Chapter 5 - MARGARET SHAW
My mother had not died.
She had staged her death after discovering Audrey’s clinic stored embryos without consent.
At first, she became an investigator.
Later, she became part of the system.
Margaret believed wealthy family trusts could protect children better than unstable parents.
She saw Julian’s scheme as a way to secure my future.
If the children controlled the Bennett fortune, she believed I would eventually benefit.
She never asked whether I wanted children created in secret.
Protection became ownership.
Margaret had raised Lily for two years under another name.
She refused to disclose the location.
Then Ethan revealed why he had returned from the dead.
He had been investigating Margaret and Julian before his climbing “accident.”
Julian sabotaged the expedition and declared Ethan dead.
Ethan survived and entered witness protection.
His genetic material had been collected during military service.
He never consented to its use.
The children were biologically ours, but neither of us had chosen their creation.
That truth created connection.
Not automatic parenthood.
Then Julian’s attorney filed an emergency petition.
He claimed Clara was emotionally unstable after attacking him in the hospital.
The hallway slap footage had been edited.
It showed only Clara stepping toward Julian.
May you like
Not the strike.
Read Chapter 6 to learn how Clara proved the video had been manipulated.
