Chapter 3 - The Collapse of the Empire
The aftermath of the cancelled wedding was a social media explosion. By nightfall, the "Wedding of the Century turned Secret Triplet Scandal" was trending worldwide. The Bradford name, once synonymous with untouchable power, was dragged through the mud.
Two days later, I sat in the high-end boardroom of my corporate headquarters in the city center. The room was sleek, modern, and filled with light—a stark contrast to the dark, suffocating halls of the Bradford mansion. Leo, Owen, and Wyatt were in the executive playroom next door, happily building a massive toy train track under the watchful eyes of their nannies.
The door opened, and Garrett was escorted in by my security. He looked exhausted. The sharp, immaculate billionaire I had married five years ago looked broken. His suit was wrinkled, and the shadows under his gray eyes were deep.
"Audrey," he said, his voice barely a whisper as he sat across from me at the glass table. "Thank you for agreeing to see me."
"You have exactly ten minutes, Garrett," I said, my tone professional and completely detached. "I am a very busy woman."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Garrett pleaded, leaning forward. "Five years ago, I woke up and you were just gone. My mother told me you took a payout and ran off with another man. I hunted for you for months until my mother showed me fake bank statements proving you took her money!"
I let out a short, humorless laugh. "Your mother told me that if I didn't sign over full custody of my unborn children to her, she would use the Bradford legal team to declare me unfit, lock me in a psychiatric facility, and take my babies the second they were born. She called me a low-class parasite. I didn't run away from you, Garrett. I ran away to save my children from becoming heartless monsters like Vivian."
Garrett closed his eyes, a tear escaping and rolling down his cheek. "I didn't know... I swear to God, Audrey, I didn't know she did that. I was weak. I let her control the family business, I let her choose Evelyn for me because the company was drowning..."
"And that's the difference between us, Garrett," I said, leaning back. "When you faced pressure, you let your mother sell you to a senator's daughter. When I faced pressure, I built an empire from scratch while carrying three babies in my womb. I don't hate you, Garrett. But I don't respect you either."
"Please," Garrett choked out. "Let me be their father. Let me see them. I don't care about the company anymore. I don't care about my mother’s pride. They are my sons."
Before I could answer, my desk phone buzzed. My secretary’s voice came through the speaker, sounding panicked. "Ms. Vance, Vivian Bradford is downstairs in the lobby. She is causing a massive scene, demanding to see the children, and she has brought a team of reporters with her!"
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I looked at Garrett, then back at the phone. A cold, sharp smile crossed my face.
"Let her up," I told the secretary. "It’s time to end this once and for all."
