Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 9

Chapter 1

I calmed the nanny, Marlene Cole, down and told her to wait at the entrance with my daughter, Erin Spence. After grabbing my keys, I headed straight for the kindergarten.At the gates of Starry Kindergarten, I took the student ID from Marlene and tapped it against the scanner.With a beeping sound, the scanner announced, "Class 1A, Jodie Holmes."A young girl's face flashed onto the screen. She looked incredibly familiar, but I couldn't quite place her.An inexplicable sense of unease settled in my gut.I dialed my wife, Harper Gilmore's number.It rang for a long time before she finally picked up. The background was noisy."Hello, darling? Is everything okay? I'm just about to head into a meeting." Her voice was as gentle as ever."Honey, did you leave the wrong student ID at the foyer last night? Marlene tried to scan it, and it came up as a kid named Jodie Holmes," I asked, keeping my tone casual.There was a sharp pause on the other end, then came a forced chuckle. "Oh… th

Chapter 2

Mommy?As I stared at the screen, my blood ran cold. That single word hit me like a hammer to the temple, leaving my mind reeling and my thoughts in chaos.Harper cheated on me? She even had an illegitimate daughter?Shaking, I turned off the digital tablet. I couldn't bring myself to watch another second of the dashcam footage. My mind was filled with the image of the girl calling Harper "Mommy".At 10:00 pm, Harper finally came home, looking exhausted. The moment she kicked off her shoes, I slammed the digital tablet onto the coffee table.The screen was frozen on the exact frame where the girl was calling her "Mommy"."Care to explain, Harper? Who is this child, and why is she calling you Mommy?" I kept my eyes locked on hers, searching for the slightest flicker of guilt.She stiffened the moment she saw the screen. But then, to my surprise, her face softened into a look of weary, bitter resignation.She walked over, took my hand, and took a seat beside me without a hint of

Chapter 3

The faint smile on my face froze.Erin was supposed to be at Starry Kindergarten, an elite school that cost over 100 thousand dollars a year, where the children ate meals prepared by expensive nutritionists from abroad.Why on earth was she enrolled at some no-name daycare?A wave of uncontrollable panic and rage surged through me.I pulled up the dashcam app again and played the rest of the footage from that morning.On the screen, Harper drove Jodie straight to the grand gates of Starry Kindergarten."Go on in, Jodie. Make sure to say hi to your teacher." Harper draped Erin's platinum-tier school ID around the girl's neck.Then, she turned the car into a dilapidated alley a block away and pulled up in front of a place called Sunflower Daycare. The front gate was covered in rust.When Harper turned around, the warmth on her face was gone, replaced by sharp impatience. "Erin Spence, get out. I'll pick you up tonight. And remember, don't you dare tell your dad about any of this.

Chapter 4

I hung up the call and looked at the calendar on my desk before drawing a heavy red circle around tomorrow's date.Tomorrow morning was Starry Kindergarten's annual welcome gala and open day.Just last night, Harper had told me sweetly, "Darling, the gala is going to be such a chaotic, noisy mess. You've been working so hard lately. Why don't you just stay home and get some sleep? I'll attend as the representative."Since she put it that way, I figured I should show up and give them something truly unforgettable.I blasted out three messages.The first went to my parents and my in-laws."Mom, Dad, Starry Kindergarten is hosting their gala tomorrow. Harper wants everyone there to celebrate and see how well Erin is doing at such a prestigious school."The second went to a few of Harper's colleagues, whom she constantly complained about and feuded with at the office."There's a high-end networking event tomorrow morning. Harper would love for you all to attend as her guests."The

