Five Years of Broken Dreams

Chapter 7

Seeing me come closer, Derek struggled, determined to shield her.

I reached out, intending to touch Chloe's belly, but Derek's parents jumped in my way.

Without regard for me being their cash cow anymore, Derek's father shoved me down, barking, "Lily, stay away from our grandchild!"

I winced on the ground, staring coldly at them.

I recalled the first time I met Derek's family; they were so welcoming. They had laid out a feast and beamed when they saw the gifts I brought.

Now, for Chloe's child, they were willing to attack me.

The standoff lasted ten minutes until Alex finally arrived as promised.

Seeing me on the floor, Alex scooped me up, furious. "Who did this?!"

I pointed at Derek's father, and Alex had his guards restrain him immediately.

Derek went ballistic, shouting, "Let my father go! What are you doing?!"

I had the guards tie everyone to chairs.

Derek's curses grew more and more vulgar, nearly cursing my ancestors. I couldn't take it any longer and had the guards slap him ten times until he finally shut up.

With rage in my eyes, I grabbed Derek's chin, saying, "When you see the surprise I've prepared, you'll be thanking my ancestors."

Derek's parents yelled at me in outrage, but their anger was useless.

Chloe was also tied to a chair, crying and begging Derek to save her. I walked up to her and grabbed her chin, asking, "Is the baby really Derek's?"

Derek's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean?"

Chloe responded calmly, "I'm certain the baby is Derek's."

Little did she know, every time she called out Derek's name, it made me sick.

The reason Alex came over after I got home was because I had given him a task the night before.

With the Turner family's influence, I knew he could handle this situation.

I pulled out photos and chat logs of Chloe entering and leaving hotels with her ex-boyfriend a month and a half ago.

Chloe's panic was immediate. "How do you have these?!"

Derek had been with Chloe while studying abroad for six months, but he never suspected she was also with another man at the same time.

Chloe had no plans for a future with Derek since her other partner had far better prospects than Derek, who was marrying into a wealthy family.

But that man was just using Chloe and wanted nothing serious.

After Chloe got pregnant, he vanished, refusing to pay her anything since she wouldn't terminate the pregnancy.

Left with no options, Chloe decided to throw Derek under the bus.

From the moment Derek brought Chloe back from the airport, the driver had told me there was another woman with him.

No matter how much I loved Derek, I was still the only daughter of the Carter family. I wasn't foolish enough to give away everything my parents built.

In recent years, Derek had indeed gotten rid of many of my loyal employees, but he had no idea I could still give him management rights because I was confident in controlling the situation.

When I laid out all the evidence before Derek, he clenched his fists in anger. "So, you never loved me at all? I was just your backup?!"

I was stunned that even now, Derek was still concerned about love between him and Chloe.

I announced that Derek was fired from the company and that I would investigate all accounts from his time in charge. Any discrepancies would need to be paid back at the original amount.