After being separated from my wife for a year, I finally saw her again, and she was already five months pregnant. My anger and questions only brought her defensive retorts. “I’m an independent woman, and I have the right to control my own body!” “Why are you so upset that I’m having a child for a childhood friend?” Her childhood friend chimed in, explaining that the child was conceived via IVF, and they weren’t romantically involved. In the streets of France, they mocked me with, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” and kissed right in front of me, calling me a backward bumpkin with outdated beliefs. “Don’t let him know I intentionally aborted the last child. The first child I give birth to can only be yours,” my wife whispered to her friend, unaware that I had already learned enough French to understand her. I grabbed my wife Sophia’s arm, fury boiling over. “You said you came to France to further your studies, but it seems you were studying in bed!” I glared at Sophia’s belly. We had been apart for a year, so this child couldn’t possibly be anyone else’s but Liam’s. The two of them were stunned by my sudden appearance, looking at me in disbelief. “Ethan, since you know everything, there’s no point in hiding it. The child is indeed Liam’s.” “Bro, actually, Sophia knew my mom wanted a grandchild, but I’m not interested in marriage. She just wanted to help me. This is our IVF child, and we’re innocent.” Despite my shock, they quickly put on a show of innocence. Ha, the way they were hugging and kissing was far from innocent! “Ethan, we’re married, and you should understand me. I can’t handle any major emotional upheaval now that I’m pregnant. Let’s settle everything after the baby’s born.” Her words made me laugh in disbelief. So, she was having a child for someone else, and I not only couldn’t be angry, but I had to be understanding and supportive? Sorry, I can’t accept that. “Sophia, I don’t even want to be with you anymore, so why would I protect your child?” I looked at her, my tone unwavering. To Sophia, all she saw was jealousy. “No matter what you say, I won’t abort this child just because you’re jealous!” Hearing this, Liam immediately dropped to his knees in front of me. He crawled a few steps forward, keeping his head very low. “Brother Ethan, please don’t make Sister Sophia abort the child. She’s quite far along, and an abortion would be harmful to her.” Liam whispered to me, in a voice only I could hear, delivering a truly cutting remark. “Sophia already aborted the last pregnancy to have this child. If she aborts again, she might never be able to have children.” Last pregnancy? Aborted? Those words left me momentarily speechless with rage. Sophia had told me our last child was an accidental miscarriage. At that time, I said I would drop everything to be with her, but she insisted I complete my project, saying she also wanted to study abroad and relax. Not only did I comply with her wishes, but I also transferred millions to her out of guilt. Turns out she intentionally aborted the child just to make room to have a child for another man? How am I supposed to swallow this?
“Sophia, you’d better explain clearly what happened to our child.” I turned and demanded answers from Sophia. Liam, who was still on the ground, quickly attempted to cover for his words. “Ah, I misspoke… I meant miscarriage. I was trying to say Sophia can’t have another miscarriage; it’s bad for her health.” I never thought Liam, a man, could be so duplicitous. Besides, I had met him before, and he wasn’t like this. “I don’t want to hide it from you. I did abort the child. Liam’s father is critically ill, and I wanted to have a child for Liam to continue their family line and give the old man some hope. How can you have no empathy?” Sophia’s words made me laugh out of anger. So she was overflowing with empathy, rushing to have a child for someone else? “Don’t give me that moral high ground nonsense, making cheating sound so noble! Just one thing, I want you back home for a divorce!” As soon as I mentioned divorce, Liam’s eyes lit up. Sure enough, a homewrecker always wants to ascend, regardless of gender. He had deliberately let me know about Sophia’s abortion to provoke a divorce between us, didn’t he? “You’re just bothered that the child isn’t yours, right? After I have Liam’s child, I’ll give you one. If we end up divorcing, you’ll have to leave Anderson Corporation, so what’s in it for you?” I underestimated Sophia’s shamelessness. She even threatened me with that tone. She doesn’t know that Anderson Corporation has been a shell since her father passed away. If it wasn’t for my investment and takeover, it would’ve gone bankrupt long ago. But she did remind me, after all my hard work, why should I