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On our wedding anniversary, I had a sudden urge to make a memory video using my husband's old phone. After turning it on, the phone's notes app popped up automatically, with the latest entry titled "Baby Diary." "Today marks one month since our little girl arrived. Mommy's morning sickness seems worse. It breaks my heart. Daddy got you lots of cute dresses to wear when you're here." The note was signed by my husband, James Vance. But I wasn't pregnant. I called James at work. "What's with the notes on your old phone?" His breath caught on the other end, then he chuckled lightly. "Oh, that? It's just a buddy of mine. His wife's pregnant, and he had nowhere to write it down, so he used my phone." I laughed and said okay. After hanging up, I opened the phone's photo album, went to "Recently Deleted," and recovered a deleted ultrasound image. Holding the ultrasound with the name "Amelia Harper" on it, I smiled and dialed my mother-in-law, Margaret.
Chapter 1
On our wedding anniversary, I had a sudden urge to make a memory video using my husband's old phone.
After turning it on, the phone's notes app popped up automatically, with the latest entry titled "Baby Diary."
"Today marks one month since our little girl arrived. Mommy's morning sickness seems worse. It breaks my heart. Daddy got you lots of cute dresses to wear when you're here."
The note was signed by my husband, James Vance.
But I wasn't pregnant.
I called James at work. "What's with the notes on your old phone?"
His breath caught on the other end, then he chuckled lightly. "Oh, that? It's just a buddy of mine. His wife's pregnant, and he had nowhere to write it down, so he used my phone."
I laughed and said okay. After hanging up, I opened the phone's photo album, went to "Recently Deleted," and recovered a deleted ultrasound image.
Holding the ultrasound with the name "Amelia Harper" on it, I smiled and dialed my mother-in-law, Margaret.
...
"Margaret, James has a child with someone else."
Her sharp voice shot up on the other end. "What?"
I gripped the ultrasound, my fingers cold, but my tone stayed calm. "The ultrasound's almost three months old. It's a boy."
Margaret went silent.
Not from shock, but from the kind of stillness that comes before a scheme unravels.
After a full half-minute, she spoke again, her tone flipping completely, carrying a patronizing comfort. "Clara, don't get worked up. Men, you know, they're driven by their baser instincts. Mistakes happen. Besides, you and James have been married three years with no baby. It's not entirely his fault. Our family's been one heir per generation for three. We can't let it end with him. You know, James cries quietly every time he sees other people's kids."
Her twisted logic made me want to laugh in anger. "So, you're saying because I haven't had a child, he's justified in getting another woman pregnant?"
"Let's not put it so harshly." Margaret brushed it off, her tone tinged with barely hidden glee. "Since it's almost three months, that's our family's first grandson. We need to ensure a safe pregnancy. Don't worry, if you stay calm and don't make a fuss, James will come back to you once the baby's born. Your place as Mrs. Vance is secure. We can even bring the child home for you to raise. That woman's just a means to an end. Oh, I've already named the baby. We'll call him Ethan. He will carry on the family legacy."
She laid out an empty promise, as if I should be grateful.
I didn't argue further, cutting straight to the point. "What's the name of this Miss Harper?"
Margaret clearly hadn't expected my bluntness. She paused, then blurted out, "Amelia Harper. Wait, how did you know her last name?"
Her voice turned wary as she caught herself.
I smiled. "Margaret, you're truly a wonderful mother-in-law. By the way, has James been sending Amelia five thousand dollars every month? That money came from my parents' inheritance, didn't it?"
Her breathing quickened audibly on the other end.
I hung up, staring at the name "Amelia Harper" on the ultrasound, matching perfectly with what Margaret had just said.
I wasn't the last to know.
I was the only one kept in the dark, the fool in this story.
I opened the phone's photo album and scrolled to our wedding picture. In it, James had his arm around my waist, his smile bright.
In another photo from the same day, he held Amelia, his smile even brighter.
My phone buzzed with a message from James. "Sweetheart, what do you want for dinner? I'll leave work early to cook for you."
Attached was a selfie from his office, his smile soft, his gaze adoring, just like when I fell for him three years ago.
If not for that note, I might have been deceived forever.
I replied, "Sounds great. I'm craving lobster bisque, the kind you make."
He texted back instantly. "Anything for my queen."
I set the phone down and called my best friend. "Help me dig into someone named Amelia Harper. Also, get me all of James's financial records for the past three years, including his parents'. And look into the truth behind my parents' car accident."
She whistled on the other end. "Planning to burn it all down?"
I stared out the window, my eyes cold. "I want them to lose everything. It's time for them to pay."
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