On the day of my strategic corporate engagement to Nathaniel Prescott, heir to New York's top billionaire dynasty, he suddenly handed me a DNA test. "Eleanor, I have a son on the outside. He's already three years old." Saying this, he pulled the woman in the white dress next to him closer: "This is Vanessa. My son's mother, and the only woman I will ever truly love in this lifetime." "As for you and me, this is just a corporate merger arranged by our families. So you'd better play smart. After the wedding, we live our separate lives." "As long as you behave, the position of Mrs. Prescott will always be yours." I listened to him and almost laughed out loud. The position of Mrs. Prescott? He said it like he was handing out charity. Did he seriously not know that the Sinclair and Prescott families weren't merging for prestige? We were merging our resources. So our future children could legitimately inherit everything! But look at him. Before the rings were even exchanged, he produced a three-year-old son to demand a cut of the empire? I slapped the DNA test right back against his chest. "Nathaniel, corporate marriages require smart partners, not idiots who can't keep it in their pants." "Since you can't bear to part with your true love and your son, I'll go find Grandpa Prescott right now and have him swap out his heir!" "After all... you're not the only man in the Prescott family." 1. Nathaniel's face darkened instantly at my words. He grabbed my wrist in a vice grip. "Eleanor Sinclair, stop right there." "Today is the day our families officially merge. This is not the place for you to throw a spoiled princess tantrum." I glanced down at his hand. "Let go." He didn't. Instead, he lowered his voice. "If you walk out there and make a scene in front of my grandfather, you'll just embarrass both our families." I looked at him and let out a scoff. "Embarrass?" "Nathaniel, you brought your mistress and your illegitimate child to our engagement party, and you're lecturing me about being an embarrassment?" His expression grew even colder. "I've already made myself perfectly clear. The title of Mrs. Prescott is yours. Vanessa and the kid won't threaten your position." "What the hell are you still making a fuss about?" I was so infuriated by his sheer audacity that I almost laughed again. "Won't threaten me?" "Will that kid have the Prescott last name?" "Will he demand a share of the Prescott stock in the future?" "When you and I have children, are they going to have to call your bastard son their older brother?" Nathaniel frowned deeply. "Oliver is my blood. I can't just disown him." I nodded. "So you want the Sinclair family's resources, you want your true love, and you want your illegitimate son to legitimately inherit a piece of the pie?" "Nathaniel, you've really got it all figured out, don't you?" A few scoffs echoed around us. Not directed at Nathaniel. Directed at me, for being "unreasonable." Nathaniel's frat-boy friends circled up. A guy in a floral shirt holding a martini glass drawled, "Ms. Sinclair, let it go." "Who in our circle doesn't have a little something on the side?" Another chimed in: "Exactly. Nate is willing to give you the title of Mrs. Prescott. That's respectful enough to the Sinclairs." "So what if he has someone on the outside?" "As long as it's not shoved in everyone's faces, we all just turn a blind eye, right?" I slowly scanned their faces. I knew them all. Tyler Vance. Wyatt Brooks. And Logan Caldwell, the youngest son who was always trending online for some scandal. They were all useless trust-fund babies kept around for amusement. No company responsibilities. No projects to touch. Their families' only expectation was that they didn't cause a PR disaster. Of course they didn't care. Because they were never in line for the throne anyway. But Nathaniel was different. He was the personally appointed successor to the Prescott empire. He wasn't marrying me for romance. He was marrying me for the integration of the Prescott and Sinclair empires. It was capital, distribution channels, networks, and shares. And the legitimacy of the next generation of heirs. But here he was, smashing the Prescotts' most important bargaining chip before the engagement was even sealed. I pulled out my phone and texted my dad. "Nathaniel has a mistress and an illegitimate son. The merger is compromised." Nathaniel noticed immediately. His eyes darkened. "Who are you texting?" I put my phone away. "None of your business." As we stood at a stalemate, Vanessa stepped forward, holding the boy. Her eyes were red as she looked at me: "Ms. Sinclair, please don't blame Nate. It's all my fault." "I shouldn't even exist, and I