make it easy for others by getting a divorce now? So I pretended to soften my stance, wanting to hear Sophia’s plan to have a child for someone else abroad. “I can avoid divorce, but you have to take care of this child!” “Don’t worry about the child. I’ll find a private hospital to give birth, and there won’t be any record. But you’ll have to be the one to sign off on the surgery. So for the time being, let Liam return home to manage the company while you take care of me until the birth.” Hearing her plan, I couldn’t help but take a deep breath. She intended to keep me informed until the child was too far along to be aborted, and I’d be the one to care for her during labor. Meanwhile, Liam would return home under the guise of managing the company for me, effectively sidelining me. What a plan to discard the donkey after exploiting it! “Don’t worry, you’re still my husband. Liam is just helping take over temporarily; nothing will go wrong.” Sophia made it sound so reassuring. “Alright, it seems like the best plan now, but you have to promise I can return to the company immediately after you give birth.” I turned and gave advice to my confidant at the company back home. Once Liam arrives, they’ll be sure to treat him well. With Liam gone, Sophia continued nurturing her fetus in France. But every day, she would spend a long time on the balcony, talking on the phone. “What are you chattering about out there every day?” I pretended not to understand her. “Just talking to some friends in France.” After testing several times and thinking I really didn’t understand, Sophia openly started speaking in French on the phone with Liam in front of me. “Liam, it’s alright if he deliberately makes things hard for you at the company. Just hang in there; everything will be fine after the baby is born.” “Remember my grandfather’s will? All of Anderson family’s entire estate will go to my first child.” Sophia’s words were laced with malice, as if she was already planning to discard me once she was done using me. What she didn’t know was that I had already learned French to find her. I understood every word she said these days. After all, knowing your enemy is the key to victory. She has her tricks, and I have my plans.
With two months left until the due date, Sophia eagerly moved into a private hospital. Since she didn’t want any record of her having a child for the Liam family, she devised a foolproof plan. Not only did she have me, her nominal husband, accompany her, but she also paid a hefty sum to bribe the doctor to alter the medical records. She changed the pregnancy period to four months and the type of surgery from a natural birth to an induction. With this switcheroo, even if I eventually confronted her or if a business rival dug up this dirt, she could claim this child was ours, but it was aborted due to poor development. As for the child in her womb, it really was developing poorly. The doctor said it was a Down syndrome child and advised against giving birth. But Sophia stubbornly chose to do the opposite, saying a child with an intellectual disability would be easier to manipulate. She needed a piece that would allow her to reap the benefits effortlessly. She always treated me like a pawn, but how could I let her manipulate me any longer? I looked at the altered surgical application form and silently clenched my fists. I decided to respect the doctor’s advice and not let the child come into this world. “Ethan, your French isn’t good, so you’ll need to use a translator to communicate with the doctors and make sure the surgery process is correct. Don’t mess it up!” Before entering the operating room, Sophia kept emphasizing to me. “I got it. I’ll communicate well with the doctor. You just go in and relax.” Maybe my calm tone aroused her suspicion. “Ethan, you’d better remember. If anything happens to me or the child, I won’t let you off easily!” Even at this point, she didn’t forget to threaten me. I had already confirmed the procedure with the doctors. They all agreed with my decision, and considering Sophia’s extreme personality, the child had inherent defects. If born, it would only be used by Sophia and then discarded. Rather than let that happen, I could stop the tragedy now. From the ward came Sophia’s heart-wrenching screams. “What did you inject me with? Why do I feel like the child isn’t moving?” She tried to get up but was anesthetized and could only lie on the bed. “Ethan, get in here and tell the doctors the child must survive!” “Ethan, even if I cheated and had a child for another man, you can’t do this to me. You’re my husband, and you must witness this child’s birth!” Sophia yelled for me from the ward, but I found it noisy and left, going further away. Just as I reached the first floor, I