"Relax. You don't need to kick me out. I quit."
With that, I turned and left without sparing a glance at the shift in Felix's expression.
When I reached the staircase landing, Audrey called out to me.
She walked up with a smile on her lips, then raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face.
"Who do you think you are, coming here to stake your claim? You actually think you're Mrs. Mason?"
"You heard what Felix said, didn't you? You're nothing but a free nanny Edmund hired because he didn't want me wearing myself out taking care of the kid. That marriage certificate was fake. I'm his legal wife now."
"Edmund and I have known each other for over a decade. Felix is my older sister's child. We share a blood bond that can never be broken, and he's naturally drawn to me."
"What we have is something you could never compete with. All you ever did was embarrass them."
Audrey stepped closer, her voice dropping to a low, satisfied murmur.
"Did you really think the baby you lost in that car accident was just bad luck?"
"Edmund planned the whole thing. Even your uterus, which the doctors could have saved, he told them to remove."
My eyes flew wide open, my voice rising before I could stop it.
"What did you just say?"
"I told him that if you ever had a child of your own, you'd mistreat Felix and fight over the family fortune. I said the threat had to be eliminated for good. And he went right along with it."
She ran her hand over her lower belly, smug satisfaction radiating from every pore.
"But I'm different. My sister left things behind when she died, and I'm one of them. My baby carries my sister's bloodline too."
"That's why Edmund was willing to get the certificate with me. When he found out I was pregnant, he was overjoyed. He said we're family. As for you and that dead little bastard of yours? You were always outsiders."
"I heard you've been working all kinds of side jobs these past few years just to make ends meet." She clicked her tongue. "Calling you 'free' is generous. A pathetic woman who throws herself at a man who doesn't want her. Talking to you makes me feel dirty. If I were you, I'd get lost before I got in the way of our family."
My fists clenched so tight my knuckles ached. My whole body trembled uncontrollably.
That car accident. That baby.
The wound that would never heal.