Chapter 2: The Woman Who Destroyed Everything
"It's a girl."
The words shattered Chloe's exhaustion.
A girl.
Her daughter.
Her miracle.
The nurse placed the baby briefly against her chest.
Warm.
Tiny.
Perfect.
Chloe's entire world changed.
Across the room, Ethan stood frozen.
Staring at the newborn.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
The same dark eyes.
The same stubborn chin.
The same expression.
His daughter.
There was no denying it.
Chloe watched years of regret flood his face all at once.
Then the delivery room door burst open.
Everyone turned.
A woman swept inside wearing an expensive coat and diamond earrings.
Margaret Chen.
Ethan's mother.
The woman responsible for destroying their marriage.
The woman who had convinced Ethan to choose family expectations over love.
Silence fell across the room.
Margaret looked at the baby.
Then at Chloe.
Then at Ethan.
Understanding appeared in her eyes.
Followed immediately by horror.
"You have got to be kidding me."
No one spoke.
No one needed to.
Margaret already knew.
"That child is yours."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"Mother."
The older woman laughed coldly.
Not because she was happy.
Because she was calculating.
Immediately.
Always calculating.
"How long have you known?"
"About three minutes."
For a brief moment, nobody moved.
Then Margaret folded her arms.
"The hospital board meeting is next week."
Ethan's face darkened.
"Don't."
"Your promotion is practically guaranteed."
The room went silent.
Chloe suddenly understood exactly what was happening.
Margaret wasn't worried about the baby.
She wasn't worried about Ethan.
She was worried about appearances.
A secret child.
An ex-wife.
A scandal.
A threat to the perfect future she had designed for her son.
Then Margaret said the one thing she should never have said.
"Perhaps some matters are better left in the past."
And at that moment, Chloe realized Margaret was already planning how to erase them from Ethan's life again.