shouldn't have come today." She patted the boy's head. "But Oliver has wanted to see his daddy since he was a baby." "I just wanted him to know he isn't fatherless." The boy immediately hugged Nathaniel's leg, his childish voice pleading: "Daddy, please don't abandon me and Mommy." The anger in Nathaniel's eyes instantly melted into heartbreak. He knelt down and scooped the boy up. "Daddy will never abandon you." Vanessa's tears fell faster. "Ms. Sinclair, Nate is just too devoted." "You are the Sinclair heiress, you have everything." "I only have Nate and our child. I swear I will never fight you for the position of Mrs. Prescott." She spoke beautifully. Not fighting for the position? Then why show up on my engagement day? Wasn't that proof enough? I looked at her, my voice turning to ice: "Ms. Miller, you don't need to play the victim here." "After all, I didn't force you to have a kid, and I certainly didn't force you into Nathaniel's bed." Her face turned chalk white. Nathaniel stood up abruptly. "Eleanor Sinclair! Watch your mouth." I met his gaze: "Too harsh for you?" "Then why didn't you think it was ugly when you were doing it?" Nathaniel's chest heaved with rage. He raised his hand, fully intending to strike me. Just then, rapid footsteps echoed from the hallway outside the lounge. Seeing who had arrived, my tense nerves finally relaxed. 2. My dad's executive assistant, Mr. Hayes, walked in with several security personnel. He had been with my dad for decades. Always steady. Even during corporate crises, he never blinked. But today, his face was terrifyingly cold. He checked on me first to ensure I wasn't hurt. Then he turned to Nathaniel. "Mr. Prescott, Chairman Sinclair sent me to escort Ms. Sinclair home." Seeing him, Nathaniel begrudgingly lowered his hand but still sneered: "Mr. Sinclair couldn't be bothered to come himself, so he sends an assistant?" Mr. Hayes' tone was flat. "Chairman Sinclair is currently en route." "Until he arrives, I represent the Sinclair family in handling this matter." Nathaniel scoffed. "Represent the Sinclair family?" "Mr. Hayes, aren't you overestimating your worth?" "At the end of the day, you're just an employee on the Sinclair payroll." Mr. Hayes remained unfazed. "You can look down on me, Mr. Prescott, but I am not speaking for myself today." "Ms. Sinclair is the sole daughter and future heir to the Sinclair Group." "This marriage was predicated on aligning the interests of both heirs." "By publicly acknowledging an illegitimate child, you have severely undermined the foundation of this merger." Nathaniel’s expression darkened. "Save the corporate jargon." "I have a kid. I'm not asking Eleanor to step down." Mr. Hayes continued: "The issue isn't the title of 'Mrs. Prescott.' The issue is the uncertainty it introduces to the future equity and succession of the Prescott empire." "The Sinclairs will not bet our resources on someone who is a ticking time bomb for an internal succession war." That hit Nathaniel right where it hurt. The succession was what he cared about most. And Mr. Hayes was absolutely right. Nathaniel sneered. "Such a high-and-mighty speech. Isn't this just because Eleanor refuses to accept Vanessa and the boy?" He acted like he was making a massive concession. "Fine. I can agree to this." "After we get married, Vanessa and the kid won't live on the main Prescott estate, and they won't appear in front of Eleanor. Does that satisfy you?" He looked at me, as if expecting me to be grateful. It was purely delusional. He ruined my engagement with his mistress and child, and now claiming they'd stay out of my sight was his idea of a compromise? Mr. Hayes frowned. "Mr. Prescott, you don't understand the Sinclair family's position." "What we cannot accept is the inheritance risk this child inherently represents." Nathaniel's face turned completely black. "You've got a lot of nerve, Hayes." "My son doesn't need to be evaluated by an outsider." Mr. Hayes lowered his eyes slightly. "I am merely stating facts." "If you insist on maintaining the status quo, the Sinclair family will reevaluate our partnership with the Prescotts." Nathaniel violently smashed his champagne glass on the floor. Glass shattered everywhere. The room went dead silent. He pointed at Mr. Hayes. "Who the hell do you think you are?" "Threatening me on my turf?" I stepped forward, looking at Nathaniel: "His words are the Sinclair family's official stance." Nathaniel looked at me, his eyes frighteningly dark. "Eleanor, are you really going to burn this bridge?" I shot back: "Am I the one burning bridges?" Suddenly, Vanessa fell to her knees, clutching her child. A collective gasp rippled through the