Chapter 10 - The False Victory
Lucas dropped to his knees at the edge of the boardroom, weeping with absolute relief.
He crawled toward Emma, reaching his shaking hands out to touch the tiny face of his newborn son.
The baby was perfect, completely healthy and safe in his mother's arms.
Emma smiled down at the child, humming a soft, sweet lullaby.
"You're safe," Lucas cried, burying his face in Emma's lap. "I thought I lost you both."
He stood up and pulled her into a tight, desperate embrace.
He had defeated his toxic family, exposed her greedy father, and finally secured his wife and child.
They had won the war, and he swore no one would ever touch them again.
Lucas pulled away and gently wiped a tear from Emma's cheek.
"How did your legs heal so fast?" Lucas asked, looking down at her perfectly normal skin.
Emma offered a soft, angelic smile and reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small, empty bottle of stage makeup.
Lucas stared at the bottle, his brain struggling to comprehend what he was seeing.
He looked around the boardroom and finally noticed the thick stacks of legal documents piled on the table.
They were the exact same asset transfer papers Richard had tried to force him to sign earlier.
But they were already signed, heavily stamped with the corporate seal, and fully executed.
"I needed Margaret and Arthur to distract you," Emma said sweetly, her small-town accent completely gone.
She picked up a pen and twirled it between her perfectly manicured fingers.
"Your family was so obsessed with stealing the baby, they didn't realize I spent the last nine months legally restructuring your entire empire into a trust."
Lucas took a slow, terrified step backward.
"A trust controlled by who?" Lucas whispered, his voice trembling.
Emma smiled, a cold, terrifying expression that mirrored his mother's perfectly.
May you like
Before she could answer, the boardroom doors opened, and Lucas's first wife—the woman he had buried three years ago—walked in holding a champagne glass.
"Controlled by us, darling," his dead wife smiled, handing Emma the glass.
