The timeline made me think. They'd broken up seven years ago. Maybe it was that one-year gap that convinced Darrell the child was his.

Which meant his will almost certainly had something to do with that kid.

But Darrell and I were the legally married couple. Even if Naomi's child turned out to be his, the kid would only be considered illegitimate.

I messaged Hudson right away to fill him in.

His reply came quickly: An illegitimate child still has inheritance rights. If Darrell has a will on top of that, the odds tip in their favor.

The situation was looking grim for me. But until the final card was played, anything was still possible.

I knew Darrell would ask about the abortion, so I paid to have a fake medical report drawn up. He could forge documents, and so could I.

When I got home, Darrell was already there, just as I expected. The first words out of his mouth were about the procedure.

To keep the act convincing, I didn't say a word. I just handed him the report.

Darrell's face broke into a satisfied smile, though he still put on a show in front of me.

He grabbed my hand, his voice dripping with emotion as he consoled me. "Regina, I've wronged you. I can never make it up to you in this lifetime, but in the next one, I swear I'll spend every moment making it right."

I almost laughed.

Darrell Simmons, even if you came back as my servant in the next life, I wouldn't spare you a single glance.

To sell the act, I went straight back to the bedroom and lay down.

Outside the door, Darrell wasted no time calling Naomi. Even through the wall, I could hear the giddiness in his voice.

I caught fragments of the conversation. Something about moving on to the next phase of the plan.

So their endgame was close. I had to admit, I was curious to see what they had cooked up.

I lay in bed, and at some point, I actually drifted off.

I was jolted awake by a slap across the face.

My eyes flew open to Cordelia Simmons's heavily made-up face looming over me, her shrill voice already mid-tirade.

"You useless woman! You can't even give my son a child, and you have the nerve to sleep?"

I sat up, still groggy. "Mom, what happened?"

"What happened? You have the audacity to ask me that? If I hadn't come over, my son would've been lying there dead and cold and nobody would have even noticed!"

My eyes went wide. Well, that was fast. Darrell sure made dying look easy.