ran into Liam, who had rushed over. “Where’s the child, my child?” “You, what exactly did you inject me with? I can’t feel the baby moving anymore!” She tried to get up but was sedated and could only remain on the bed. “Ethan, come in here! You have to tell the doctor that the baby has to survive!” “Ethan, even if I was unfaithful and had a child with someone else, you can’t treat me like this. You’re my husband, you need to be here for the birth of this child!” Sophia was calling me from the hospital room, but the noise was overwhelming, so I stepped out to get some distance. Unexpectedly, as soon as I reached the first floor, I ran into Liam, who had arrived in a hurry. “Where is the child, where is my child?!” In his haste, Liam hadn’t properly concealed what he was carrying. It was the will established by the old patriarch of the Anderson family years ago. Through recent conversations between Sophia and Liam, I finally realized I had been ensnared in a massive scheme from the start. Back then, the old man of the Anderson family knew his daughter was unreliable, so he wanted to find someone to help manage the family business. He orchestrated a plan for Sophia to deliberately win over my family’s favor and secure my goodwill, while also setting up an ironclad will. No matter how I developed the company, the profits would always belong to the Anderson family. But it seems his plans are about to unravel now. “The child has already been terminated.” I smiled with a hint of detachment. Hearing this, Liam completely lost control. “You deceived me, didn’t you? The child was fine; it must have been born already!” Liam lunged to grab my collar. I snatched the documents from his hand and pulled him upstairs. “See for yourself!” When we got upstairs, Sophia had already been wheeled out, unconscious, with no child beside her. This sent Liam into a complete frenzy. He urgently pulled the doctor aside to ask. “Where’s the child? Which room was it sent to?” “The child has been dealt with according to your instructions. Here are the surgical records, and here’s the signed family consent.” When the doctor placed the surgical records in front of him, Liam saw his dreams shatter and collapsed onto the floor. “Didn’t we agree? Just write ‘termination’ on the record, but actually have the child!” “Ethan, it had to be you! You tricked us! You understood French, so you knew about the will. After I left, you secretly bribed the doctor. How dare you ruin my plans!” Just as Liam was about to charge at me, I tore the will to pieces and threw them in his face. The paper fragments fluttered down, just like his shattered dream of wealth. “Save your energy; you’ll need it to take care of her.” With that, I turned and left without looking back. “What do I do now? My billions!” “Sophia, wake up!” “Get up and think of something!” Liam’s wailing behind me was almost laughable. Weren’t they supposed to be in love? Why was every word from Liam’s mouth only about money? I had no time for this drama. There’s a tough battle waiting for me back home. Since Liam’s return, he’s overhauled the company’s staff, inserting many of their people. Operations are in chaos, and the stock keeps plummeting. I have to intervene. Back at Johnson Corporation, rumors were already spreading. They said Sophia and I secretly divorced, which is why Liam took over the company recently. As for me, I could be kicked out at any time, and those who support me would be cleared out too. These rumors were undoubtedly orchestrated by Sophia and Liam. Failing to use the child to oust me, they now want to use public pressure. It’s not going to be that easy. I identified several key figures spreading rumors and fired them, regardless of their position. I also rehired a few confidants who had been forced out under Liam’s pressure. With the staff cleaned up, I immediately called an emergency shareholders meeting. Exhausted after dealing with everything, I finally had time to go home, only to run into Sophia at the door. “Long time no see. I didn’t expect you’d change the locks.” Sophia spoke first, clearly with ill intentions. “But you didn’t change our mom’s nursing home location, did you?” Sophia waved her phone in front of me. It was a photo of her and my mom. I am committed to ensuring the content retains its original meaning while being expressed in a way that’s closer to English norms, making it easier to understand. Throughout this process, we will maintain the original formatting, keeping the line breaks and paragraph divisions intact. is a special identifier and should neither be removed nor translated. 5 “If you even think about doing anything, I’ll make sure the Anderson family’s entire estate is ruined!”
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