Revenge Gone Wrong

Quentin Yale only dated me to get back at Mom. He grabbed my throat with one hand, his other hand stroking my belly. He shot a nasty grin at Mom, who looked like she'd seen a ghost.He sneered. "See this? I—the so-called 'love child'—got your precious daughter pregnant."Panic shot through me when I saw the color drain from Mom's face. I tightened my grip on Quentin's hand as a wave of unease twisted in my stomach.Mom's shoulders shook violently, and she grabbed onto the table for support. Her eyes shot daggers at Quentin as she asked, "What are you doing here?"I glanced over my shoulder and was hit with a chill when I saw Quentin's smile—it used to be so gentle, but now it was creepy.He lifted our joined hands. "Can't you tell? I'm your son-in-law."Mom's lips quivered as she clutched her chest, her face growing pale. She had a serious heart problem.I flung Quentin's hand away and rushed toward her, but he yanked me back. I slammed right into his chest.His hand tightened

I was too afraid to get too close. Then, a voice I recognized drifted over—it was Quentin's buddy, Felix Jefferson."The Grant women were a piece of cake to fool, huh?" he taunted. "I thought we'd get some pushback, but everything went down smoothly. But then again, you nailed the acting. I bet Winnie still thinks you're just some regular office worker who saved up forever for those three cruise tickets!"Felix cracked up.His words made me dig my nails into my palms. The pain felt like a sharp stab to my heart. Then I heard Quentin's voice."The Grants always acted like they're above everyone, didn't they? Look at them now, knocked so low that it's not even fun getting back at them. Veronica probably wouldn't last much longer anyway. The real gut punch for her is knowing her precious daughter's carrying my kid."I instinctively rested my hand on my slightly rounded belly. It turned out that the baby I'd welcomed with so much joy was nothing but a pawn in their game."Winnie's qu

I had this long, vivid dream where Mom was young again, smiling in a way I'd never seen before. She was so full of happiness."Keep living your life happily, Winnie," she said.With that, her face began to age fast until it looked like the last time I saw her—pale, lifeless, eyes closed.I woke up with a jolt, my heart pounding like it was going to explode. The smell of antiseptic hit me, pulling me back to reality.The ache all over my body was a harsh reminder that I was still alive. And with it, a wave of despair crashed over me.Then, I heard a voice that sounded rather familiar. "Winnie? You're awake? How are you feeling?"I mustered all my strength to turn toward the voice. The person looked vaguely familiar. He had a sharp profile but was softened by kind features. I stared at him for a long while.Suddenly, it clicked. He was Evan Pearson, my childhood friend. After the Grant residence was sold, we lost touch and never saw each other again. Seeing him now made my eyes st

I'd been at the company for two weeks, just enough to get comfortable with the team. I'd bumped into Quentin maybe three or four times, and every time, I had to fight the urge to lunge at him and choke him.Soon, I got my chance to make a move. His assistant started asking me to make coffee and tea for Quentin, and each time, I'd sneak a little hallucinogen into his cup.I rented the house right next to Quentin's. I had no idea what kind of show he was putting on, but he was still staying in the place that used to be ours.While he was away on a business trip, I used my fingerprint to get into his house. The place hadn't changed at all. It looked exactly the way it did when I left.Even the baby stuff I'd bought was still piled up in the corner of the living room. A heavy ache squeezed my chest, but I pushed it down and got to work. I spent the whole day setting up and fine-tuning my gear.By the time I headed back to my house next door, I was completely wiped out. Evan was there,

On the fifth day after I quit my job, Felix barged into Quentin's place with a few other friends I recognized.They dragged Quentin out. He looked so messed up I could hardly tell it was him. They were hauling him to a mental hospital.Quentin couldn't stop glancing back as they left, yelling, "Let me go! I need to be with Winnie! She's worn out taking care of our baby by herself!"I leaned against the door, feeling a sharp, bitter pang in my chest. Still, I wasn't about to cut any slack to the guy who got Mom killed.…The next day, I headed over to Quentin's place, which was a total wreck, and grabbed my IDs.Then, I went to the police station to get my records straightened out. Since the house was under my name, I immediately called a realtor and put it on the market. After that, Evan passed me a file and told me to check it out. He grinned, saying it was a gift for me to kickstart my new chapter.I opened it and found a stock transfer agreement that shifted a huge chunk of