Chapter 5
Ryan stared at the two disabled boys, eyes twitching with disbelief.
I smiled. “Jacob. Jonah. That’s your dad and mom. Go say hi.”
Jonah grinned stupidly and lunged at Vivian.
“Mom! Hahaha! Mom!”
He wrapped his arms around her, drooling and sobbing.
Vivian screamed and shoved him away.
“Get off me! You’re disgusting!”
Jonah stumbled, and Jacob caught him.
Jacob turned to her with icy eyes.
I raised an eyebrow. “What? Didn’t get into Harvard, so now they’re not your kids?”
Vivian clenched her jaw.
“They’re mine. I’ll take care of them.”
She had no choice-not in front of all these people.
She glared at me.
“What did you do to them? Why are they like this? Did you abuse them?”
I shrugged. “Maybe it was your genes. Or Ryan’s. Congenital conditions, both of them.”
“I had my own kids to raise. You abandoned yours. So yes-I sent them to a state orphanage.”
Vivian opened her mouth but said nothing. Her face was red with rage and shame.
Ryan and Vivian had no comeback.
So they left, dragging the two boys with them.
The party ended in silence.
Ryan’s parents sobbed.
They couldn’t believe the Harvard-bound sons weren’t biologically theirs.
But I’d known this day was coming.
A week earlier, I had overheard them whispering outside their home.
“Let’s use the birthday party to reveal everything. Pressure Vanessa… Reclaim the boys… Reunite the family.”
Chapter 5
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So I played along.
I brought in Jacob and Jonah, just like they wanted.
Let them have their family reunion.
Let them choke on it.
And as for me?
I sold the apartment.
Bought a new house..-Right across from Vivian.
I learned about it by chance-killing time with neighborhood chatter.
Turned out Vivian and Vincent Winter had been living right here for eighteen years, the block’s very own “perfect couple,”
until their fairy-tale romance curdled into pure poison.
Our walls were thin.
And every night, I listened to the screaming.
“This is all your fault, Ryan! If it weren’t for your stupid plan, we wouldn’t be here!”
“You gave birth to two freaks! How are we supposed to live like this?!”
“It’s your damn genes! Don’t blame me!”
“If it’s my genes, then why the hell are Liam and Ben perfectly healthy?!”
“Those two freaks! I can’t believe they’re my sons! F*ck!”
And then came the sound of crashing dishes, breaking glass.
A full-blown domestic war.
And I?
I sat across the hall, drinking tea, smiling.
Because karma had finally come home.
