Hearing those words, Patti''s world came crashing down. She knew Mrs. Mercer was not a woman to be trifled with.


    Hawthorne and James were both using her. As long as she didn''t cross any lines or get exposed, they would both keep her around to y their games.


    But Mrs. Mercer was different. For years, she had treated James''s mistresses like wolves at the door, enemies threatening her position, and she eliminated them one by one.


    Her family was rich and powerful. Her father was a high-ranking government official in Greenvale, and it was rumored they even had connections in Echo City. There was almost no one who could stand up to them.


    Mrs. Mercer was ruthless when it came to cleaning up after James. Patti knew all this, but the realization hade toote. She had met James abroad and let him seduce her.


    By the time she returned home and discovered she was pregnant, he had already promised to save her father, leaving her with no choice but to go along with his n.


    In the beginning, James had filled her head with sweet talk, telling her that if she could trick Hawthorne, she''d not only get his billion-dor fortune but also an extra hundred million from him as pocket money. She had actually believed he had the power to do it, only to discover he was a spineless, henpecked coward.


    Patti refused to get a DNA test. She knew that once the test was done, the whole charade would be exposed. Mrs. Mercer wouldn''t spare her, and James would deny everything. In the end, she''d lose the baby and her usefulness to both James and Hawthorne would be gone.


    "I won''t do the test! What you''re doing is a vition of my rights! I''m Hawthorne''s girlfriend. If you don''t believe me, call him. Get him over here!"


    But Mrs. Mercer wasn''t listening to Patti''s nonsense. She trusted her own intuition, and her intuition was never wrong.


    "Is that so? Fine, we can call Hawthorne. But only after the test is done. If the child is his, I will personally apologize to both you and Mr. Everhart. But if it''s not... well, Patti, you know what will happen to you."


    Without mercy, Mrs. Mercer signaled for the medical staff she had prepared. She had a dark basement in the vi, a ce specially reserved for dealing with James''s mistresses. If someone died down there, no one would ever know.


    The sight of people in white coats made Patti''s vision go ck.


    She was dragged into the basement. A needle plunged into her arm, and the anesthetic knocked her outpletely. When she opened her eyes again, a sharp pain in her lower abdomen told her everything.


    Mrs. Mercer''s face was as dark and still as a stagnant pond. A doctor handed her the test results.


    "Mrs. Mercer, the results show a


    99.9% match between the fetus and Mr. Mercer From a medical


    ?ü


    standpoint, there is a biological, paternal rtionship between the


    child this woman is carrying and Mr. Mercer."


    s?novel


    The results sent Mrs. Mercer into a fury. She stormed over, grabbed Patti by the


    hair, and yanked her head back, pping her face relentlessly.


    "You shameless little fox! You thought you could y me, didn''t you? Did you think I was dead? All the others were just after my husband''s money, but you you dared to try and take my ce! You want to be James''s wife? Not in a million years!


    "James is nothing but a dog in our family. He came to us with nothing, marrying into our family and serving us hand and foot to get where he is today. He''s a dog!


    "And what are you? You think you can climb over my head? Let me tell you, I won''t


    let either you or James get away with this. Just you wait."


    After the beating, Patti feared for her life, convinced Mrs. Mercer might do something truly drastic. Sobbing, she crawled to Mrs. Mercer''s feet and knelt.


    "Mrs. Mercer,


    ever wanted to take


    your ce, swear! It''s not what you think. It was James! He got me pregnant and told me me on Hawthorne. He wanted to use my baby to get his hands on the


    to pint


    Everhart fortune.  s?novel


    "He was just using me! I was blinded by greed and went along with it to get some money. You know my family fell from grace and my father is in prison. I never wanted to be Mrs. Mercer!"


    Patti, desperate to save herself, spilled the entire n she had with James. But after listening, Mrs. Mercer didn''t believe a word. She just spat at her.