Part 3Heir to Nothing

"Somewhere without you."

I shook off his hand and walked out of the office without looking back.

Julian didn't come home that night.

I sat alone in the empty living room, reviewing the files Mr. Sterling had sent me.

One was a medical report.

Mia’s.

It clearly stated she was already six weeks pregnant.

So even his "soon" was a lie. He had already done the deed.

I flipped through the pages.

The man who claimed he loved me, who said I was the only one, had created a new life with another woman weeks ago.

The most disgusting part? The payment record for the prenatal checkup came from the corporate account.

He was expensing his mistress's ultrasound to the company.

Julian, you truly have no bottom line.

My phone buzzed. A text from Julian.

"My mom's heart is acting up. I'm staying at the hospital with her. Go to sleep."

Another lie.

I clicked on the live location tracker Mr. Sterling had provided.

He and Mia were currently at the city's most expensive French restaurant, enjoying a candlelight dinner.

In the attached photo, Mia was cradling her belly, and Julian was looking at her with pure adoration.

Champagne, red wine, and 99 red roses on the table.

How ironic.

In five years of marriage, he never looked at me like that. Even on my birthdays, he used "busy work" as an excuse to buy a generic cake.

But for a pregnant mistress, money was no object.

I closed the app and called my mother-in-law.

"Mom, Julian said your heart is acting up. Are you okay?"

On the other end, the old woman scoffed.

"I'm fine! At least he has a conscience and cares about me. Unlike some people who only know how to make me angry."

I smiled.

"That's good. Mom, since you're so healthy, you'll definitely live to see your grandson."

"What grandson?"

"Oh, right. I wanted to tell you."

"Julian told me Mia is pregnant. Six weeks along. It's your biological grandson."

"What did you say?"

"I said, Mia is pregnant. Six weeks," I repeated calmly. "You'll be holding a baby soon."

Heavy breathing came from the other end.

After a long pause.

"Really? You aren't lying?"

"I have no reason to lie," I paused for effect. "However, Julian doesn't seem to want to bring her into the family. He said Mia doesn't want a title, she just wants to have the baby quietly."

"That won't do!" The old lady exploded.

"The Zhou bloodline cannot be illegitimate! No, I have to make him give Mia a proper status!"

"But I'm his legal wife," I reminded her softly.

Silence.

I knew that in her heart, my feelings were nothing compared to a hypothetical grandson.

"Chloe," her tone softened, dripping with fake sincerity.

"Look, how about this? You divorce Julian for now. Let Mia have the baby. Then you two can remarry. The child will be registered under your name, you'll still be the lady of the house, and no one can threaten your position."

She really thought she was a genius.

Make me move aside, let the mistress birth the heir, then bring me back to raise it and pay the bills?

Dream on.

"Mom," I chuckled. "Do you really think that's possible?"

I hung up.

The next day, Julian called, furious.

"Chloe! What nonsense did you feed my mother? She's forcing me to divorce you and marry Mia!"

"I just told her the facts."

"What facts? I never said I was going to marry her!" Julian sounded panicked.

I listened to his impotent rage with total calm.

"Julian, did you ever consider that maybe... this is exactly what Mia wants?"

He froze.

I didn't give him time to recover. I hung up.

Then, I texted Mr. Sterling.

"Let's begin."