Whose Kids Are Those?
Chapter 4: The Family Margaret Chose
The party collapsed into chaos.
Guests whispered. Phones appeared. Vanessa stood frozen beside the fake stomach, her public humiliation complete.
Daniel did not care about the crowd anymore.
"Why?" he asked.
Vanessa wiped her face. "Your mother said you needed a reason to marry me quickly."
Margaret stepped forward. "Enough."
"No," Daniel said. "Not enough."
He had spent six years believing Olivia had lied to him, abandoned him, and refused to fight for their marriage. Now he saw that every piece of his past had been arranged.
Margaret had selected Vanessa because her family owned shares in Daniel's company. Their marriage would combine two fortunes. A pregnancy would secure the announcement before Daniel questioned anything.
Olivia watched him without sympathy.
"You believed them because their lie protected your pride."
The words hurt because they were true.
Daniel had never demanded the full medical report. He had never found Olivia himself. When she disappeared, he accepted the explanation that made him the victim.
His oldest daughter, Lily, held Rose's hand.
Daniel looked at both girls.
"Can I speak to them?"
Olivia shook her head.
"Not today."
"They're my daughters."
"Biology does not make you their father overnight."
Daniel lowered his head.
Margaret said coldly, "Those children will not receive a cent until their parentage is independently verified."
Olivia turned to her.
"I didn't come for money."
"Then why come?"
Olivia looked around the estate, the guests, and the cameras.
"Because you invited me to watch the man who abandoned me celebrate the family you manufactured."
Daniel frowned. "I didn't send the invitation."
Olivia pulled it from her bag.
The card was signed in Vanessa's handwriting.
Vanessa began to panic.
Margaret turned on her. "You invited her?"
Vanessa shook her head. "I didn't."
Olivia examined the card again.
Then an elderly man stepped from the crowd.
Daniel's grandfather, Arthur West.
He had remained silent until now.
"I sent it," he said.
Margaret went pale.
Arthur looked at Olivia and the children.
"I found the original trust records last month."
He turned to Daniel.
"And according to them, your daughters own half this estate."
