The Mistress Wanted More Than Her Husband—She Was After the Unborn Baby’s Fortune

“Before the birth of the child.”

Laurel read the sentence three times.

Her fingers had gone numb.

“What does my daughter have to do with a property transfer?”

Margaret Bennett did not answer immediately.

She closed the library door.

Then she walked to the fireplace and removed a small brass key from a locked drawer.

“Your grandfather made two versions of his estate plan,” she said.

Laurel frowned.

“Two?”

“The first established your ownership of the Vale Trust. The second created a separate inheritance for your first child.”

Laurel placed a protective hand over her stomach.

“How much?”

Margaret hesitated.

“Approximately two billion dollars in assets, depending on the current valuation.”

Laurel stared at her.

“Two billion?”

“Your grandfather wanted his great-grandchild to have a future no one could bargain away.”

“Then why would Adrian care when she’s born?”

Margaret opened a leather-bound file.

“Because the child-specific trust becomes irrevocable at birth. Before then, certain assets remain within the family holding structure.”

Laurel understood slowly.

“Someone is trying to move the assets before they become hers.”

“Exactly.”

“And Camille?”

Margaret placed another photograph on the table.

This one showed Camille standing beside Adrian Vale outside a private airport.

The date was eight months earlier.

Laurel’s stomach tightened.

Eight months.

Before Camille had publicly appeared at Nolan’s side.

Before the late-night business dinners.

Before the sudden announcement of the Westcott partnership.

“She planned this,” Laurel whispered.

Margaret nodded.

“Adrian approached Camille’s father with an investment proposal. He promised the Westcotts control of the Hudson redevelopment if they helped remove you from the trust’s decision-making.”

“Remove me how?”

“By persuading Nolan to initiate divorce proceedings and challenge your capacity to manage financial affairs.”

Laurel remembered every conversation.

Every time Nolan had called her unstable.

Every time he had suggested she needed rest.

Every time he had told friends that pregnancy had made her irrational.

A terrible realization settled over her.

“They’ve been building a case against me.”

“Yes.”

“And Nolan?”

“We don’t know how much he understands.”

Laurel looked toward the fire.

She wanted to believe Nolan had been manipulated.

But she remembered his face at the gala.

The way he had stood beside Camille.

The way he had watched another woman humiliate the mother of his child.

Whatever he knew, he had made his choices.

“Then we stop them.”

Margaret nodded.

“We’ve frozen the disputed transfer and requested an independent forensic review.”

Before Laurel could answer, her phone vibrated.

An unfamiliar number.

A video attachment.

She opened it.

The screen showed a private dining room.

Camille sat across from Adrian Vale.

A hidden camera had recorded their conversation.

Adrian’s voice was low.

“Once Nolan files the petition, we can argue Laurel is incapable of managing the trust.”

Camille laughed.

“That shouldn’t be difficult. He’s already convinced everyone she’s unstable.”

“And the child?”

“She won’t be born for another eight weeks.”

Adrian leaned forward.

“Make sure the divorce petition is filed before then.”

Camille lifted her glass.

“Trust me. Nolan will do whatever I tell him.”

The video ended.

Laurel sat motionless.

Then another message appeared.

“That recording is only the beginning. Don’t trust anyone at the mansion.”

She looked up sharply.

“Margaret, who sent this?”

Margaret examined the number.

“I don’t know.”

A sound came from the hallway.

Footsteps.

Thomas appeared in the doorway.

“Miss Vale, there’s a vehicle approaching the gate.”

“Who?”

He looked uncomfortable.

“Mr. Pierce.”

Laurel stood.

“How did he find me?”

Thomas shook his head.

“We don’t know.”

Outside, headlights cut through the snow.

Nolan stepped out of a black SUV.

He looked different.

His tie was gone.

His hair was disordered.

And there was blood on the cuff of his white shirt.

Laurel watched him through the security monitor.

Nolan looked directly into the camera.

“Laurel,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Please open the gate.”

She pressed the intercom.

“Go home.”

“I can’t.”

“That’s no longer my problem.”

He looked over his shoulder.

For the first time, she noticed a second vehicle parked beyond the trees.

Its headlights were off.

Nolan moved closer to the camera.

“Camille knows about the baby.”

Laurel’s blood ran cold.

“I know.”

“No.” His voice broke. “You don’t understand.”

He lifted his phone toward the camera.

On the screen was a photograph of a hospital room.

Laurel recognized it immediately.

It was the private maternity suite she had reserved for her delivery.

Someone had photographed the room that afternoon.

Nolan whispered, “They’ve already arranged for someone to be there when our daughter is born.”

Laurel gripped the edge of the desk.

“Who?”

Nolan looked behind him again.

Then he said something she never expected to hear.

“My mother.”

Read Part 4: Click here.