‘Mrs Laurent, my baby! Save my baby!’ Genevieve sobbed, clutching her stomach, genuine terror on her face.
Gwendolyn was shaken too. She patted Genevieve’s hand reassuringly. ‘Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no harm will co to that child.’
Genevieve just nodded frantically, hiding behind Gwendolyn like a frightened child, her whole body trembling. She didn’t dare look at Ashton.
Gwendolyn turned a stony face to Ashton. ‘Is there truly no way you’ll let this child live?’ she asked, her voice tight. ‘Or is there soone else who objects?’ Her gaze, sharp as a blade, swung towards , standing silently to the side.
She let out a contemptuous sniff. ‘You can’t give Ashton an heir. What right do you have to stop other won from trying?’
I wanted to roll my eyes. I’d co with Ashton purely as an observer, planning to say and do nothing, just watch quietly and wait for him to prove that the baby wasn’t his.
‘This has nothing to do with Mira,’ Ashton said, his voice firm. In one smooth movent, he pulled into his side, wrapping a protective arm around before turning his attention back to Gwendolyn.
I leaned against the solid warmth of his shoulder, and a sense of calm I’d never known settled over .
‘Ashton!’ Gwendolyn’s voice rose to a shrill pitch. ‘Are you truly going to discard your own flesh and blood for this woman?’
‘I’m taking her with today, Gwendolyn,’ Ashton stated bluntly. ‘Don’t try to stop . You can’t.’
Gwendolyn stared at him, fury and fear turning her face a mottled grey.
Ashton frowned and gave Harry a nearly imperceptible nod.
Harry moved to seize Genevieve, but a man’s voice from the stairs cut through the tension. ‘Stop!’
Reginald Laurent fixed his son with a heavy, uneasy stare. Though clearly intimidated, he forced himself to speak. ‘Genevieve is carrying your child. You and Mirabelle have been married for so long without a baby. Maybe the issue lies with her. Genevieve cares for you deeply, enough to have this child without any claim on you. You ought to appreciate that.’
Ashton let out a cold laugh. ‘What she chooses to do is her business. But why are the two of you involved?’
Reginald and Gwendolyn exchanged uneasy glances.
‘Let guess,’ Ashton continued, his voice dripping with scorn. ‘You bought her story about the baby being mine, and you’re banking on the fact that once it’s born, I wouldn’t abandon my own flesh and blood. You were counting on child support, a trust fund, maybe. In fact, you were probably hoping I’d ignore them both, so you could get your hands on the money under the guise of caring for them.’
I turned his words over in my head, and it all clicked into place.
Gwendolyn, as Ashton’s stepmother, had tried every trick in the book to undermine him. When her plan to force a woman of her choosing into marriage failed, she’d tried to have removed from the picture—all over money.
As for Reginald, he’d always sided with his wife over his own son. After Edouard Laurent’s will was read, leaving Reginald with almost nothing, it was no surprise he held a grudge against Ashton.
I just never expected the two of them to be in league with Genevieve. How long had she been hiding here, right under our noses?
I had to hand it to her—it was a clever move. Ashton almost never visited the old Laurent estate. If she hadn’t tipped her hand by sending that dead rat, he might never have found her.
Reginald stamred out a denial, but it was weak and unconvincing.
‘The child she’s carrying isn’t mine, if she’s even pregnant at all,’ Ashton stated flatly. ‘But if you’re determined to keep her, then keep her. You’ll be covering the expenses yourselves, of course.’ His voice dropped, low and dangerous. ‘But if she ever trespasses again in my life, or Mira’s, I won’t be so accommodating.’
His words hung in the air, a clear threat.
Gwendolyn seed thrown by Ashton’s certainty. She hesitated, suddenly unsure, afraid she’d backed the wrong horse and was now in an awkward, untenable position.
Sensing the shift, Genevieve clutched desperately at Gwendolyn’s leg. ‘Mrs Laurent, you have to believe ! This is Ashton’s child! He’s only saying this because he doesn’t want you to keep and the baby. Please, you must believe !’
Gwendolyn wavered again. She looked back and forth, utterly torn, not knowing who to trust.
In the end, it was Reginald who broke the stalemate. ‘Enough. Whether it’s true or not, we’ll know in a couple of months when she’s far enough along for a DNA test via amniocentesis. There’s no point arguing now. If it is Ashton’s, we’ll help raise it. If not...’ He trailed off, an unspoken threat.
Genevieve shuddered visibly, a flash of guilt in her eyes.
Ashton scoffed. ‘Fine. Congratulations in advance on your grandchild—who isn’t actually related to you.’
‘Let’s go,’ he said to .
I nodded. My gaze swept over Genevieve one last ti, and I t her venomous stare head-on. When she glared, I glared right back.
Once we were outside the house, I felt a wave of relief wash over .
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