I agreed to grant them an audience, but explicitly barred them from entering the main residence. I ordered staff to guide them to a private stone terrace deep within the gardens.

“Oh, Audrey, thank goodness,” Victoria opened, instantly moving to seize my hand as I stepped onto the stone. “We’ve been absolutely worried sick about you, darling.”

I smoothly withdrew my hand and slid it into my pocket.

Natalie was staring around the perimeter with a toxic mixture of intense envy and sheer awe—the sprawling acreage, the fountains, the immaculate uniformed staff, the discreet executive security.

Everything was shouting a financial reality she was only beginning to calculate.

“Honestly, Audrey, you completely crossed a line,” Natalie chimed in, trying to force a conversational tone. “Vanishing into thin air with the baby… do you have any idea what Dominic is enduring right now?