room. "Ms. Sinclair, please don't make this hard for Nate." "Don't let me and my child ruin the partnership between your families." "I know I don't come from a good background. I know I don't compare to you." "I know Oliver shouldn't have been born." She sobbed, her shoulders shaking. "If you truly can't tolerate us, I can take him and leave." "We'll go far away, and you'll never see us again." The boy started crying too. "Mommy, I don't want to go." "I want Daddy." Nathaniel immediately pulled her up. "Vanessa, what are you saying?" "I told you, I won't let you or our son suffer." Vanessa leaned into his chest, crying harder. "But Ms. Sinclair doesn't like us." "The Sinclair family is so powerful, I'm genuinely scared." At those words, Nathaniel's glare toward me turned ice-cold, as if I were driving a mother and child to their deaths. I had seen enough. I didn't want to engage with their toxic drama anymore. I turned to Mr. Hayes. "Let's go." "There's no point in negotiating further." Mr. Hayes nodded and signaled his security team to escort me out. But we barely took two steps. The heavy doors of the VIP lounge were slammed shut from the outside. A dozen heavily built bodyguards in black suits poured in from the side doors, surrounding us completely. 3. The room fell silent. Nathaniel's frat-boy friends, however, got excited. The guy in the floral shirt whistled. "Nate's actually pissed now." "Ms. Sinclair, don't push it." "When Nate loses his temper, he's not someone you can easily soothe." Another laughed: "Just submit early and get it over with." "Why push it to this point?" "Women just need to learn a lesson to know how to behave." I looked at Nathaniel. "What are you trying to do?" Nathaniel walked toward me, step by step. "Isn't it obvious?" "The engagement continues." "The wedding continues." "The Prescott-Sinclair merger must proceed." I said coldly: "You can't bear to lose the Sinclair resources, but you also can't let go of Vanessa and her son." "So you want both?" He didn't deny it. "I can have both." "Eleanor, you're not a little girl anymore. How many high-society marriages are actually clean?" "You want the title of Mrs. Prescott and the financial benefits, I'll give them to you." "Vanessa wants me, I'll give myself to her." "They don't conflict." Looking at him, I suddenly felt he was completely alien and repulsive. "Don't conflict?" "Nathaniel, you've never treated me like a human being." "You just see me as a resource package delivered by the Sinclairs." He frowned. "Don't make it sound so ugly." I smiled. "Fine, I'll make it sound pretty." "You fail to meet the Sinclair family's partnership standards. You've been eliminated." Nathaniel's eyes darkened. "Say that again." I enunciated every word: "I do not agree to this marriage." "The Sinclairs won't be desperate enough to accept a partner who can't control his zipper and brings a bastard to split the inheritance." "If you're so capable, go confess to Grandpa Prescott." Hearing this, Nathaniel suddenly smiled. But the smile didn't reach his eyes. "You think if you run to my grandfather, I'm finished?" "You're too naive, Eleanor." He raised his hand. A bodyguard stepped forward with a high-definition camcorder. The dark lens aimed right at me. My heart sank. I guessed what he was about to do. Sure enough, he said: "Eleanor, I know you feel slighted because I have a son. It's simple." "As long as I have leverage on you, we're even." My stomach churned. "Nathaniel, don't cross the line!" He stared at me, his voice low. "I'm just teaching you reality." "As long as I film something tonight, will you still dare to go crying to my grandfather? Will the Sinclairs still dare to back out of the wedding?" "When the time comes, you'll have to obediently marry me." Vanessa stood behind him, pale. "Nate, maybe we shouldn't do this?" Nathaniel sighed and comforted her. "Vanessa, you're too kind-hearted." "Someone like her won't submit unless we show her who's boss." He then ordered coldly: "Take her phone." Mr. Hayes' men immediately stepped up to block them. But they were outnumbered and quickly pinned to the floor by the Prescott bodyguards. Mr. Hayes was restrained by two massive men. He struggled. "Nathaniel Prescott!" "If you dare touch Ms. Sinclair today, there will be no turning back between our families!" Nathaniel smirked. "Once I have leverage on her, the Sinclairs will be more terrified of losing face than I am." A bodyguard approached to grab my phone. I gripped it so tightly my nails dug painfully into my palms. In the next second. The phone was violently ripped away and smashed onto the floor, the screen shattering. I was grabbed by the shoulders by