The air inside Room 304 of St. Jude Medical Center was thick with the suffocating scent of cheap perfume, expensive cologne, and unearned triumph. All seven members of the Hale family—Preston’s mother Evelyn, his father Richard, his sister Chloe, and two eager aunts—had packed into the narrow ultrasound suite.

Preston felt as though the floor beneath him had collapsed into an abyss. "No... Lena, please... give me one more chance..."

Lena looked down at him with a subtle, tragic smile.

"You still think this was all an accident, don't you, Preston?" she whispered.

Preston froze. "What... what do you mean?"

Lena stepped closer, bending down so only he could hear her words over the ambient noise of the ballroom.

"Did you really believe Dr. Vance happened to ask about your medical history by coincidence at 11:00 AM that day?" Lena’s voice was smooth as velvet, carrying a deadly edge.

Preston’s eyes widened in horror. "You..."

"I knew about Brielle five months before you even asked for a divorce," Lena revealed quietly. "I knew she was sleeping with Julian. I knew she was pregnant with his child. And I was the one who personally funded Dr. Vance’s research clinic at St. Jude’s two years ago."

Preston’s jaw dropped. The breath left his lungs completely.

"I could have exposed her to you on day one," Lena continued, her eyes glistening with absolute authority. "I could have stopped you from ruining your business. But if I had exposed her early, you would have stayed married to me. You would have continued to drag my daughters through your toxic family's psychological abuse. So I waited."

She took a subtle step back, straightening her coat.

"I waited until you were so blinded by your own greed and arrogance that you would willingly sign away every legal right to your children, your patents, and your estate just to rush off to that ultrasound room," Lena said softly. "I didn't destroy you, Preston. I simply gave you the exact freedom you asked for. You chose a phantom son over real love. Now, you get to live with that choice for the rest of your life."

Lena turned on her heel and began walking toward the grand doors of the ballroom. Her security detail formed a wall behind her, blocking Preston entirely.

"Lena! LENA!" Preston screamed, trying to scramble up from the floor, but the hotel security caught him by his arms, holding him firmly in place as the elite crowd watched him with utter disgust.

Outside the grand glass windows of the hotel, a sleek black limousine was waiting.

Lena stepped inside the warm, leather-scented interior. Sitting on the rear seats were Maya and Lily, holding sketchbooks and laughing as Sir Arthur handed them hot chocolates.

"Did everything go well, sweetheart?" Sir Arthur asked, looking at his daughter with pride.