Chapter 2

Adrian's mask of the gentle husband cracked for a moment.

His brows furrowed like he'd heard something absurd, then he softened his voice to coax me:

"Natalie, I know you just lost the baby and you're upset, but you can't just casually talk about divorce."

He tried to grab my hand again. I avoided him directly. His tone instantly dropped several degrees:

"Don't be so willful. Don't you care about the company's reputation or what people in our circle will think?"

"It's just one baby. We can have another."

I watched him coldly, finding it laughable.

"Adrian, since we're settling accounts, let's settle them clearly."

"I've been married into the Sterling family for one year and five months."

"On our wedding night, you said Lila, who you grew up with, wasn't feeling well and you needed to go take care of her."

"The next day you told me Lila's parents died young, she lived alone at the Sterling house and it was pitiful, we should take care of her. So I gave her $100,000 every month."

"She said she needed to attend galas, so I sent all my haute couture dresses and limited edition bags to her closet."

"My dad regularly ordered imported supplements for me. You said Lila had been sickly since childhood, that the medicine made her feel much better, and I didn't even blink before having them sent to her."

I counted each item, my voice calm as if reading a stranger's ledger.

Adrian's face changed from shock to embarrassment, finally flushing bright red.

"Those... those were because the company was having cash flow problems at the time. We couldn't let Lila suffer. Lila was doing it for the family..."

I interrupted him:

"Then tell me, why does your annual salary and your project bonuses always go to her account first?"

"Sterling Group's financial seal is in her hands. I've been married in for a year and haven't even seen the company's financial reports."

"Every time you bring back gifts from abroad, the first choice always goes to her."

"Even with this pregnancy, the folic acid and vitamins you sent every day had to be prepared by her. You said she understood medicine and could help verify they were safe for me."

I stared into his eyes, enunciating each word:

"Adrian, in your heart, Sterling Group and Lila will always come before me and our child."

Then I shook my head:

"No, there's no place for us in your heart at all."

"You married me only because my family had enough cash flow to fill Sterling Group's holes, so you could support your precious childhood sweetheart!"

Adrian shot to his feet, his face livid:

"Natalie West! What nonsense are you spouting!"

His chest heaved as he pointed at me:

"Have you lost your mind! I think the miscarriage has scrambled your brain!"

He grabbed his coat from the chair, turned, and slammed the door on his way out.

I leaned against the headboard, as if I'd lost all my strength, and called toward the door:

"Emma."

Emma, my assistant of many years, pushed the door open, her eyes rimmed red:

"Miss West..."

"Get out my prenuptial assets and fund lists. Cross-check them against Sterling Group's business accounts and Lila's personal accounts, one by one."

"List out everything that went into Sterling's business account or someone else's private account."

"How much is missing, where it went, who handled it—write it all out clearly."

I looked at her and added:

"Also, the vitamins I took every day before the miscarriage—collect what's left and keep them safe. Don't let anyone touch them."

Emma nodded vigorously: "Yes, Miss West!"

Emma left the room.

I lay in the hospital bed, placing my hand on my lower abdomen.

In my previous life, I had three little lives.

But before they could come into this world, they were personally killed by their own father.

Adrian. Lila.

This life, what you owe me, I will collect back bit by bit, with interest.