When they saw it was only a stray cat, everyone let out a breath of relief.

But Ryan’s expression didn’t change.

He stared at the cat, lost in thought, and Emily’s morning reminder echoed in his mind, leaving him uneasy.

Maybe Emily had really been there just now.

But he quickly dismissed the thought. After all, the baby was already in her womb, and the due date was only months away. Even if Emily knew, there was nothing she could do.

One man even dared to ask boldly, “Ryan, if that was Emily outside just now, what would you do?”

Ryan paused, then glanced coolly at the man.

His tone was casual, as though he were talking about something trivial.

“So what if she knows? I’ve already made her resign without severance. And she’s still pregnant—she can’t run far.”

“Haha, Ryan, you’re ruthless!”

I had barely gathered myself when the knocking on the door grew louder.

I quickly called out, “Ryan, don’t open it yet. I just woke up—I’m changing.”

“Alright.”

Hearing my voice, Ryan stopped knocking, but I didn’t hear him walk away.

…

I sighed. I knew I couldn’t avoid this forever. I stuffed a pillow against my stomach to pretend the baby was still there.

Facing Ryan, I forced a loving smile, as if our marriage were still full of tenderness.

“Ryan, I went for a checkup today. I can’t wait to meet our baby.”

Ryan rested his chin on my lap, gazing at me with those soulful eyes, his voice gentle.

“Emily, we will. When the time comes, we can deliver early by C-section, and the baby can go straight into the incubator.”

“Emily, I’ve seen the suffering you’ve endured during pregnancy. If only we hadn’t decided to keep this child… but once he’s born, I’ll raise him right.”

Ryan valued this child deeply. At first, I had naively believed we would be happy forever.

But I never expected to become nothing more than a vessel for him and Lily to have a child.

Love can be performed too. Looking at Ryan’s face, I said calmly, “There’s no chance anymore.”

Ryan froze.

“Emily, what do you mean, no chance?”

I smiled lightly, pretending it was nothing.

“Nothing. Ryan, I was just thinking about our baby. You’ll meet him soon.”

Just then, there was another knock, followed by a lively, playful voice—Lily’s.

“Sis? Brother-in-law? Are you inside?”

I noticed Ryan’s expression flicker unnaturally.

Then Lily bounded toward me, her eyes locked on my stomach.

“Sis, how’s the baby? You’ve got to take care of my little nephew! I can’t wait to play with him.”

She giggled, reaching out to touch my belly.

But I remembered the words I’d overheard at the reunion and felt a wave of disgust. Instinctively, I stepped back.

Still, I forced myself to act the part of a caring sister.

“Of course. My son will be in your care, Lily. I believe you’ll make a great aunt.”

Lily’s face froze for a moment at my words, then quickly recovered.

“Sis, I’ll take care of my nephew for sure.”

She reached for my belly, her eyes shining with delight.

But I ignored her, rising to leave without hesitation.

Her hand hung awkwardly in the air, her face a mask of disbelief. She hadn’t expected me to treat her that way.

As soon as I left, her expression twisted into something sinister.

“Ryan, does Emily know something? She wouldn’t even let me touch her stomach.”

Ryan pulled Lily into his arms, nuzzling against her chest.

“Relax, Emily isn’t that smart.”

He lifted his head, his Adam’s apple bobbing, his gaze burning with lust as he looked at her.

“Besides, I’m dying anyway. Even if Emily realizes the baby isn’t hers, if she tries to terminate, she won’t survive the internet backlash.”

Listening outside, my heart turned ice-cold.

Then Lily spoke again.

“Exactly. Emily will never know that she’s actually Mrs. Foster’s biological daughter. I’ve never once treated her like a sister.”

“Thank goodness Mom had the foresight to switch us at birth. That old Mrs. Foster raised someone else’s son her whole life and never knew. She and Emily really are two of a kind.”

The sounds that followed from inside left no doubt what they were doing.

My fists clenched so tight my palms nearly bled, yet I couldn’t move.

Memories of my mom’s behavior surged up.

She had never acted like a loving mother to a pregnant daughter, but more like a hostile mother-in-law.

During my early pregnancy, I suffered severe morning sickness, retching over the toilet every day.