two bodyguards and dragged toward the center of the room. I kicked one of them. "Don't touch me!" Nathaniel stood under the chandelier, his expression cold. "Eleanor, you forced my hand." The red recording light on the camcorder blinked on. The lens moved closer to my face. In that moment, I felt a bone-chilling cold. I never thought a person could be this despicable. To secure his heir position and swallow the Sinclair resources, he was resorting to this filthy tactic to force me to submit. Mr. Hayes' eyes were bloodshot. "Ms. Sinclair!" I gritted my teeth and kicked another bodyguard away. But the next moment, a heavy slap landed on my left cheek. I crashed to the floor, my forehead hitting the marble tile. It stung sharply. Just as the men with the camera advanced on me, a massive crash echoed from the heavy doors. An elderly man leaning on a silver-handled cane walked in. "You worthless animal, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" When Nathaniel saw who had arrived, all the color instantly drained from his face. 4. William Prescott Sr. stood in the doorway. Behind him was a small army of people. The Prescott estate manager. Corporate lawyers. And a heavily armed security detail. The room was dead silent. The smirks on the faces of Nathaniel's friends froze entirely. Nathaniel stood paralyzed. His Adam's apple bobbed. "Grandpa..." William raised his cane and slammed it against the floor. "Don't you call me Grandpa!" "How did the Prescott family raise such a repulsive beast?!" Nathaniel turned deathly pale. He instinctively glanced toward Vanessa. Vanessa was clutching her child, trembling like a leaf, looking for a place to hide. But the exit was blocked. She had nowhere to go. William walked into the room. With every step, his cane striking the marble sounded like a hammer hitting an anvil. He looked at me first. I was still sitting on the floor. My forehead was bleeding. My cheek burned with pain. Mr. Hayes broke free from his captors and rushed to my side. "Ms. Sinclair!" His hands shook as he helped me up. "Are you okay?" I shook my head. "I'm fine." It hurt. But more than the pain, I felt pure disgust. William's eyes darkened when he saw the injuries on my face. He turned to Nathaniel. "Is this your idea of a corporate merger?" "Is this the respect you show the Sinclair family?" Nathaniel panicked. "Grandpa, it's not like that." "Eleanor was the one making a scene! She threatened to go to you and cancel the engagement, I was just trying to stop her in a panic..." William sneered. "In a panic?" "So you ordered the doors locked." "You had your bodyguards restrain the Sinclair heiress." "And you pointed a camera at her?" "Nathaniel, do you think I've gone senile?" Nathaniel's lips went white. "I didn't actually intend to hurt her." He looked at me desperately. "Eleanor, I was just trying to scare you." "I wasn't really going to do anything." I looked at him. My stomach churned. "Scare me?" "Nathaniel, if Mr. Prescott hadn't arrived in time, how far were you planning to take that 'scare'?" He opened his mouth. But couldn't form a response. The eyes of everyone in the room were on him. His cronies were dead quiet. Tyler Vance quietly took a step back. William swept his gaze over them. His voice was terrifyingly cold. "Who was it just now who said women need to learn a lesson to know how to behave?" Those boys' faces turned white as sheets. Nobody dared to make a sound. William asked again: "What, cat got your tongues now?" Tyler Vance broke first. "Mr. Prescott, I was just making a bad joke." "I didn't think Nate would actually..." William cut him off. "You didn't think?" "Weren't you all enjoying the show immensely?" He turned to his estate manager. "Copy the security footage from this hall and the video they were recording." "Send a copy to the Vance, Brooks, and Caldwell families." "Let them see exactly how their precious sons conduct themselves." The color entirely left those boys' faces. "Mr. Prescott!" "Please don't!" "We just had too much to drink!" William didn't even look at them. "Being drunk gives you a pass to act like accomplices to a crime?" "Then stop drinking permanently." As soon as he finished speaking, the police officers who had arrived with him stepped forward. "Mr. Nathaniel Prescott, please come with us." Nathaniel's head snapped up. "For what?!" The officer was expressionless. "Attempted false imprisonment, assault, and making terroristic threats." "We need you down at the precinct for questioning." Nathaniel finally lost his composure completely. "Grandpa!" "I am the heir to the Prescott empire!" "You can't let them take me!" William looked at him without a shred of