Chapter 3 — The Wife They Replaced

Dinner was served as if nothing had happened.

That told me everything.

If betrayal could be seated at a polished table and passed with the bread, then everyone here had practiced this lie for a long time.

I changed into a black dress and went downstairs.

They were waiting.

Adrian sat at the head of the table.

Sienna wore soft blue and red-rimmed eyes.

My father, Victor Quinn, sat to Adrian’s right. Miranda sat beside him, graceful and composed as ever. Noah leaned back in his chair, already looking annoyed.

No one looked shocked to see me.

Miranda offered a practiced smile. “Elara, darling, you should be resting.”

“I’m fine,” I said, sitting down.

No one touched the food.

Victor broke the silence first.

“You embarrassed the family at the hospital.”

I laughed once.

Noah frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”

I looked at Adrian. “Tell them.”

Miranda and Victor exchanged a glance.

That was when I knew.

Adrian set down his glass. “Leo is my son.”

Noah didn’t look surprised.

Neither did my father.

My stomach tightened. “You knew?”

Noah exhaled impatiently. “I found out a few months ago.”

A few months.

My own brother had known for months.

Victor folded his hands. “This is why we didn’t want a public scene.”

A scene.

They loved that word.

As though the problem was always my reaction, never what had been done to me.

“You all knew,” I said.

Miranda’s voice turned soothing. “It was complicated.”

“Complicated?” I repeated. “I lost my baby two days ago. Today I found my husband’s child hidden in his house with another woman. Tell me what part of that should feel simple.”

Sienna’s tears fell on cue.

“I begged Adrian not to hide it anymore.”

I didn’t even look at her.

Adrian spoke in the same maddeningly calm tone. “Leo was born before our marriage.”

“You married me anyway.”

“Yes.”

No flinching.

No shame.

Just fact.

“Why?” I asked.

His answer came after a beat too long. “Because I intended to give you your place.”

My place.

Miranda hurried to soften it. “He means your marriage remains legitimate.”

Sienna lowered her head and cried harder.

Victor sighed. “The child needs stability. Sienna is emotionally fragile. A mature woman would understand.”

I turned to him. “You want me to live under the same roof as my husband’s mistress and their son.”

“Don’t use that word,” Miranda said sharply.

“What word? Mistress?”

Noah leaned forward. “Can you stop attacking Sienna?”

I stared at him.

“I’m attacking her?”

“She’s been dependent on this family for years.”

“And I’ve been your sister my entire life.”

He looked away.

That hurt more than I wanted it to.

Adrian rubbed his temple. “No one meant to hurt you.”

I smiled without humor. “That may be the cruelest thing you’ve said tonight.”

I reached for my water, and from the corner of my eye I saw Mrs. Bell in the doorway.

The older housekeeper stood very still, tray in hand, expression tight with worry.

Victor kept going, as if he were settling a business nuisance.

“You will not divorce,” he said. “Publicly, nothing changes.”

I looked at him. “You think this is your decision?”

“You’re not thinking clearly.”

Miranda nodded. “You’ve been unstable for months.”

Something in me went cold.

Months.

The dizziness.

The strange fatigue.

The way every emotion had felt too large.

The way they all kept using the same words: sensitive, difficult, dramatic.

I turned to Adrian. “My vitamins.”

His face remained controlled.

But Sienna’s shoulders tensed.

Miranda answered too quickly. “Sienna ordered supplements from her clinic. She was trying to help.”

Mrs. Bell dropped a spoon in the hall.

Everyone looked over.

She bent to pick it up, but not before meeting my eyes.

Fear.

And pity.

After dinner, I rose.

No one tried to stop me.

Not until I reached the hallway outside Adrian’s study.

He followed. “You’re imagining connections that aren’t there.”

“Am I?”

“Yes.”

I tilted my head. “Then why do you all sound rehearsed?”

His jaw tightened. “Get some sleep.”

That was answer enough.

When I turned, I nearly collided with Mrs. Bell.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” she murmured.

Then her hand brushed my sleeve.

Something small slid into my palm.

A flash drive.

My pulse jumped.

“Don’t let them see,” she whispered. “I served your mother before I served this house.”

Before I could respond, she moved away with the tray.

From the study doorway, Adrian watched us.

I slipped the flash drive into my pocket and went upstairs without another word.

Inside my room, I locked the door.

Then I plugged the drive into my laptop.

A folder opened.

Video files. Photos. Medical labels.

At the top sat a text document with one line.

The stairs were not an accident.

End of Chapter 3