The white Porsche Panamera had barely driven out of the estate grounds when it suddenly slammed to a violent stop.

The moment the car halted, the driver’s door flew open. Elise stumbled out, covering her mouth as she rushed to the roadside and doubled over, vomiting.

Behind her, the black Rolls-Royce Phantom braked sharply as well.

Inside the car, Dylan unfastened his seatbelt. Before stepping out, he glanced toward Robin, who sat strapped into the child safety seat in the back.

"Robin, stay still and behave."

The little boy nodded obediently.

"I’ll be good, Daddy! Go check on Pretty Miss quickly—she looks really sick!"

Dylan gave a low acknowledgment before stepping out and shutting the car door behind him. He retrieved a bottle of mineral water from the trunk, then walked over to Elise’s side.

Twisting the cap open, he silently handed it to her.

For a while, Elise froze. But in the end, she still reached out and took it.

After rinsing her mouth, she quietly muttered, "Thank you."

Over the past few days, she had started experiencing mild morning sickness.

It wasn’t severe—every couple of days she would suddenly feel nauseated, or certain smells would trigger it.

Now that she had thrown up, the tightness in her stomach eased considerably.

Not wanting any further contact with Dylan, she turned coldly and prepared to get back into the car.

But Dylan suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"Don’t touch me—let go!"

Elise struggled angrily, disgust flashing across her face, but his grip was far too strong for her to break free from.

Dylan’s gaze drifted briefly over her lower abdomen before settling back on her face.

A slight crease formed between his brows. His Adam’s apple bobbed once before he asked in a low voice,

"Elise... tell me the truth. Are you pregnant?"

Elise frowned, but almost immediately, she sighed and snapped angrily,

"Dylan, are you done yet?! I already told you I’m not pregnant! And even if I were, I’d get rid of it!"

"I don’t believe you." His eyes locked onto her face, watching every tiny shift in her expression.

"I thought about it carefully. Your symptoms right now are very similar to when you were first pregnant with the twins."

"You still dare mention the twins?!" Hatred flashed through Elise’s tear-filled eyes as she glared at him.

"Dylan, you have no right to talk about them! And you don’t deserve to be the father of my children ever again!"

Her voice broke as she struggled harder against him. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Let go of me! Let go—!"

Dylan watched her violent resistance, his brows tightening further and further.

Over the past five years, Elise’s emotional state had wrecked her health. She had suffered severe appetite loss and had become dangerously underweight.

Although months of treatment had helped somewhat, she still hadn’t fully recovered.

Right now, her face was pale as paper, making the red handprint on her cheek stand out even more starkly.

Dylan stared at the mark on her face, his dark eyes turning unreadably dim.

After a long moment, he let out a low sigh.

"Calm down," he said quietly. "Don’t get so worked up."

Elise shouted back immediately, "Then let go of me!"

"...Fine."

At last, Dylan released her wrist. Elise instantly pulled her hand back and rubbed the reddened skin furiously before glaring at him.

"First, you used Grandma to emotionally blackmail me, and now you’re planning to use the Harper family to threaten me too?"

Her eyes burned with anger. "Dylan... you’re despicable."

"I just think that since you’re insisting on divorce because of Robin, then his identity should be explained clearly." Dylan’s voice remained low and calm. "The Harper family is your family. They have the right to know the truth."

A cold laugh escaped Elise. "You actually believe that yourself?"

Dylan pressed his lips together silently, looking at her.

Elise stared back at him.

And suddenly, everything felt unbearably absurd.

How had two people who once loved and understood each other ended up like this?

She shook her head slowly and drew in a deep breath.

Disappointment had already hollowed her out completely.

She wanted to smile it off—to pretend she was still strong enough to walk away untouched—but tears fell before she could stop them.

Through blurred vision, she looked at the man standing before her and spoke in a voice filled with sorrow.

"Dylan... before today, I thought that even if you cheated on me, at least for the sake of our five years together... and for the twins we lost... you wouldn’t be cruel enough to push me this far."

Her voice trembled. "I truly believed I had already done everything I possibly could for you."

Another tear slid down her cheek.

"But I never imagined that one day, the same ruthless methods you use against your enemies... would end up being used against me too."

Dylan froze completely.

"Elise, I—"

Instinctively, he tried to step closer, but Elise immediately backed away several paces.

Seeing that, he stopped where he was. Separated by only a few steps, he heard her say quietly:

"As for our divorce, once Grandma’s surgery is safely over, I’ll tell her myself."

Her eyes were red, but her voice remained resolute.

"And as for the Harper family..." A bitter smile curved her lips. "If I could cut ties with them once for your sake back then... Then I can do it again now for the sake of divorcing you."