sympathy. "As of today, you are no longer the heir." That single sentence. Like a guillotine. It cleanly severed Nathaniel's final lifeline. He froze. Even Vanessa jerked her head up to look at him. Nathaniel's voice shook. "Grandpa, what did you say?" William enunciated every word: "The Prescott empire will not be handed over to a moron." "Especially not one who sacrifices our corporate bottom lines for a mistress and an illegitimate child." "Since you value your 'true love' so much, you can go be with her out on the streets." "There is no place for you in the Prescott family anymore." Nathaniel's eyes turned red. "Grandpa, you raised and trained me yourself!" "You can't discard me just because of a few words from Eleanor Sinclair!" William scoffed. "You think this is just because of her?" He raised his hand. A lawyer immediately handed him a stack of folders. William threw them at Nathaniel's feet. "Take a good look." "All the dirty deals you've been running behind my back for the last few years—did you think any of them could withstand an audit?" Nathaniel's face turned ashen. He bent down and picked up the files. After just two pages, his hands began to shake. I wasn't close. But I could see the bolded headings. Offshore accounts. Embezzled project funds. Shell companies. Capital flight. And one specific document. The purchase record for Vanessa Miller's luxury condo. The funds came directly from a Prescott subsidiary. The room erupted in gasps. Vanessa's face was chalk white, her grip on her child loosening. William turned to her. "Ms. Miller." "You repeatedly claimed you wanted nothing from us." "But the three luxury condos, the two sports cars, and the offshore bank accounts in your name... where did they come from?" Vanessa's lips trembled. "I... I don't know." "Nate gave them to me." "I didn't know the money belonged to the corporation." William said flatly: "You can tell that to the police." Vanessa's legs gave out. She almost collapsed to her knees. She looked at Nathaniel, crying. "Nate, explain it to them." "I didn't know the money was dirty. You told me it was your personal funds!" Nathaniel glared at her. Resentment flashing in his eyes for the first time. "Now you're trying to distance yourself?" "You didn't ask any questions when you were spending it!" All the blood drained from Vanessa's face. The child, terrified, started crying loudly. "Daddy, Mommy..." That crying made everyone in the room grimace. Nathaniel seemed to grasp at his last straw. He picked up the child and walked toward William. "Grandpa." "Oliver is innocent." "He's your great-grandson." "Even if you don't care about me anymore, for the child's sake..." William looked at the boy. A complex emotion flashed in his eyes. But it quickly hardened back to ice. "The child is innocent." "The adults are not." "Today you used a child as leverage." "Tomorrow you'd gamble the entire Prescott empire." "Nathaniel, you are beyond saving." Nathaniel tried to speak again. But the police had already grabbed his arms. This time, he didn't fight back. Just before he was led away, he shot me a venomous glare. "Eleanor, are you happy now?" I reached up and wiped the dried blood from my forehead. My voice was completely calm. "Why would I be happy?" "I just got the justice I was owed." He was taken away. Vanessa was also escorted out for questioning. The child was temporarily taken by the Prescott estate manager. The room was a chaotic mess. The people who had been enjoying the show earlier were all staring at the floor. Not a single one dared to utter a word. William walked over to me. He was old. But his gaze was as sharp as an eagle's. "Eleanor." "Today was a failure on the Prescott family's part." "I will personally visit the Sinclair estate to offer my formal apologies." I looked at him. I didn't respond immediately. If it were the old me, I probably would have considered the bigger picture. After all, a corporate merger isn't a petty squabble. But today, I was almost ruined. I wasn't going to cover for anyone anymore. I said: "Mr. Prescott." "You can discuss apologies with my father." "But the engagement between Nathaniel and me must be formally canceled." William nodded. "As it should be." He paused, then added: "There is more than just Nathaniel in his generation of the Prescott family." "If the Sinclairs are still willing to partner..." I cut him off. "Mr. Prescott." "I don't want to discuss corporate marriages right now." "I just want to go home." William looked at me for a few seconds. Finally, he sighed. "Very well." "Go home." "The Prescott family will ensure you receive a proper explanation."
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