Chapter 15
Anthony’s hand clenched into a fist, crumpling the edge of the paper as his mind raced. Flashes of Julie’s recent behavior flickered in his memory–the extravagant spending, frequent trips to bars, and her overly familiar interactions. with male acquaintances.
A bitter laugh escaped his lips. “So that’s
how it is,” he muttered under his breath, the weight of the DNA results sinking in.
Julie had played him. She had not only lied about the baby being his, but she had also dared to pass off another man’s child as the heir to the Harris family.
Leaning back in his chair, Anthony stared at the ceiling, his jaw tightening with cold resolve.
“This ends now,” he said to himself. Julie had made a grave mistake by
underestimating him, and Anthony was
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determined to ensure she paid the price for her deceit.
When Julie returned from her usual shopping spree later that evening, Anthony was waiting for her in the living room, his expression as cold as stone.
Julie spotted him as soon as she entered. and immediately brightened, mistaking his demeanor for concern.
“Why are you so romantic today, honey? Did you miss me so much that you waited for me to come home?” she cooed, a smug smile on her lips.
Before she could sit next to him, Anthony slammed the crumpled paper onto the coffee table, making Julie flinch.
“Whose child are you carrying, Julie?” he snapped, his voice low and venomous.
Julie froze mid–step, her smile evaporating as her hands instinctively flew to her chest.
“What are you talking about, honey? Of course it’s yours! Who else would it
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belong to?”
Anthony pointed to the paper, his eyes blazing with fury. “Then explain this!”
Julie hesitantly stepped closer and picked up the document, her eyes widening as they scanned the DNA test results.
“Still want to say it’s mine?” Anthony pressed, his tone cutting like a blade.
Julie stammered, her voice shaky. “This… this must be a mistake. The test must be wrong! Someone must have tampered with it. Don’t believe these things, Anthony. Someone’s trying to set me up.
Her voice grew more desperate as she grasped for excuses. “It has to be Daisy. She’s jealous of me, isn’t she? She must have sent this to you to ruin us.”
Anthony let out a sarcastic laugh, his expression hardening. “Daisy, you say? This test was done with your blood a week ago, when you complained about being afraid of needles. How could Daisy possibly
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be involved?”
Julie’s face turned pale. “What? You… you ordered this test? That’s why you. insisted they take my blood? You don’t trust me that much?” she yelled, her voice. trembling with indignation.
Anthony stood abruptly, his towering figure making Julie take a step back. “It’s me who should be mad, Julie! Not only have you lied to me, but you‘ ve dared to slander Daisy, too.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone, showing her the messages she had sent to me.
Julie’s eyes darted back and forth
between the screen and Anthony‘ s face. “No, Anthony, those messages are fake. I never sent those.”
“How convenient,” Anthony said coldly, his lip curling in disdain. “The messages came from your number, Julie. And let me remind you, I got them from Daisy’s old
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SIM card, which you didn’t know existed. There’s no faking that!”
Julie’s desperation reached its peak as she clutched her stomach protectively.
Anthony stepped closer, his voice dropping to a menacing growl. “Don’t think I
don’t know what you‘ ve been doing
you’ve
behind my back. Shall I gather DNA samples from all those male friends you keep meeting? Or would you prefer to come clean now?”
Julie’s body trembled, her eyes welling with tears. “It’s yours… it’s yours. Please, Anthony, just test it again. I swear to you!”
Anthony’s glare did not waver. “You think I’ll fall for your lies again? Fine, we’ll test it again, but this time, I’ll make sure all the men you‘ ve been hanging around are tested too.”
Julie broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. “Please, Anthony, don‘ t do this. Believe.
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me, it’s your baby. I’ve never cheated on you.”
Anthony sneered, his voice laced with disgust. “Spare me your tears, Julie. Start from now, you no longer stay here.”
Julie dropped to her knees, clutching Anthony’s leg desperately. “Please, Anthony, don’t kick me out. I’ll do anything, just don’t send me away.”
Anthony pulled his leg free from her grasp, his expression icy. “You‘ re done here, Julie. Pack your things and get out of my house. You can have your baby elsewhere.”
He called for the butler, who entered the room promptly. “Pack her things and escort her out,” Anthony ordered.
Julie’s cries grew louder as the butler hesitated, looking uncertain. “Sir, are you sure?”
“Do as I say!” Anthony snapped, his voice echoing through the room.
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As the butler moved to carry out his instructions, Julie sat on the floor, her face
streaked with tears.
She looked up at Anthony, her voice trembling. “You’ll regret this, Anthony. When the baby is born, you’ll see the truth. You’ll beg me to come back!”
Anthony did not even flinch. He turned on his heel and walked away, his voice cold and final. “I’ll take the test again, Julie, but even if by some miracle it’s mine, I’ll raise the child alone. You’ll never set foot in this house again.”
Julie’s cries echoed through the grand Manor as Anthony ascended the stairs, leaving her behind like the stain she had become on his carefully curated life.
But her cries fell on deaf ears. The guards pried her away and dragged her out of the Manor, her wails echoing through the
estate.
Once the door slammed shut behind him,
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the silence that followed was deafening.
Anthony stood there for a moment, his jaw tight and his hands clenched into fists. Julie’s betrayal burned in his chest, but it was the weight of his own mistakes that truly suffocated him.
Turning back, he whispered, almost as if to himself, “Daisy… where are you?”
In the days that followed, Anthony became
a shadow of his former self.
He locked himself in his study, pouring over old photos, videos, and documents in an obsessive attempt to find any clue about where I might have gone.
He could not escape the guilt. The
memories of how he had allowed Julie into
his life, of how he had neglected me for her false promises, haunted him relentlessly.
His work began to suffer. He ignored meetings, disregarded calls, and pushed away the very responsibilities that had once defined him.
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Months passed, and one day, his man came to him with a glimmer of hope.
“Sir,” the man said hesitantly, placing a folder on Anthony‘ s desk. “We may have found her.”
Anthony grabbed the folder, his hands trembling. Inside was a photo of me leaving a café in California.
“Valerie Keith?” he murmured, his chest tightening as he stared at the photo.
The man nodded. “It appears she’s changed her name and identity, sir. She’s built a new life for herself in the U.S.”
Anthony leaned back in his chair, the realization hitting him like a tidal wave. I had gone to such lengths to escape him.
“Book my flight,” he ordered. “I‘ m going to California.”
As Anthony prepared for the trip that disguised as a business trip, word of his plans reached his grandfather, Anton
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Harris, and his father. Both men confronted him the night before his departure.
“You‘ re going to abandon us?” Anton thundered, his cane striking the marble floor for emphasis.
“Do you know what you‘ ve done to this family’s reputation, to the company?” his father yelled too.
“I am going to find my wife!” Anthony snapped.
Anton’s eyes narrowed. “I have restricted your passport so you can’t
travel outside London. Come back to the
company and work diligently if you want me to revoke it.”
As a result, Anthony‘ s plans to leave were effectively canceled. His father and grandfather ensured that he could not escape London, placing every possible. obstacle in his path.
The frustration ate away at him, leaving
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him restless and haunted. He buried himself in work, trying to regain control of the company, but his mind was elsewhere.
Late at night, alone in his study, he stared at the photo of me as Valerie Keith. His fingers traced the edges of the picture as he whispered to himself, “Please… just let me see her one more time.”
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