She Came to Her Husband's Mistress's Baby Shower,As the Real Boss

My plane had barely touched down from the business trip when a call came in from a fivestar hotel manager：

“Ms. Fox, congratulations on the new baby boy!”

“I'm calling to ask if there's anything else you'd like us to prepare for the little one's onemonth celebration?”

I froze where I stood.

When we got married, Elwin Henson told me himself that he didn't want children. So where exactly had a baby come from?

I asked before I could stop myself：

“Are you sure you have the right number?”

The manager immediately sent me a video of my inlaws holding a baby, then said with a cheerful laugh：

“You're one of our VIP members, ma'am. You've brought them here to dine before. There's no way I'd mix that up.”

I stared at the screen, watching my inlaws coo at the infant in their arms, calling him their grandson.

It clicked. In the single year I'd been away, my husband hadn't just cheated. He'd fathered a child with another woman.

My grip tightened around the phone, and I dialed my people.

“Lock down the Grand Dragon Hotel on Jingnan Road. Not a fly leaves that building.”

——

After I hung up, I stared at the infant on the screen, at the face that looked so much like Elwin's, and felt every last trace of warmth drain out of me.

Twenty minutes later, I stepped out of my car in the hotel's groundlevel parking garage. The air around me could have frosted glass.

One of my operatives appeared and greeted me with a respectful bow：

“Ma'am, the hotel owner has handed over full control. We're ready to move on your word.”

I gave a slight nod, my expression flat：“Don't alert anyone. Hold your positions and wait for my signal.”

Then I walked into the hotel.

On the massive LED screen in the banquet hall, a slideshow of heartwarming family photos played on loop.

The man in them was Elwin.

The woman, I didn't recognize.

All I remembered was that some wellconnected family named Pruitt was involved.

Not that it mattered. The commercial empire my grandfather left me stretched across the country, spanning both legitimate industries and the gray areas in between.

The socalled Pruitt family was nothing. An insect I could crush without looking down.

My identity was too sensitive to go public with, so when I married Elwin, the only story anyone got was that I ran a small trading company.

Day to day, my grandfather's most trusted people managed the empire on my behalf.

The number of people who had actually seen my face could be counted on one hand.

That was when snippets of conversation about the celebration started drifting toward me from every direction.

Every word landed like a needle driven straight into my chest.

“This onemonth celebration is something else. They booked the entire Grand Dragon Hotel. The Pruitt family sure knows how to put on a show!”

“No wonder the Hensons have been walking around like they own the place. Their son married the Pruitt heiress. They've hit the jackpot for good.”

I stood at the back of the crowd, listening to the praise in silence, a cold, bitter smile curling at the corner of my mouth.

A year ago, I had gone overseas alone to break into foreign markets, to build more opportunities for Elwin's fledgling little company.

And this was what I got.

While I was gone, he hadn't just betrayed me. He'd built a whole new life with someone else, complete with a child.

Ice spread through my veins. Then a voice piped up beside me.

“I don't think I've seen you around. Are you one of the Hensons' relatives?”

I kept my tone even：“Something like that.”

She grabbed my arm right away and pulled me toward a seat.

“You must be Mr. Henson's sister, right?”

“I heard the only reason his company grew this big, and the reason he just signed that eightfigure deal with Apex Technologies, is because the Pruitt heiress pulled strings behind the scenes. The whole Pruitt family backed him.”

“Being his sister, all you'd have to do is ask and the Pruitts would set you up with a cushy job for sure. God, I envy you.”

A mocking laugh slipped out of me before I could help it.

So this was how it worked. One person rides the wave, and everyone around them floats up too.

Just then, the crowd parted on its own to form a path.

My inlaws came strolling through, beaming with pride, the baby cradled in their arms.

Elwin trailed right beside them.

Compliments flowed without pause.

“He really takes after Mr. Henson's good looks. What a gorgeous child.”

“Though those eyes are the spitting image of the Pruitt heiress.”

My heart seized, crushed by an invisible fist, and a suffocating ache ripped through every nerve.

Elwin and his parents smiled and nodded at the guests, but when they turned, their eyes landed squarely on mine.

The smiles froze on their faces.

Elwin blurted out before he could stop himself：

“Maura, what are you doing here?”

A few heads swiveled toward me.

“Fox? So you're not one of the Hensons. Which side of the family are you from?”

Norma's expression darkened for a split second before she turned to the guest with a practiced smile：

“She's a Henson relative. Distant branch of the family.”

The panic in Elwin's face eased considerably once he heard that.

“Right, she's……she's a distant cousin of mine.”

“Ah, that explains it.”

The curiosity dissolved.

Norma handed the baby off to Dana, then pulled me aside. Her voice dropped low, laced with warning.

“Weren't you overseas? And who told you to come here? Do you have any idea what kind of event this is?”

I let out a cold laugh：

“What's the matter? My husband throws a onemonth celebration for his mistress's baby, and his actual wife isn't allowed to attend?”

Her voice turned icy：“Drop the act!”

“I suggest you get lost before you make things worse for yourself.”

A quiet laugh slipped from my lips, and the chill in my eyes deepened：“And if I don't?”

“Don't push your luck!”

“You think you're still good enough for my son? Do you even know who that child's mother is?”

“The heir to the Pruitt family. Oldmoney elite. Old Mr. Pruitt's own granddaughter.”

I replied without a trace of emotion：

“The Pruitts? Bottom of the barrel among the elite families.”

“They're still way beyond anything you can touch!”

“You've seen what you've seen today. Now keep your mouth shut and walk away.”

“Otherwise, you won't have a place left in this world.”

Elwin walked over as well, a warning threaded through his tone.

“Maura, you run a tiny company. We're not in the same world anymore.”

“Summer knows about us. But she said as long as you come back and agree to the divorce without making a fuss, she won't make things difficult for you.”

“A clean break. That's the most dignity I can offer you.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of divorce papers.

“I figured you'd be back around now, so I've been carrying these with me. Just sign.”

I stared at the papers and bowed my head, a trembling laugh escaping me.

Caught redhanded with an affair and an illegitimate child, and they felt not a shred of guilt. Instead, they stood here threatening me like I was the one in the wrong.

The next instant I lifted my chin, and something shifted in the air around me, cold and commanding.

“Elwin, you're all so afraid of offending the Pruitts. Aren't you the least bit afraid of offending me?”

Norma hadn't expected that kind of force from me.

But with the Pruitt name bolstering her courage, she hardened her expression again and stared at me like I'd lost my mind.

“Who do you think you are? An egg smashing itself against a rock. The nerve.”

Elwin chimed in：

“Bluffing won't get you anywhere. I'll throw in some money if that's what it takes. Don't humiliate yourself, or today won't end at just a divorce.”

He pulled a check from his breast pocket and tossed it at me.

“One million dollars.”

Three years I'd propped him up. That check wasn't compensation. It was a barefaced insult.

Slowly, I reached out my hand.

At the sight of it, smiles crept across both their faces.

Norma sneered：“There we go. I knew all you wanted was to squeeze some money out of us.”

But in the very next moment, I tore the check to shreds and let the pieces scatter like confetti.