Chapter 5

Harper jerked away from Caleb instinctively, her face going pale in an instant."Ms. Gilmore, who's this?"The other parents froze, confused. They glanced between the man Harper had just shoved aside and me, clearly not knowing what to make of it.Harper quickly forced herself to stay calm and put on a mask of composure. "Oh… h-he's my ex."She paused, frowned, and exasperatedly said, "Leonel Spence, I've told you a thousand times to stop bothering me. Why did you follow me here? Please, just leave. I'm trying to save you some dignity. Don't make this more embarrassing than it already is."The parents around us shot me judgmental looks.Caleb moved closer to Harper and slid his arm possessively around her waist as he glared at me.When I didn't react, Harper stormed forward and tried to pull me along. "Why won't you listen? Get out of here!"As she closed the gap, she hissed under her breath, "Go home. I'll explain everything later."But before she could touch me, one of the b

Chapter 6

The speaker was Kiley Rivera, Harper's rival, who had recently lost the department head promotion to her.She had been lurking in the crowd. Now that she'd caught Harper red-handed, the sheer glee on her face was unmistakable."W-Why are all of you here?!" Harper was unraveling.Seizing the moment, my two bodyguards flanked her and pulled her away from my family.Seeing her daughter handled like that, Julia rushed to Harper's side to protect her."Hey! What do you think you're doing? Get your hands off my daughter!"Realizing the bodyguards were with me, she turned her fury toward me."Leonel, what are you doing? Hiring thugs to bully your own wife? Couples fight, but you settle it with words. You don't bring in muscle! Just because you have a little money doesn't mean you can treat my daughter like she's not human!""Your daughter is the one acting sub-human!" Mom snapped back. "Why don't you ask her who that man behind her is? They're touching and clinging to each other in br

Chapter 7

Myra wiped away a cold sweat, her hands trembling as she pressed the remote.Harper finally snapped out of her trance and screamed, "No! Don't play it!"But it was too late.The large screen, which had been playing a heartwarming cartoon just moments ago, flickered and cut to a surveillance feed.What followed was five minutes of footage. Other than the dashcam video I'd seen on my digital tablet, it included photos of Harper and Caleb's secret meetings and surveillance footage I'd gotten from that daycare.The video showed how Harper cruelly neglected Erin in favor of her illegitimate daughter and how she used my money to keep her lover living in luxury.Her ugly, true self was projected for all to see, without a hint of mercy.In the ballroom, everyone's eyes lit up with the thrill of high-stakes gossip. They held their phones high, capturing every second of the scene.Only Harper glared at me with a terrifying intensity. If it weren't for the bodyguards, she probably would h

Chapter 8

The fallout from that day went viral.All of Harper's and Caleb's personal information was dug up, including mine.I didn't release a public statement or try to use the sudden fame to promote my business.I was actually surprised that Harper and Caleb didn't try to stir the pot themselves.The internet was a messy place, and society tended to be surprisingly forgiving toward troubled women.I was genuinely worried she'd try to flip the narrative and smear me. I even had Aiden on standby to collect evidence.A whole month passed, and despite the online torrent of abuse aimed at them, the two of them didn't say a single word. Even the divorce agreement I sent received no response.Without a "plot twist" to keep people interested, the scandal was soon buried by the next cycle of breaking news.Meanwhile, Aiden and I were putting the finishing touches on our lawsuit.One morning, as I headed to the underground garage, I found Harper waiting. She was leaning against my car door. Th

Chapter 9

Harper collapsed completely, sprawling on the ground like a heap of discarded rags."Leonel… do you really have to be this ruthless? I'm still Erin's mother. Do you have to push me to the brink of death to be satisfied?"Her tone shifted from desperate pleading to pure venom."Ruthless?" I sneered as I stepped around her toward the driver's side."Compared to what you put Erin and me through, I'd call this self-defense. As for whether you live or die, that's none of my business. That sounds like a problem for you and Caleb to solve."As I fired up the engine, the roar echoed through the concrete garage. Harper's hysterical curses followed me as I pulled away, but I didn't let a single word register.From that point on, everything went smoothly.When Caleb received the court's execution order, he came completely undone.He had believed that by latching onto Harper, he had secured a shortcut to the high life. Instead, not only was his apartment forcibly auctioned to repay my two

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