The CEO's Unplanned Heir novel Chapter 828

After the party, Aurelia returned to the Stirling Mansion, where Leopold had just finished tucking Kane into bed with a bedtime story. The little boy was soundly asleep. Aurelia kissed him goodnight on his cherubic face and gently pulled the quilt to his chin.

After leaving Kane's room, the couple retreated to the room next door.

"I ran into Megan at the party," Aurelia began, her voice low as she discarded her coat. "She didn't look like a woman who'd lost her child. I suspect she had a girl. So, she had agreed with the AK Group's baby swap scheme."

Leopold sank into an armchair, his fingers tapping a sinister rhythm on the armrest.

"Man's plans can never beat fate's," he mused.

Aurelia curled the corner of her lips into a sly, cold smile. "Maybe we should take the child. It'll be like having a trump card up our sleeve."

Leopold stretched out a hand and playfully ruffled her hair. "My cunning little vixen, you're getting shrewder by the day. I like it."

She flicked a strand of hair behind her ear, a hint of strategy in her eyes. "Just pay back in kind. If Geoffrey is in ill health, and it's congenital, having another healthy child might not be so easy for him. I bet that kid is the result of IVF. Only IVF could ensure a boy, timed to perfection with Megan's delivery."

"Intriguing." Leopold pondered. "If it's IVF, there might be more than one."

"That's not certain. It's possible the others didn't succeed, and this one did. The success rate for IVF is around forty percent." Aurelia's arched brows conveyed her inference that Geoffrey must value this child highly, making him a significant bargaining chip.

Leopold understood but had his thoughts.

"Honey, it's late. Time for bed," he said softly.

Aurelia stood, stretching. "I'll take a shower."

Anger flickered in Quentin's eyes. "He's your brother. How can you be so heartless?"

"He never saw me as his sister," she retorted with a bitter laugh. "From day one, he wanted me out, claiming everything in the Clark family was his. Now, he can go to hell and inherit the family fortune, though with your bankruptcy, there's not much left, right?"

Quentin suppressed his rage. "After the trouble you caused, I didn't hold it against you. What more do you want?"

"Not hold it against me?" Marianne's voice rose. "Your family beat me up senselessly, locked me in the basement, and left me without a drop to drink. My mother had called the cops, or I'd be dead."The memory fueled her hatred As she continued, "I pray every day for the Clark family to perish, and it seems God has heard my prayers. That's why you got cancer, and your precious son got kidney disease. You better start preparing for his funeral. And you should hurry to pray for him. Otherwise, he would not rest in peace but suffer in hell."

Quentin swayed, nearly fainting with fury.

He had never believed in karma, convinced that the wicked thrive while the good perish too soon. Yet, the rare instant karma had struck him, and he couldn't deny it.