I went upstairs to rest during the party at my $10 million mansion…

Every word.

Every movement.

Every threat.

The footage was playing across the giant screens downstairs.

Charlotte looked at Ethan and pretended to be afraid.

“Why would you do this?” she asked softly. “They’re your children.”

Ethan laughed.

“That is exactly why. The twins give me access to the family trust. But you? You’re far too unstable to handle real power.”

Vanessa crossed the room barefoot, wrapped in a silk sheet.

“Everyone knows you’ve been falling apart since your father died,” she said. “You cry. You panic. You talk to yourself. A diagnosis of prenatal psychosis won’t surprise anyone.”

One of the babies kicked inside Charlotte.

She couldn’t tell whether it was pain, rage, or warning.

“My father trusted you,” Charlotte whispered to Vanessa.

Vanessa’s smile sharpened.

“Your father was old, sentimental, and easy to manage.”

Ethan pulled out a gold pen and forced it into Charlotte’s hand.

“Sign. Or tomorrow you wake up sedated in a private clinic outside the city. Dr. Whitman has already signed the paperwork. According to the file, you threatened to hurt yourself.”

Charlotte lowered her eyes.

A message appeared on her smartwatch.

It was from Grant, her head of security.

Ma’am… everyone downstairs is watching. The entire room is silent. What are your orders?

Charlotte barely lifted her gaze toward the diamond on her necklace.

And then she understood.

The trap she had set for Ethan had turned into something much bigger.

She could have screamed.

She could have ordered Grant to break down the door immediately.

She could have stopped the humiliation.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she slowly sank against the door as if her legs could no longer hold her. She placed both hands over her belly and let real tears fall down her face.

“Please don’t lock me away,” she whispered. “Please don’t take my babies from me.”

Ethan smiled.

He thought she had broken.

“That’s better,” he said. “Obedient.”

Downstairs, every screen showed Charlotte’s pale face in close-up.

No one ate.

No one spoke.

Even the live band stood frozen, instruments hanging uselessly in their hands.

The family attorney.

A district prosecutor.

Several board members.

All of them watched in complete silence.

But upstairs, Ethan still believed he was in control.

“Once you sign, Vanessa and I will announce that you’re stepping away temporarily for health reasons,” he said. “I’ll assume the chairmanship of the company. She’ll manage the estate. The twins will remain under my custody until you recover.”

Vanessa laughed.

“And if you never recover? What a convenient tragedy.”

Charlotte pressed her fingers against her belly.

“Was my father’s death convenient too?”

The room changed instantly.

Ethan shot Vanessa a warning look.

“Don’t talk about that.”

But Vanessa was too confident now.

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