I Took the Money and the Quadruplets Chapter 03

I Took the Money and the Quadruplets Chapter 03

Walker Sr. went straight upstairs and pushed open the door to the room I had occupied.

He scanned the space.

It was immaculate and impersonal. Like a hotel suite, waiting for its next guest.

He walked into the closet.

The jewelry meant to broadcast the Walker family’s status lay untouched in its velvet boxes. I had never worn any of it.

On the vanity, the black Centurion card held down a single sheet of notepaper.

Walker Sr. walked over and picked it up.

There was only one sentence.

“The PIN is your birthday. I never used it.”

Holding the card, his expression began to shift.

He had always been certain I had married into his family for money. He had guarded against me, watched me, treated me as a potential threat to the family fortune.

But when I left, I had taken only what was stipulated in the prenuptial agreement. Nothing more.

Her quiet dignity was a greater rebuke than any screaming match could ever be.

“What is the meaning of this?” He threw the card back on the table. “What is she trying to prove?”

Just then, Cassidy walked in, dressed in a crisp white suit.

She was clearly in a good mood, though her concern was perfectly feigned.

“Uncle, don’t be angry,” she said softly. “Perhaps Ava was just being emotional.”

Walker Sr. glanced at her and said nothing.

Cassidy sat down, her movements fluid, and asked casually, “I heard Liam paid her off, as per the prenup?”

The butler, standing to the side, answered for him. “Yes, Ms. Hathaway. The ‘golden handshake’ clause was executed. Twenty million dollars was transferred to the former madam’s account yesterday.”

Cassidy’s hand froze, her teacup hovering in mid-air.

Twenty million?

She knew the clause existed. But she had wanted a long, messy tug-of-war, a public scandal. She hadn’t intended for the matter to be settled so cleanly, and she certainly hadn’t expected me to take the money and vanish without a fight.

For the first time, a sliver of doubt entered her mind.

My departure had been too clean, too quiet.

It was nothing like the version of me she thought she knew.

Meanwhile, I was sitting on the terrace of my new home in Carmel, enjoying the sea breeze and a lunch my nutritionist had planned.

Fresh berries, Greek yogurt, a slice of toast, and the warm, steady sunlight of the California coast.

I lowered my head and rested a hand on my abdomen.

From this day on, I was just Ava.

Not someone’s daughter-in-law. Not a piece in a family’s dynastic game.