Chapter 4

The day Julian returned from his "trip" was Lily's sixth birthday.

He suggested a massive party in our family group chat on WhatsApp, inviting all our relatives and friends.

"Our little princess's birthday must be grand!" he sent a voice note, sounding incredibly generous.

His mother, Eleanor, spammed thumbs-up emojis.

"My son is so responsible and caring!"

I stared at the screen coldly.

Just five minutes prior, I had overheard his phone call with Eleanor on the balcony.

"Mom, invite as many people as possible, especially the wealthy relatives. We can collect cash gifts and checks to cover my son's private school tuition."

"A birthday party for a girl doesn't cost much anyway. We'll save the rest for my boy."

Eleanor had giggled, praising him for being smart.

To them, my daughter's birthday was just a fundraising scam.

The party was held in the grand ballroom of a luxury downtown hotel.

Julian even hired a local media crew to film it, claiming he wanted to "document beautiful memories."

In reality, he wanted to boost his "perfect family man" brand to attract investors for his company.

The venue was packed.

Sienna walked right up to me, bold as brass.

"Hi, Chloe. I've always heard how supportive you are. Nice to finally meet you."

She scanned me up and down, her eyes full of provocation.

On her wrist, the $7,000 Cartier bracelet gleamed under the chandeliers.

Bought with my wedding gold.

I looked at her like she was a clown.

"Nice to meet you, Vice President Ward. That's a beautiful bracelet. It looks awfully familiar."

Sienna's smile stiffened, and she instinctively hid her wrist behind her back.

Julian quickly intervened. "Alright, we're all family here. Let's go inside and sit down."

He seated Sienna at the VIP table, right next to me.

The banquet began.

Julian stood on stage, giving a tearful speech thanking me.

"I want to thank my wife, Chloe. She gave me a warm home and our beautiful daughter."

He sounded so sincere that the crowd erupted into applause.

But I saw his eyes constantly darting toward Sienna.

They were exchanging flirtatious glances right in front of me.

"Now, let's take a look at a video of our little princess growing up."

The giant screen lit up.

Warm music played.

Lily rolling over for the first time, taking her first steps, calling him "Daddy"...

It was incredibly touching. Many relatives were wiping tears.

But near the end of the video, the screen flickered.

Suddenly, a photo flashed onto the screen.

It stayed for just one second.

In the photo, a boy was sitting on Julian's shoulders, holding the exact same plush toy Julian had bought for Lily.

The background? Disney World in Orlando.

The crowd gasped.

"Whose kid is that? He looks exactly like Julian."

"Wasn't that photo taken a few days ago? I thought Julian was on a business trip?"

Julian's face drained of color. He almost dropped the microphone.

He looked frantically at the control booth, screaming, "What's going on?! Turn it off! Turn it off now!"

The screen went black.

But the terror on his face was exposed for everyone to see.

I sneered inwardly. Don't panic, Julian. This is just the appetizer.

Julian wiped his sweat, trying to laugh it off. "Ah... that was an editing mistake. That's a relative's kid. Don't misunderstand, everyone!"

The guests exchanged looks. No one said anything, but suspicion was already brewing.

This birthday party was destined to be the start of his nightmare.