The moment she finished speaking, Elise turned and got back into her car.

The door slammed shut. The engine roared to life.

And the white Porsche sped down the mountain road without looking back.

Dylan stood there motionless, his eyes following the disappearing taillights long after the car had vanished from sight.

After a long moment, Dylan took out his phone and dialed Oliver.

"Check the hospital records," he said in a low voice. "As quickly as possible."

***

6:30 that evening.

The Bennett Residence.

The doorbell rang, and Mrs. Lander went to answer it.

Standing outside was Quinn, dressed in an elegant designer dress, her makeup flawless and her appearance meticulously polished.

The moment she saw Mrs. Lander, she smiled gracefully.

"Hello. I’m here to take Robin home."

Mrs. Lander froze.

Take Robin home? Could it be...

"Mommy!"

Before Mrs. Lander could process anything, Robin had already come running out from the living room.

With his arms wide open, he threw himself straight into Quinn’s embrace.

Quinn wrapped her arms around the child’s small body and affectionately rubbed his head.

Her red lips curved gently.

"Did you miss Mommy?"

"Of course I missed Mommy!" the little boy said obediently. "But Daddy said Mommy’s very busy with work, so I have to behave and not bother Mommy."

"Our Robin is so good."

Quinn smiled warmly as she took his hand, then lifted her eyes toward Mrs. Lander.

"You must be Mrs. Lander. Dylan mentioned you before. He said you’re very careful and kind." She smiled softly. "Robin didn’t cause you too much trouble these past few days, did he?"

"No, no..." Mrs. Lander answered awkwardly. "The boy is very obedient and well-behaved."

So Robin really was Mr. Bennett and this woman’s child?!

In other words, Mr. Bennett had secretly had an illegitimate child with his mistress outside the marriage, then publicly lied and claimed the child was adopted by the family?

What kind of nonsense was that?!

No wonder Madam had been furious enough to leave home! Who could possibly endure something like this? Wasn’t this just outright humiliating her?!

Mrs. Lander complained bitterly inside, but no matter how scandalous the situation was, she was still only a live-in housekeeper.

She could gossip internally all she wanted, but she definitely didn’t dare interfere openly in her employers’ affairs.

"Um... Mr. Bennett hasn’t returned yet," Mrs. Lander said carefully, forcing a polite smile. "Are you planning to take the boy away now?"

"Dylan should be back soon." As Quinn spoke, she casually led Robin inside. "I’ll wait with him until he comes home."

She had shown up uninvited, but as a housekeeper, Mrs. Lander couldn’t exactly stop her.

Quinn brought Robin over to the sofa and sat down gracefully.

Her gaze swept toward Mrs. Lander, who was still standing stiffly near the entrance.

A faint smile lifted Quinn’s lips as she spoke in the tone of a mistress of the house.

"Mrs. Lander, please bring me a pair of slippers."

"Oh... of course."

Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes too obviously, Mrs. Lander bent down and opened the shoe cabinet before taking out a pair of guest slippers.

"Miss, your slippers."

She walked over and placed them by Quinn’s feet.

Quinn glanced at the slippers briefly before slowly lifting her head to look at Mrs. Lander.

"Mrs. Lander," she said lightly, "my surname is Foster."

The woman forced a nod. "Understood, Miss Foster."

But Quinn wasn’t finished.

"Please help me change my shoes too. My lower back has been aching these past few days, so it’s inconvenient for me."

Mrs. Lander froze.

Meeting Quinn’s gaze, she immediately caught the faint challenge hidden beneath the woman’s gentle smile.

Quinn arched a brow slightly.

"Mrs. Lander... is there a problem?"

"...Of course not, Miss."

Mrs. Lander walked over and crouched in front of Quinn.

While secretly rolling her eyes hard enough to strain something, she helped remove Quinn’s high heels and replace them with the slippers.

"Thank you."

Holding the expensive stilettos in hand, Mrs. Lander forced out a perfectly professional smile.

"You’re welcome, Miss."

The moment she turned away toward the entrance hall, she couldn’t stop herself from silently grumbling.

This woman is nowhere near as good as Madam. Mr. Bennett really must’ve lost his mind!

Meanwhile, Quinn watched Mrs. Lander’s retreating figure coldly.

A look of disdain flickered across her face before vanishing beneath another gentle smile.

Then she lowered her gaze toward Robin and stroked his hair softly.

"Robin," she said warmly, "call Daddy and ask when he’s coming home."

"Okay!"

The little boy nodded obediently and immediately used his children’s smartwatch to call Dylan.