Brooke took a deep, steadying breath. “And what about Chloe’s pregnancy?”

Harper let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Conveniently pregnant the exact same week we discover you’re carrying legitimate twins? It’s completely calculated.”

The puzzle pieces suddenly locked into place. Chloe hadn’t just seduced her husband; she had orchestrated Brooke’s entire destruction. She was the one who had pushed Trevor to get the secret vasectomy. She was the one who sowed the seeds of doubt, casually mentioning Brooke’s late nights at the marketing agency and fabricated “meetings” with male clients. By the time Brooke actually fell pregnant, Trevor’s mind had already been poisoned to hate her.

But Chloe hadn’t accounted for the fact that Brooke’s body had outrun the timeline of her lies.

“There’s a family dinner tomorrow night at the Vance estate in the Hamptons,” Harper noted. “Trevor and his mother, Victoria, are planning to officially introduce Chloe as the new matriarch-in-waiting.”

Brooke’s eyes flashed in the dark room. “I’m going.”

“I wouldn’t advise it, Brooke. They’re going to tear you apart.”

“Let them try.”

The next morning, Brooke met Harper at her Midtown Manhattan office. The attorney handed over a thick manila envelope.

“I hired a private forensic investigator to look into Chloe’s medical records,” Harper said, sliding the file across the desk. “She isn’t pregnant, Brooke.”

Brooke’s stomach dropped. “What did you find?”

Harper pulled out a stack of invoices. “She purchased a high-grade silicone prosthetic pregnancy belly from an SFX theatrical supply store in Queens three days ago. She also downloaded a series of fraudulent ultrasound images from a black-market medical broker online. We have the receipts, the IP routing logs, and the digital confirmation emails.”

Brooke looked down at the documents. She didn’t scream. She didn’t cry. A cold, unyielding armor grew over her heart.

That evening, she dressed entirely in black—a sleek, elegant designer dress that looked more suited for a funeral. And in a way, it was: she was going to bury the lie that was meant to destroy her.

The Vance estate in Southampton was heavily guarded—high wrought-iron gates, perfectly manicured lawns, and a massive dining room that smelled of catered truffles and old money.

Brooke walked through the double doors unannounced, bypassing the security staff.

The ambient chatter in the dining room died instantly.

Over twenty people sat around the long mahogany table—uncles, cousins, major board members of the family logistics firm. Victoria Vance sat at the head of the table, her signature pearls draped over her rigid shoulders. Trevor looked completely exhausted beside her, while Chloe sat prominently to his right, wearing a loose, flowing silk dress with her hand resting protectively over her abdomen.

“You are absolutely not welcome in this house, Brooke,” Victoria hissed, standing up.

Brooke walked calmly toward the center of the room. “I didn’t come to stay for dinner, Victoria. I came to deliver some gifts.”

Trevor slammed his hands on the table, standing up. “Brooke, don’t do this here. Do not make a scene.”

“This is exactly where it needs to happen,” Brooke said, her voice echoing off the high ceilings.

She slammed the manila envelope onto the center of the table, the force of the impact rattling the crystal wine glasses.

Chloe jumped up, her face turning pale. “She’s insane! She’s obsessed with us because Trevor chose me!”

Brooke calmly opened the file, pulling out the first document. “Invoiced to Chloe Rivers: One medical-grade silicone abdominal prosthetic and saline-weight solution. Paid in full via your personal credit card exactly seventy-two hours ago.”

A wave of shocked whispers rippled across the dining room.

Victoria’s hands shook as she picked up the invoice. “Chloe… what on earth is this?”

“It’s a fabrication!” Chloe screamed, her voice cracking with desperation. “She forged it because she’s desperate!”

Brooke pulled out the official, stamped ultrasound photos from Dr. Robles. “And these are my children. Twelve weeks along. Identical twins. Conceived a full month before Trevor’s vasectomy.”

Trevor dropped back into his chair, burying his face in his hands.

Victoria stared at the sonogram images, then looked down at Chloe’s perfectly rounded, prosthetic belly. “You swore to me you were carrying my grandchild, Chloe.”

Chloe burst into frantic tears, backing away from the table. “I was going to get pregnant, I swear! I just needed more time! I needed to secure my place in this family!”

“You needed to secure his bank accounts,” Brooke corrected fiercely.