Instead of pity, my mom pinched her nose in disgust and scolded me for making the bathroom smell.

But with Lily, she was endlessly patient.

Lily had been brought home when I was just old enough to remember. My mom had looked at me sternly.

“Emily, she’s your sister now. You must protect her with your life. Do you understand?”

Confused, I’d agreed.

And I did. I always thought Lily was the outsider, and I was the real daughter, so I gave her everything I could, even hiding treats to share with her.

I never imagined I was the outsider all along.

I stood there laughing and crying, then made up my mind. Later, I yanked strands of Ryan’s and my mom’s hair, plus my own, and called an Uber to the hospital.

When the results came back, my heart sank into an abyss.

I wasn’t my mom’s biological daughter—Ryan was.

So all the unfair treatment I had endured made sense.

When Lily was sick with a fever, my mom slapped me bloody for “not taking care of my sister.”

When Lily didn’t finish her school assignments, my mom blamed me.

I had thought it was grief over my father’s death that made her so cruel.

But no—it was because I wasn’t her real daughter.

Stumbling out of the hospital, dazed, I lifted my head and froze.

Across the street stood a woman who looked strikingly like me, tears in her beautiful eyes.

In that instant, I knew—I was looking at my real mother.

The woman stood across from me, tears welling in her beautiful eyes. She wanted to speak but in the end said nothing.

At the coffee shop, she told me how I had gone missing.

She had just given birth and was physically frail, but she remembered clearly that she had delivered a daughter. Everyone around her insisted she had imagined it, claiming she was obsessed with wanting a girl.

In secret, she once took the baby for a DNA test.

The result proved the child was hers, but her family dismissed her as delusional, saying she was suffering from postpartum depression. For years she had been kept under a nurse’s watch, forced to take medication.

The woman looked at me cautiously.

“I’m sorry. It was my fault for not protecting you back then.”

“Emily, can you forgive me?”

“I never blamed you.”

At my words, her expression lit up. She immediately began planning places we could go together.

“Emily, from now on, no matter where we go, I’ll always be by your side. We’ll never be separated again.”

“Emily, everything that rightfully belongs to you, I’ll help you reclaim one by one. You are the true blood of the Foster family. The Foster Corporation can only be inherited by you.”

…

After parting with her, I called an Uber back to the Foster Estate. From a distance, I could see a crowd gathered at the front gates, reporters swarming.

But I only smiled faintly, not nervous at all, as though I had expected this.

The moment I appeared, someone in the crowd shouted loudly:

“Look, over there! That woman is back!”

Chaos erupted instantly.

Reporters raised their microphones, closing in step by step with sharp questions.

“Ms. Dawson, your husband was just diagnosed with a terminal illness, and you immediately went to the hospital to terminate your pregnancy. Isn’t that far too cold-hearted?”

“As a woman, how could you be so cruel?”

At those words, Ryan froze in the middle of fending off reporters.

He turned toward me, staring at my belly in disbelief.

Then he demanded, “Emily! Did you really get rid of our baby?”

Lily looked at me with disapproval.

“Sis, how could you go to the hospital and end the pregnancy without your husband’s consent?”

“Sis, say something! The baby isn’t gone, right?”

I shot her a cold glance, pulled a pillow from under my clothes, and threw it in her face. Crossing my arms, I said indifferently:

“My child is mine to keep or not. Why shouldn’t I do as I please?”

“Lily, why are you so anxious? The baby in my womb wasn’t even yours to begin with.”

Her face faltered for a moment, then she quickly tried to defend herself.

“Sis, what are you talking about? I don’t understand. All I know is you betrayed Ryan. He’s been so good to you, even letting Mom live at the Foster Estate in comfort. How could you do this?”

I sneered.

“Isn’t this exactly what you wanted? Now you and Ryan can be together.”

Lily hadn’t expected me to know the truth—much less to say it so openly in front of everyone. Her face turned pale, then flushed.

“You—!”

The onlookers could no longer hold back their disgust.

“This woman really has no shame. At a time like this, she’s accusing her own sister and husband?”

“Exactly. And the law’s on her side too. Husbands can’t stop their wives from ending a pregnancy, nor demand compensation. Ryan’s shocked reaction clearly shows he didn’t know. She’s vile.”