My Professional Partner and My Husband Are Kissing

Chapter 5

As Jason spoke, he grabbed my hand forcefully, trying to push me into signing the divorce papers and pressing my fingerprint onto the document. I fought with every ounce of strength I had, but he was too strong. Unexpectedly, Jake joined in, grabbing my legs to keep me from moving. Once my thumb was pressed to the paper, both father and son flashed smug smiles.

"Don't blame me," Jason said with a sneer. "This is the best thing for you right now."

Before I could react, both of them shoved me to the ground. I hit the floor hard, a sharp, soul-wrenching pain shooting up from my lower back. Blood began to pool beneath me. They had forced me to sign the divorce papers, and now they were putting my unborn child at risk.

The pain was unbearable, and it felt like I couldn't breathe, but somehow, I managed to call an ambulance with trembling hands.

When I woke up, the sterile scent of disinfectant filled the hospital room. It was empty. Panic rose in me, and I tried to sit up, frantic.

"Is my baby still okay?" I asked, my voice breaking.

The nurse's face was filled with sorrow. "I'm so sorry... we couldn't save your baby."

A gut-wrenching ache overwhelmed me, and tears poured down my face. They had gone too far, Jason and Jake were responsible for the death of my child!

"Ms. Emily Thompson," the nurse continued softly, "we tried to contact your family, but they hung up right away. Do you have anyone else we can reach out to?"

Jason had been my emergency contact, but he had abandoned me, refusing to even answer the phone. I wiped my tears and gave the nurse my parents' numbers.

When my family arrived, they quickly arranged to move me to a private hospital. My mom held my hand, her face streaked with tears, her voice thick with vengeance.

"Who did this to you?" she demanded. "I'll make them pay."

My dad stood by, worry etched on his face. "Emily, you saved my life... you're my daughter. I may not have much, but I have money, and you need only ask for it."

John, my brother, looked at me with concern. "Whatever trouble you're in, just tell me. I'll take care of it."

Feeling the love and genuine concern from my family steadied my shaking nerves. I turned to my dad and showed him the photo of Sophie.

"Dad, is this woman your daughter?"

They all looked at the photo and shook their heads in unison. My mother spoke gently, her voice tinged with hurt. "That's Sophie, the daughter of one of your dad's old army friends. When he passed away from cancer, we took her in as our goddaughter out of sympathy. What's going on?"

So that was the story. Sophie's father had died when she was seven, leaving her destitute in a rural area. My dad had felt sorry for her and brought her in, even though our family wasn't wealthy at the time, most of our money was tied up in my dad's new business venture. Sophie had briefly left to live with a wealthier family, but when their fortunes fell, she came crawling back to us.

My mom, still hurt by Sophie's abandonment, wasn't exactly thrilled by her return. And now, Sophie was out there, pretending to be the daughter of a tycoon, scamming people under our family's name.

The photo she used to introduce Jason to my dad was all part of her ruse, claiming it was for a medical procedure when, in reality, she was just pregnant.

I explained everything to my dad about how Sophie had sabotaged my life. Upon hearing it, my dad slammed his hand on the table, furious.

"That's outrageous! Using my name to con people!" he shouted.

"I think they forced me to sign the divorce papers," I continued. "She'll probably come here soon to talk about financing."

John's face turned bright red with anger. "That's not happening!"

I hesitated, then took my mom's hand. She noticed the hesitation in my eyes and gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Emily," she said softly, "anything you need help with, just say the word. We left you out there to struggle for too long, and now... now all I want is to make things right."

John's eyes filled with regret. "If I hadn't dragged you out to play hide-and-seek that day, you wouldn't have been kidnapped or ended up with that bastard Jason. Just tell me what to do, and I'll handle it."

Tears streamed down my face. For as long as I could remember, my adoptive parents had treated me like I was less important just because I was a girl. So when Jason gave me the slightest bit of affection, I clung to it. I poured all the love I never got into Jake, hoping to be the kind of parent I wished I'd had. But the love that Jason and Jake threw away, I gave to the people who truly deserved it in my life.

"Years ago, I signed a prenup with Jason at a mall, but something doesn't sit right with me," I said. "I need to check the surveillance footage to uncover the truth."

I mentioned the name of the mall, and it turned out to be owned by my family. John immediately instructed his secretary to get the surveillance footage.

Thankfully, the footage from that day had been preserved due to a robbery that had occurred at the mall, so it was still available. The cameras had caught everything clearly, Jason proposing right under one of them to save money.

As I watched the footage, my fists clenched tighter with each passing second. That scoundrel had been deceiving me from the very beginning!