You Want My Grandma’s $8 BILLION Inheritance DREAM ON! SCUMBAG, Watch Your Empire COLLAPSE Overnight! Chapter 11
The fifth day.
The day I went to the Langford family dinner.
Alex came to pick me up and honked twice outside.
I wore a simple white dress with light makeup, looking gentle and harmless.
The moment I got into the car, he reached over and took my hand.
“Evie, about yesterday—”
“I already forgot about it.” I smiled and cut him off. “I was just asking casually. Don’t worry about it.”
He glanced at me, as if trying to figure out whether I meant it.
Then he smiled.
“I knew you weren’t the type to be petty.”
The drive took twenty minutes before we arrived at the Langford estate.
Diane Langford was waiting at the entrance.
She wore an emerald-green silk dress and looked ten years younger than her actual age thanks to years of careful maintenance.
“Evie, you’re here! Come inside. I made all your favorites.”
She grabbed my arm warmly, acting like a loving mother-in-law welcoming her daughter-in-law home.
—
I let her hold onto me as I stepped through the door.
The courtyard was unusually quiet.
No sound of children playing.
They had hidden them.
Inside the living room, Sophia walked out carrying a silver tray.
Her head was lowered, and she didn’t dare look at me.
“Miss Grant, your coffee.”
Her hands were trembling.
The coffee cup lightly rattled against the tray.
I took it from her and smiled.
“Thank you.”
During dinner, Diane kept putting food onto my plate.
“Evie, eat more. Have you been dieting lately? You’re too thin. How will you ever have a baby like this?”
I didn’t stop eating. My tone remained calm.
“Mom, since you mentioned that… I’ve been taking care of my health lately. I’m planning to try again.”
Diane’s chopsticks froze.
“Try what?”
“IVF, of course.” I smiled at her. “I made an appointment with Dr.
—
Finch. She said there’s a new treatment plan with a pretty high success rate.”
Under the table, I saw Alex move his foot and lightly tap Diane’s.
Diane quickly recovered and smiled.
“That… that’s wonderful. If there’s anything you need, just let me know.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
Then I casually added, “By the way, Mom, do you still have the recipe for the tonic you used to make for me? Dr. Finch said she wanted to check the ingredients and see if it could work with my treatment.”
This time, the entire table went silent.
Alex put down his chopsticks.
The smile on Diane’s face froze for half a second before she quickly regained her composure.
“Oh, that recipe? It was something a relative gave me. I lost it a long time ago.”
“Lost it?” I looked disappointed. “That’s a shame. I remember you said it was a family recipe passed down for generations.”
“You must have remembered wrong.” Diane lifted her soup bowl, covering half her face. “It was just a regular chicken broth recipe.”
“Oh.”
I smiled and didn’t ask anything else.
—
After dinner, Alex walked me out.
On the drive home, he stayed silent for a long time.
“Evie.”
“Hmm?”
“Were you testing me?”
I turned to look at him, my expression innocent.
“Testing you for what?”
He stared at me for five seconds.
Then he smiled.
“Nothing. I was just overthinking.”
He stopped the car in front of my house and leaned over to kiss the corner of my lips.
“Get some rest early.”
“Okay.”
I got out of the car and walked inside.
The moment the door closed behind me—
the smile disappeared from my face completely.
He was starting to suspect something.
But he was still hesitating.
—
He wasn’t sure how much I actually knew.
That was good.
The longer he hesitated, the easier it would be for him to make a mistake.
And all I needed…
was for him to make one.