didn’t hesitate.

“You don’t need to worry.”

Ann scoffed.

“I don’t need to worry? And you get to decide that for me?”

“Because I’ll handle it,” Henry said. “The baby, the inheritance, what we tell the outside world—I’ll handle all of it.”

Ann laughed softly.

“What we tell the outside world? And what are you going to say—this baby is Ethan’s, right? That’s what everyone believes.”

Henry only said, calm as ever:

“What the outside world believes doesn’t matter. What matters is that we don’t let anyone turn this into a weapon.”

“We?” Ann’s voice sharpened, pushing close. “Henry, you talk like we’re on the same boat. Don’t forget—in name, I’m still Ethan’s wife.”

Henry was still gentle… but there was a firmness beneath it that didn’t allow argument.

“Name is name. You know that.”

I didn’t take a single step forward.

And right then, something clicked in my mind—clear and brutal.

Why, when I told him before, “Ann’s baby isn’t Ethan’s,” Henry hadn’t shown any surprise.

Not because he didn’t care.

But because he’d known from the beginning.

Of course, he wasn’t surprised—because the baby… was his.

A dull pain spread through my chest, heavy enough to steal my air.

I stood there in front of that blank wall, trying to swallow the bone-deep cold.

That was when a security guard walked in carrying a huge rectangular box.

“Ms. Rory, you’re here. You’ve got a delivery. Need your signature.”

I froze.

“My delivery?”

I hadn’t sent anything personal to the office in a long time.

The guard checked the label.

“Yes. The recipient is you.”

Full of confusion, I signed and took the heavy box.

In a nearby lounge area, I opened it.

Under layer after layer of protective paper, a pure white fabric appeared.

When I unfolded it completely, my breath almost stopped.

It was a wedding dress.

Classic lace sleeves. Delicate pearl embroidery. An elegant A-line skirt.

Every detail was so familiar my heart started racing.

It was the exact style from my mother’s old photo album—the dress she wore back then.

My phone vibrated.

A text from an unknown number lit up my screen:

“A wedding dress recreated from your mother’s photos—do you like it?”