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All three boys had Ethan’s sharp gray eyes and dark wavy hair. But the fire in them? That came from me.
So I vanished.
And I survived.
Now I owned one of the fastest-growing agencies in the country.
And my net worth quietly exceeded the failing Montgomery fortune three times over.
“For what?”
I looked back at the wedding invitation.
Saturday arrived cold and bright.
The Montgomery estate looked like it belonged on a magazine cover. Thousands of white roses filled the gardens, string quartets played beside the fountain, and Chicago’s political and financial elite moved across the grounds with champagne glasses beneath glittering chandeliers.
She expected heartbreak.
Instead, a convoy of black armored SUVs rolled through the front gates.
A hush spread over the estate.
The back door opened.
And I stepped out.
I wore an emerald couture gown that caught the afternoon light. Gasps rippled through the crowd immediately.
But the real shock came a second later.
I turned and held my hand toward the SUV.
One by one…
Liam.
Noah.
And Caleb stepped out beside me in perfectly tailored velvet tuxedos.
The silence turned heavy.
Because every single child looked exactly like Ethan Montgomery.
Up on the balcony, Eleanor’s champagne glass slipped from her hand and shattered against the marble floor.
I slowly lifted my eyes toward her.
Then I smiled.
And in that exact moment, everyone inside that estate realized the wedding of the year had just become the scandal of the decade.
The sound of breaking crystal echoed across the estate like a warning shot.
Ethan stepped onto the balcony behind his mother just as the glass shattered. The moment he saw my sons, every bit of color disappeared from his face.
His hands tightened around the railing until his knuckles turned white.
He stared at the boys.
Then at me.
Then back at them.
Five years.
The math hit him all at once.
I did not react.
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