After the car accident that claimed my husband's life, his mistress showed up with a newborn boy, claiming he was my husband's son and demanding a share of the inheritance.

My mother-in-law pressured me to compromise for the sake of the eldest grandson.

I laughed!

Did they think they could bully a widow and her orphaned daughter?

Little did they know, I studied law in university.

I immediately countered by suing the mistress.

She'd been taking what was mine for too long. It was time to make her pay it all back!

***

"What did you just say?"

I stared in disbelief at the woman standing before me, claiming to be my husband's mistress.

She held a newborn baby in her arms.

"This child is Leo White's," she said. "He deserves a share of the inheritance. Don't think you can keep it all to yourself."

I had been married to Leo for seven years, and he died in a car accident a year ago.

Looking at this woman who appeared out of nowhere, I laughed. "My husband has been dead for a year. Even if you had been pregnant for ten months, you couldn't have given birth to such a small baby now."

"And besides, how can you prove this child is his?"

Up until this moment, I didn't believe my husband had ever betrayed me.

But the woman smirked and said, "You know Leo always dreamed of having a son. But you refused to give him one. Now that he's gone, don't you think I should fulfill that dream for him?"

After saying that, she gently stroked the baby, then handed me an envelope.

Inside were records of her and Leo's hotel stays—a thick stack of them.

My fists clenched in anger.

Years of love and longing dissipated in an instant.

It was true Leo had wanted a second child, but I had always refused.

As an only child, I wanted to give all my love to our daughter, just as my parents had done for me.

I never imagined he would betray me over something so absurd.

Seeing my face darken, the woman, Rita Green, continued smugly, "So, do you believe me now? Oscar is his son, and he has a right to inherit his father's house and company."

"If you don't give me the money, then I guess we'll see each other in court."

I laughed in disbelief. It was the first time that I had heard a mistress sue the wife.

Didn't she know that without me, Leo would have been nothing? If she thought she could take what rightfully belonged to my daughter and me, she was dreaming!

Suppressing my anger, I calmly sat down on the sofa. "Do you think you can take what's mine with that child of unknown origin? Miss Green, you're far too naive."

Rita's face twisted with rage. "Olivia Smith, don't think I won't make you leave with nothing. You're just asking for trouble."

I couldn't help but laugh at her ignorance.

"I'd like to see how a mistress plans to make me leave with nothing."

"As for where you got that child, I don't care. But let me tell you this. If you think you can use him to get a share of the inheritance from me, it's absolutely impossible."

After Rita left, I was so angry that I smashed everything on the table. Until today, I had always believed that Leo loved me and that I had the happiest family. Today, that dream was shattered.

If Rita hadn't shown up with the baby, I would never have known that Leo had already betrayed me and our family.

I met Leo in college. He studied business, and I studied law.

After graduation, he wanted to start his own business, so I gave up my dreams to support him from the ground up.

His family wasn't well-off, so I borrowed money from my parents to fund his startup.

Five years later, we got married.

As the company grew, he became busier and busier.

After we had our daughter, he asked me to become a full-time housewife.

Over the years, I devoted myself entirely to our daughter and never doubted him, out of trust.

Looking back now, the signs were there.

Over the past two years, he had more and more social engagements, and when he came home, he would fall asleep immediately.

Even if I had wanted a second child, I wouldn't have had the chance.

He had given all his time to the woman outside.

I called the bank and requested his financial records for the past two years.

What I found was shocking.

Every month, he had a fixed expenditure of 100,000 dollars, along with records of large purchases—undoubtedly for that mistress.

Thinking back on how heartbroken I was after his death, I now found it all laughable.

In a way, I should thank Rita. If she hadn't told me, I would still be in the dark, mourning his loss and living in a daze.

Now I was wide awake.

I wasn't alone. I had my daughter.

A worthless man wasn't worth my tears or my life.

I didn't hesitate to clear out his belongings. I had kept them as mementos after his death, but now I saw no need.

Even giving them away felt like bad luck.

I made several trips and threw everything of his into the trash.

Since Rita had the nerve to create a child, she surely wouldn't give up easily.

But what I didn't expect was that the first person to come to me would be my mother-in-law.

She had always favored boys over girls, and when Rita saw that I wouldn't budge, she went to my in-laws with the child.

My mother-in-law was a straightforward and harsh woman from the countryside.

"Olivia, we've already had the child tested. He's our family's blood."

"Now that Leo is gone, you can't let our White family line die out."

I smirked. "So, what do you want me to do?"

My mother-in-law thought she had convinced me and grabbed my hand. "Since the child is Leo's, he should get his share of the inheritance. When he grows up, the company should be handed over to him."

She really had the nerve to say that.

Didn't she know how the company came to be?

Without my family's support and without my endless efforts, could Leo have built the company to this size?

And now she wanted me to hand the company over to the mistress' child, just because her son cheated.

I couldn't help but laugh coldly. "Why should I?"

My mother-in-law responded as if it were obvious. "Oscar is a boy. You can't give the company to Grace, can you? She's just a girl. She'll get married someday, and we can't let outsiders benefit."

Outsiders?

I pondered for a moment. "You're right. I shouldn't hand the company over to outsiders."

My mother-in-law was overjoyed. "So, do you agree? I knew you were the reasonable one, Olivia. I'll go tell Rita the good news right away."

I cut her off. "Who said I'm giving the company to that bastard?"

Her smile froze. "What do you mean?"

I looked at her coldly. "How can a bastard from some random woman be considered part of our family?"

My mother-in-law's face darkened. "Olivia, you're being unreasonable. Oscar and Grace are both Leo's children. Now that my son is gone, can't you be a little more generous? How can you call him a bastard?"

Generous?

he should want me to be generous to the mistress' child.

I sneered. "What else should I call a child born from a mistress?"

"And by the way, Leo has been dead for a year, and this child is just a month old. How can you be sure he's Leo's?"

But my mother-in-law smirked. "Rita told us everything. She felt sorry for our family, so after Leo died, she went to the hospital to freeze embryos or something. Anyway, this child is definitely Leo's. We've already tested it at the hospital, and there's no mistake."

"Rita is a filial woman. And really, you only have yourself to blame. If you had given me a grandson back then, none of this would have happened."

I was stunned by her words.

I never thought Rita would go to such lengths for money.

That was a life.

It wasn't just a bargaining chip in her quest for wealth and inheritance.

"In any case, things are what they are now. The child should get his fair share."

My mother-in-law had always been dissatisfied with the inheritance distribution. Now that she had an excuse, she wouldn't hesitate to take the money from me.

Since that's the case, I had no reason to hold back anymore.

I made it clear. "Whether or not you recognize this child is your business. But what belongs to me and Grace, I won't give up a single bit!"