Emily stared at the little girl in shock.
“What?”
The child clung to her mother’s hand.
Tears streamed down her face.
The woman stepped forward.
“I never wanted this to happen,” she whispered.
Richard suddenly shouted:
“Stop! Don’t say another word!”
But it was too late.
The woman looked at Emily.
“Richard didn’t abandon us.”
Emily frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
The woman swallowed hard.
“Because she’s not Richard’s daughter.”
Gasps erupted across the ballroom.
Richard closed his eyes.
The woman continued.
“The DNA test was fake.”
Emily felt her knees weaken.
“Then why would anyone do this?”
The woman pointed toward the stage.
Toward Richard’s business partner.
Michael Hayes.
The crowd turned.
Michael’s face lost all color.
Richard’s voice trembled with anger.
“Because he paid her.”
The entire room erupted.
Michael tried to run.
Security grabbed him before he reached the exit.
Emily stared at Richard.
“You mean… all of this was a lie?”
Richard nodded.
“I found out yesterday. I was going to tell you tonight.”
Tears rolled down Emily’s cheeks.
She thought she had lost the man she loved.
Richard stepped closer.
“I would never betray you.”
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Emily threw her arms around him.
The ballroom burst into applause.
But across the room, Michael smiled.
A strange smile.
Because the scandal everyone had just witnessed…
Was only the beginning.
