Chapter 4

The Marshall family gala was a symphony of quiet wealth and loud judgment. Crystal glasses clinked. A string quartet played softly. And Gertrud Marshall, Harden' s mother, presided over it all like a hawk-eyed queen.

She greeted me with a kiss that never touched my cheek. "Kendra, dear. You look... tired."

Before I could respond, a commotion started near the entrance. All heads turned.

Celine Luna made her entrance. She was wearing a red dress so tight it looked painted on. And she was holding her stomach, a small but definite bump visible under the fabric. Harden, who was standing beside me, went rigid.

Celine walked straight to Gertrud, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Mrs. Marshall," she purred. "I have some news. Harden and I are expecting."

The room went silent. I could feel every eye on me. My heart hammered against my ribs. It couldn't be true. Harden was... he had issues. We'd been told by doctors that IVF was our only chance. This had to be a lie. A trick.

Gertrud' s cold face broke into a shockingly genuine smile. She completely ignored me, her own daughter-in-law, and embraced Celine.

"A baby!" she gushed. "Oh, Harden! A grandson! Finally!"

Then she did the unthinkable. She took off the Marshall family heirloom, a heavy sapphire and diamond necklace, and fastened it around Celine' s neck. That necklace. The one she had refused to let me wear on my own wedding day, saying it was for "the mother of the next Marshall heir."

I had endured years of her condescending remarks, her disappointment in my "barren" state. And now, she was giving our family legacy to this... this woman.

Harden rushed forward, a pathetic attempt at damage control. "Mother, what are you doing? This isn't the time or place."

Gertrud waved a dismissive hand. "Nonsense. It's time we dealt with this situation. You need to divorce this woman and marry the mother of your child."

Harden looked at me, his eyes pleading. "Ken, I can explain."

"Explain what?" I asked, my voice dangerously calm. "That you've been lying to me for years? That you've been stealing from our company?"

"It was a moment of weakness," he said, the same tired excuse. "It was just sex."

But his eyes betrayed him. They kept darting to Celine, to the necklace, to his mother's smiling face. I saw it then. The shift. My own pregnancy, the secret ace up my sleeve, was now worthless. They had an heir. A publicly declared one. I was just an obstacle. A "cold, ambitious robot" who was in the way.

My strength, my intellect, my contributions to our empire... they meant nothing in the face of this. I was disposable.

I turned away from him, the pain a physical blow. I pulled out my phone. My hands were shaking, but my fingers were steady as I typed.

I sent a single text to Atticus Rios.

"The deal is on. Let's burn them all to the ground."