Chapter 4

I glanced at the soup. It looked like a highly concentrated brew.

I took the bowl and, under Marcus’s tense gaze, set it down on the nightstand.

Predictably, he panicked.

"My mom had the kitchen brew this for hours. It’ll get cold. Drink it now, don't let her kind gesture go to waste."

"Your mother? Having a kind gesture for me?"

I almost laughed out loud.

Marcus’s mother, Eleanor, had always disliked me. She thought I was too independent and stubborn, unlike Chloe, whom she praised for being sweet, submissive, and pleasant to be around.

Her favorite phrase was: "It was my mistake not pairing Chloe with Marcus in the first place. I adore Chloe. She’s a thousand times better than that rigid Vivian."

Once we both got pregnant, Eleanor, just like Marcus, only cared about Chloe.

Every organic grocery delivery and luxury baby item went straight to Chloe's room. I didn't get a thing.

Marcus knew all of this.

Remembering his mother's blatant bias, a flicker of guilt crossed his face.

But he quickly recovered.

"Vivian, you know how my mom is. She has a sharp tongue but a good heart. How could she not care about our child?"

"She personally ordered the kitchen to brew this for hours. Please, don't hold a grudge against her. She is still my mother."

I didn't argue. Pretending to be swayed by his words, I picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Marcus let out a massive sigh of relief, took the empty bowl, and walked out, thoroughly satisfied.

I knew there were labor-inducing drugs in that soup.

An hour later, I began fake-groaning in pain, clutching my stomach.

"Ah! My stomach hurts so bad! I think the baby is coming! Marcus, get me to the hospital!"

Marcus and Chloe exchanged a thrilled look.

Chloe immediately clutched her own belly.

"Marcus, I think my water just broke too!"

"Perfect! You're both going into labor! I'll take you both to the hospital right now!" Marcus cried, practically vibrating with excitement as he rushed us to the car.

By the time we arrived at the private clinic, Chloe’s pants were wet, and she was crying hysterically.

"It hurts so much! Marcus, am I going to die?"

Terrified for her, Marcus swept Chloe into his arms. He didn't even look back at me, throwing a single sentence over his shoulder: "Chloe's situation is more critical! I'll take her in first. Find your own way!"

I rolled my eyes at his retreating back and casually walked toward the private delivery suite I had booked.

Waiting inside was the doctor Marcus had bribed.

What Marcus didn't know was that a few days ago, I had met with this same doctor and offered him triple the amount to play by my rules.

I lay in the hospital bed for a few hours until my uninvited guests finally arrived.

Marcus crept into my room, holding a tightly wrapped swaddled bundle. Seeing my eyes closed, he assumed I was asleep and tiptoed toward the empty crib next to my bed where "my baby" was supposed to be.

But before he could swap the bundles, I spoke up.

"Marcus, what are you doing?"

Startled, Marcus nearly dropped the bundle in his arms.

He managed to catch it, his face pale as he forced a smile. "Oh, nothing! Look, Chloe just delivered. I wanted to come check on you and our baby."

Right then, the sick baby in his arms seemed to realize he was in a new environment and began to wail weakly.

Marcus’s eyes flashed. He quickly pulled back the blanket of my "baby."

But when he looked inside, his face twisted in absolute fury.

"Vivian! What the hell did you do?! What kind of drugs did you take during pregnancy to ruin our child like this?!"

His roar was so loud that patients and visitors in the hallway gasped and gathered around the door.

Eleanor, who had just rushed to the hospital, pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

The moment she saw the tiny, blue, sickly infant, she gasped in horror.

"Vivian, you wicked, heartless woman! My son is a successful CEO! Our family spent so much money on your wedding! How could you do this to us?!"

"You poisoned your own child just to keep your figure! How am I supposed to show my face in high society now?!"

She collapsed onto the floor, wailing about how I had disgraced her family, demanding that the law punish me.

Her performance was so convincing that onlookers began whispering and glaring at me with disgust.

In the middle of the chaos, Chloe emerged from her room, looking pale but victorious.

Seeing the crowd, a smug look flashed in her eyes before she quickly covered her mouth in mock horror.

"Oh my god... Vivian's baby... why is he so sick?"

"Now that I think about it... back at the house, I always saw strange pill bottles in her vanity drawers..."

She stopped, looking at me with fake fear.

"I'm so sorry, Vivian. I shouldn't have said that. It's your private business..."

Marcus immediately pulled Chloe behind him, adopting a righteous pose.

"Vivian, I never thought you could be this vile! Poisoning your own child!"

"And what about the company? Did you leak our proprietary data because of your unstable mental state during pregnancy? You used to be an executive—you know how critical NDAs are!"

"Even if you are my wife, I will not cover for a criminal! Mom, call the corporate legal team and the police! Tell them we found the mole!"

The moment the word "mole" was uttered, the crowd's disgust turned into pure hatred.

"What a parasite! Arrest her!"

"Unbelievable! She doesn't deserve a good, honest husband like Marcus!"

"Throw something at her!"

Someone actually threw a plastic water bottle, which bounced off my bed.

Seeing me "cornered," Chloe smirked from behind Marcus's shoulder.

But when she met my cold, steady gaze, her smile froze.

She expected me to be hysterical, weeping and begging for mercy.

Instead, I was just staring at her, looking right through her pathetic act.

A cold dread washed over Chloe.

Her eyes drifted to the swaddle in Marcus’s arms. The "healthy" baby he was holding... why hadn't it made a sound this entire time?

She grabbed Marcus’s arm, wanting to whisper to him, but a sudden commotion cut her off.

Several men in business suits and two police officers walked into the room.

"Corporate investigation team. Please step aside."