Chapter 1

The moment my five-year-old daughter came home from preschool, she dropped to her knees in front of me.

“Mommy, please don’t make me go back.”

She was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

“I don’t want to go to school anymore.”

I immediately crouched in front of her. “Why? What happened?”

She only shook her head through her tears, too frightened to say a word.

Something was wrong.

I lifted her shirt—and froze.

Her arms and body were covered in tiny puncture wounds.

Needle marks.

Dozens of them.

My whole body shook with rage. I took a photo and posted it in the preschool parents’ group chat.

“Who did this?”

A woman whose display name read “Noah Carter’s Mom” replied almost immediately.

“I told my son to do it!”

Then she sent two photos.

The first was a wedding photo of her and my husband.

The second was a family portrait of my husband, my daughter, and me.

The three of us together.

“You shameless homewrecker. You stole my husband and even had his bastard daughter? Be grateful I didn’t tell my son to beat that little brat to death.”

The group chat exploded.

Message after message poured in, all of them attacking my daughter and me.

Even the head teacher tagged Noah’s mother directly.

“Noah did a wonderful job today. I’ll give him a gold star tomorrow as a reward.”

Noah’s mother sent a smug emoji before tagging me.

“If you’ve got a problem with it, come say it to my face. Noah and I are still at the school.”

I grabbed my daughter and headed for the car.

As I drove toward the preschool, I sent two messages to my company’s legal department.

“Under our prenuptial agreement, draft the divorce papers immediately. Ethan Carter is to walk away with nothing.”

“My daughter was assaulted at her preschool. Send a legal team over there now. I want everyone responsible to pay dearly for this.”

Then I sent one final message.

“A man who married into my family has the nerve to keep a mistress and father a secret child behind my back?”

……

When we arrived at the preschool, I spotted Noah’s mother standing outside the entrance the moment I stepped out of the car.

A crowd of parents from the children’s class surrounded her.

“Noah’s mom, you’re far too modest. If this hadn’t happened, we never would’ve known your husband was the CEO of the Goldcrest Group!”

“Exactly! I knew there was something special about you the first time I saw you. I suppose that natural elegance comes with being the wife of a billionaire.”

“We came here specifically to support you today. We’re all respectable mothers. There’s no way we’ll let some shameless mistress bully you.”

“What good could a mistress’s daughter possibly be? Noah really does deserve to be called the heir to the Goldcrest empire. He already knows how to deal with trash at such a young age. What a brave little boy!”

My daughter’s teacher stood beside them, practically bowing as she fawned over Noah’s mother.

“Mrs. Carter, please send me a list of Noah’s favorite foods later. From now on, we’ll adjust the school menu to suit his tastes.”

Noah’s mother soaked up the parents’ flattery and the teacher’s groveling, preening like a peacock with its tail spread wide.

Ethan had spent years doing almost nothing after marrying into my family.

To give him some experience, I had put him in charge of the smallest company in my portfolio—the Goldcrest Group.

I never imagined that position would become Noah’s mother’s greatest bragging right, or give everyone here a reason to grovel at her feet.

The moment the parents saw me, their ingratiating smiles vanished.

They frowned and stared at me in open disgust, as though I were something filthy stuck to the bottoms of their shoes.

The teacher walked straight up to me, her expression cold.

“Ms. Bennett, the principal asked me to inform you that Sophie Bennett has been expelled, effective immediately.”

I stared at her.

“My daughter was assaulted at your school, and instead of giving her justice, you’re expelling her?”

The teacher showed no remorse.

“This is an elite preschool. Every child admitted here comes from wealth or influence.”

“A mistress’s bastard daughter has no place at a school like this. Allowing her to stay would only damage our reputation.”

My expression hardened.

“I suggest you investigate the facts before opening your mouth again.”

My voice turned to ice.

“Find out who the real mistress is—and which child is actually illegitimate.”

The words had barely left my mouth when Noah’s mother marched up to me.

Her palm cracked across my face.

“You cheap little mistress! Who do you think you are, talking back to me—the lawful wife?”

She glared at me with naked contempt.

“You really think giving birth to his bastard daughter gives you the right to steal my place as Mrs. Carter?”