Chapter 5
753 Words
The giant projection screen lit up.
The first thing that played was a segment of surveillance footage.
The location: a hospital changing room.
In the footage, Cindy struggled to yank the fake silicone belly off her waist and hurled it onto the sofa.
She made a call, and the voice on speakerphone echoed through the entire banquet hall.
"Girl, I'm dead tired. This stupid thing is heavy and suffocating. I've got heat rash all over from wearing it."
Her best friend on the other end of the line asked, "How much longer do you have to keep this act up?"
"Almost done. Just two more months. Once that old hag Linda brings the bastard here, I'll be the number one hero of the Hayes family.
"After that, that i***t Brandon will be totally under my thumb. Easy."
The video ended.
The entire banquet hall fell dead silent.
Everyone was stunned, their eyes shifting from the screen to the deathly pale faces of Cindy and Brandon.
Cindy let out a sharp, short scream and collapsed to the floor.
All the color drained from Linda's face in an instant.
Before any of them could react, the screen switched to a new image.
A diagnostic report stamped with the official seal of a top-tier hospital was clearly displayed before everyone.
At the top was Brandon's name.
In the diagnosis section, those big black words burned into everyone's eyes.
"Congenital azoospermia. Confirmed infertility."
"No!"
Linda let out a shrill scream, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.
Brandon was frozen in place, as if he had been struck by lightning.
His biggest secret, the darkest corner of his heart, had just been ripped raw and exposed to the world by me.
A few seconds later, he came to his senses and lunged at me like a madman.
"b***h! Claire, you b***h! I'll kill you!"
His face was twisted, the hatred and fear in his eyes almost taking physical form.
The guests scrambled back in terror.
I stood my ground, completely still, and gazed at him coldly.
I knew he couldn't touch me.
A strong, powerful arm blocked the frenzied Brandon right in front of me.
It was Nathan.
He stood like a solid mountain, shielding me completely.
With just one hand, he easily pinned the raging Brandon in place.
In front of him, Brandon instantly became like a rooster grabbed by the neck. All his fury and shouting died on the spot.
"Uncle Nathan..."
Nathan's face was so cold it could have frozen solid.
"Brandon, you have completely disgraced the Hayes family."
He shoved Brandon away.
Brandon stumbled backward several steps and fell hard to the floor.
My assistant stepped forward at just the right moment and handed me a document.
I took the document, walked to the main table, and placed it gently on the table.
It was a twelve-week prenatal check-up report.
In the ultrasound photo, the tiny form of a life was clearly visible.
My name, Claire Smith, was written clearly and distinctly on the report.
I placed my hand on my lower abdomen and met the ashen faces of Brandon and John.
"Brandon, your little game is just so pathetically amateur."
I walked slowly over to Nathan and naturally leaned into his arms.
He put his arm around my waist in one smooth motion, holding me steady and secure.
The whole hall was filled with shocked gasps.
I met every guest's gaze directly. My voice was not loud, but every word rang out clearly.
"Tell me, between a useless man who can't father an heir, and someone who will expand the Hayes family's bloodline...
"Who do you think Grandfather's family fortune will go to?"
My words hit like a bombshell, throwing the entire Hayes family into an uproar.
John pointed at me, his lips trembling so violently he could not utter a single word.
Brandon shifted his gaze from me to Nathan, and finally understood what had happened.
He screamed in utter breakdown.
"It was you! You two! Claire, you b***h! You betrayed me!"
I smiled.
"Betrayal? Brandon, our marriage died the moment you set that first test for me.
"You are the one who killed it with your own hands.
"As for the child in my belly..."
I paused, then lifted my eyes to look at Nathan.
He was already looking down at me, and in his deep, dark eyes, I saw a tenderness I had never seen before.
"He is the only legitimate heir of the Hayes family."
- Writer
