Worship The Ground You Walk On

It was around 10 the next morning. Ben was back from a meeting. As soon as he walked back into the office, his secretary came over with several documents, waiting for him to review and sign. The secretary placed the documents orderly on the desk for Ben to review. Before he was about to finish the last copy, he looked serious.

Ben's assistant, Nate Willson, stood aside with his hands down. He was a bit afraid and said, "These are the reports and check for the prescriptive dividend to the Evans family every season from the finance department. They all need your approval."

A seasonal dividend to the Evans family was an exchange for Ben's marriage with Claudia.

Ben's eyebrows furrowed. He buried the check into the document and closed it. Then he pushed it to Nate.

"This is her family. Tell her to send this there on her own!"

His deep voice sounds indifferent.

He deadpanned.

Nate instantly understood what he meant. He picked up the document quickly and nodded. "Sure, I'll take care of it."

Claudia was having some hot chicken soup made by her housekeeper Becky when she received the document from Nate.

She might have caught a cold in the rain, but she would rather not take pills for the baby's sake. Therefore she could only live on chicken noodle soup.

Nate left soon after he dropped the file. As sick as Claudia was, she insisted the housekeeper drive her back to her home, the Evans family.

She was there because she needed to deliver the check, and because it was the end of the month.

She could visit her birth mother every few months, which was one of the promises the Evans offered her, so that she would agree to marry Ben. When she arrived at the house, the housekeeper of the Evans was nowhere to be found. The large villa looked so empty.

Little did Claudia knew what might happen that night.

"Mom, let's make a deal. We'll get rid of that little Claudia bitch as soon as she gives birth to the baby!"

Claudia came upstairs and heard somebody talking in the bedroom.

"Don't worry! I've promised you. I won't break my promise. I'm your mother!"

"I'm not saying that you will break your promise... I'm just worried and jealous. I love Ben so much. I should never have agreed on their marriage!"

"I know, I wouldn't have allowed that to happen if it weren't for your health condition. It was supposed to be a beneficial marriage between the Crawford Family and the Evans Family! What does it have to do with Claudia? She's just an illegitimate daughter!"

"All we need is a baby from her. Once the baby is born, we'll get rid of Claudia, the little skunk, and her mother right away! Forever!"

"I'll do what you say. Don't worry, Amber. Let's wait until the baby is born!"

"No, I feel insecure! Maybe I'll forever lose the chance to have Ben if I don't take on the act now! Claudia, that slut, is a mute siren! She's so good at seducing men!"

Claudia was just standing outside of the door with her hands on the railing of the stairs. Her palm was sweaty because of those harsh and unexpected words she heard. All they needed was a baby from her.

It turned out that her so-called marriage was just a lie. They were just putting on a show to fraud her into this.

She suddenly felt a headache and was about to faint.

There were still 88 days before the due date, but she was already facing a fatal conspiracy her family designed to plot against her. They wanted to get rid of her and her mother at the same time.

She turned around slowly. The dull pain in her chest was so intense that she could hardly breathe. She could not think clearly.

Just by then, the housekeeper came back with bags of groceries. When she saw Claudia coming downstairs, she asked, "I didn't know you'd be back today! Why don't you take a seat?" Claudia was drowning in her thoughts and ignored the housekeeper. She staggered out of the villa.

Her heart ached so much, and it was not because of the cruelty of her family; but because her baby already had been set up before he or she was even born.

The two on the upstairs went downstairs when they heard the sound, only to see Claudia's back.

Blair yelled, "Oh my gosh, was she eavesdropping?"

Standing next to her mother, Amber leaned on the fence on the second floor and grinned a cold smile. "So what? She's a mute! You think she's going to tell on us?" "You can never be careful enough! We have to make sure there won't be any accidents before the baby is born." Blair said decisively.

Amber nodded and agreed, "OK, I'll keep that in mind."

Then she cast a glance to the hallway. She looked in the direction in which Claudia was gone. With anger and envy in her eyes, she looked fierce.

"I've got a big show that I could put on for her in advance!"

Claudia began to toss and turn when she was back. Blair and Amber's words echoed in her mind over and over again.

Her baby, her birth mother.

They were now the center of their conspiracy.

She wondered what she could do.

She fondled her belly again and decided that she had to do something, for her mother, and this baby.

She took out her phone from her purse and started typing.

After a while, the phone rang.

Claudia picked up the phone as soon as she saw the name on the screen. A spirited female voice came from the other side. "Claudia, are you sure you want this? It will be dangerous! You'd better think it through!"

Claudia couldn't say anything. She tacitly tapped the screen with her finger.

The people on the other side of the phone sighed.

"OK. It's your call. I'll do all the preparations, waiting for your further notice!"

Her restlessness turned peaceful after she hung up the phone. She looked at the screen. "Kim Moe", that name made her laugh.

Kim was her best friend, and the only person she trusted at this moment.

In the evening, a luxurious Maserati drifted in a perfect arc and parked in the open parking lot of the Golden Howell Hotel.

"It's Mr. Ben Crawford's ride!"

"Mr. Ben Crawford is here!"

Countless journalists cheered and screamed after the first one set the atmosphere on fire. People rushed to the luxury car, thinking that it was true that Ben Crawford had supported the whole Merriston city alone.

The journalists took loads of pictures of the handsome man walking down. They tried so hard to capture this man's every move.

Just as the journalists were pushing each other, a red Maserati came over. Under the gaze of all the onlookers, Amber opened the door and walked out.

Ben strode with his slender long legs, went past those people and took quite a long detour. Then he opened the rear door of the car.

Amber slowly bent over to step out of the car with her hand landed on the back of his hand.

With her exquisite makeup and coquettish eyes, she looked as graceful as an actress on the red carpet.

Amber quickly walked to Ben. With her lovely eyes, she uttered, "Ben..."

The man's cold handsome face did not react to this at all, neither did his dark eyes.

However, the media would never miss the best shot. Ben and Amber in the same picture? This would make the front page of all the tabloids tomorrow.

Those journalists were unbelievably thrilled. As they prepared their cameras and materials for the interview, a silver white car went past them.

Ben's eyes turned sullen as he saw a woman in the back seat. He wondered why she would come on this occasion.