Chapter 4 - The Mother's Ultimatum
"Lock the doors," Lucas commanded his security detail, his voice dropping into a freezing, lethal register. "Nobody leaves this room."
The massive guards immediately moved, securing the heavy mahogany exits and trapping the wealthy gala guests inside.
Lucas slowly stepped around the head table, ignoring the panicked whispers of his corporate board members. He walked directly up to Jessica. He didn't look angry; he looked like a man who had just crawled out of a ten-year nightmare.
"Why did you leave?" Lucas demanded softly, his dark eyes pleading for the truth. "If you didn't take the money, Jessica... why did you disappear?"
Jessica squeezed Lily's hand tightly. A single tear rolled down her cheek, completely ruining her flawless makeup.
"Because your mother didn't offer me a bribe, Lucas," Jessica whispered, her voice trembling with the heavy weight of a decade's worth of trauma. "She offered me an ultimatum."
Lucas froze. "What?"
"I found out I was pregnant with Lily two days before our wedding," Jessica explained, her voice echoing perfectly in the silent ballroom. "I went to your mother's office to tell her the good news. But she already knew. She had my medical records pulled illegally."
Jessica looked down at her daughter, her heart breaking all over again.
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"She told me that if I married you, she would use the family's lawyers to declare me an unfit mother, take my baby away, and destroy my entire family's business," Jessica sobbed. "She said the only way I could keep my child was if I disappeared and never spoke to you again."
👉 Lucas realized his mother was sitting at the VIP table just ten feet away, completely unaware of the execution about to take place.
