Haley stood among the crowd, her pregnant belly prominent, a smirk of pride and defiance playing on her face., Everyone's gaze was on her, Herschel's grip on my hand tightened noticeably, and Conrad started to stride towards her., Haley was a master at buying time. In this brief moment, she spoke again,

"Mr. Wagner, this child is yours, remember? You promised a life of comfort and luxury for him.

",

"Stop spouting nonsense,

" Jacqueline burst out, pointing her finger at Haley.

"What does your child have to do with the Wagner family? Find the real father.

",

"Enough,

" Herschel hissed at Jacqueline, silencing her., Conrad had quickly made his way to Haley, his face dark with anger.

"What are you trying to pull?

",

"Rad, if you won't marry me, if the Wagner family won't accept me, that's one thing. But how can you go back on your word and offer what was promised to me to someone else?

" Haley said, turning her gaze towards me,

"Or does Ms. Hudson just enjoy fighting over what's mine?

", Her brazen attitude reminded me of a saying: shamelessness is invincibility., She had sunk to new lows for the sake of money.,

"Haley, shut up,

" Conrad snapped at her., But she was fearless, choosing such a public moment for her outburst, banking on the presence of the crowd to protect her from any rash actions., Plus, her scene was bound to be caught on video and go viral, making the Wagner family look like the main suspects if anything happened to her later., It was clear, Haley would stop at nothing to secure her entry into the Wagner family and the luxurious life she craved., If the Wagner family didn't address her demands today, negative press about them and their business empire would flood the internet by tomorrow.

"Why let her be silent? Let her speak,

" voices from the crowd encouraged the drama., Conrad attempted to pull Haley away, but the onlookers wouldn't allow it., The tension was palpable, and Herschel beside me was seething, his grip on my hand trembling., Haley had boldly claimed that, Herschel promised her the amusement park, a claim so outrageous that it only highlighted her desperation, given Herschel's intention to gift it to me. , Her strategy was clear: leverage the media and public presence to force the Wagner family into a corner, protecting their reputation at the cost of yielding to her demands., This woman was willing to sacrifice her own dignity and use her unborn child as a bargaining chip, a level of malice that was utterly contemptible., I couldn't let her win. I asked Jacqueline to support Herschel and stepped forward, “Haley, are you sure you want to make a scene today?

", Haley met my gaze, a flicker of panic briefly visible before she adopted a victim's demeanor,

"It's not that I want to cause trouble, but I have no choice.

", She was ready to play the victim again, and the crowd seemed to sympathize with her, viewing her as the underdog oppressed by the wealthy.

"Haley, the child you're carrying belongs to your late husband. Do we really need to talk about how he died right here and now?

" I pressed her., If she dared to come here, she was, ready for everything to unravel, crying pitifully at me,

"Fine, then say it. We live under the rule of law; careless talk must be accounted for , She was trying to intimidate me., It appeared she was confident her actions were untraceable., I had intended to let her off for the sake of the child within her, but since she insisted on playing with fire, I was prepared to let her burn.,

"Haley, in your chase for the high life,, you seduced Conrad, ignoring both your marriage and his engagement. But with your, husband as an, obstacle, you orchestrated a scene for him to catch you and Conrad in a compromising situation.

" , Search the website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.