Chapter 004

Under Carl's icy gaze, Renee pressed her lips tightly together, trying to stay calm.

But the eight years of pain from her past life made her fingers tremble uncontrollably, and she turned her face away forcefully.

Carl stopped looking at her, his voice dripping with disdain: "Trying to get pregnant in secret?"

Renee frowned deeply, glancing sideways at Susanne.

Susanne had bought the pills. Could she still be entertaining the idea of marrying Renee to Carl?

But under Carl's cold stare, Susanne was already shaking like a leaf.

More than the patriarch, Susanne feared Carl.

She wouldn't dare to meddle right under Carl's nose.

What was really going on here?

Renee looked up, surrounded by gazes from all directions.

Among them, one stood out.

Annie.

Her lips held a half-smile that reminded Renee of unpleasant memories.

Sure enough, the next moment.

Annie turned her back to the others, grasping Renee's hand, and spoke earnestly: "Renee, I'm sorry, but I can't help you deceive Carl and Michael, so I confessed."

"I never thought you'd use me to quell the rumors, then secretly try to get pregnant."

"If I hadn't gone to comfort you and overheard your plan, you might have succeeded. If you really got pregnant, what would happen to Carl and me?"

As she finished, Annie's tears flowed freely, her choked voice full of grievance.

The others were furious, rushing to defend Annie.

"Isn't it obvious what she's trying to do? She wants to replace Annie! If she actually got pregnant, Carl would have to marry her. Our family's reputation would be ruined!"

Someone clenched their fists angrily: "I've never seen such a despicable scheme. Thank goodness Annie put the family first and didn't fall for her trap, or a loving couple might have been torn apart!"

"Carl, we can't keep Renee around. Who knows what trouble she'll cause next!"

Every word pierced Renee's heart like a knife.

Just like in her past life, everyone protected Annie, making Renee out to be worthless.

She'd heard it so often, she was used to it by now.

Renee looked up, meeting Annie's eyes. Behind the fragile facade, a calculating gleam flickered.

She was momentarily stunned, watching as Annie raised her hand to wipe away tears. As she did so, hidden from the others, she flashed Renee a smile.

It was both a challenge and a mockery.

Annie had switched the pills!

Then, Annie parted her lips slightly, her voice as gentle as ever, even pleading.

"Carl, please forgive Renee. She surely didn't mean it! Let's say I did all this. I'll do anything to help the Grey family and you recover from this loss, even if it means sacrificing my reputation."

If Renee hadn't seen her smug expression, anyone hearing Annie's voice would think her incredibly kind and selfless.

At that moment, Renee realized she had underestimated Annie.

Even with a second chance at life, while she had changed the course of events, she had no special advantages and certainly couldn't change her opponent's intelligence.

Annie savored Renee's tension.

She wasn't foolish enough to admit she was the woman in the photo during this crisis.

Carl was a cold-blooded businessman. He and Michael had likely weighed the pros and cons of last night already.

How could they not know who the woman in the photo was?

If Annie had admitted it, Carl would surely think her scheming, and Michael would disapprove of her motives.

But now, with her noble act, she had not only gained Carl's trust but also impressed Michael.

Most importantly... no one would believe Renee anymore.

So what if Carl had slept with her?

She was just a cheap plaything!

Renee was indeed nervous, but she was no longer the Renee of the past.

Understanding Annie's intentions, she actually became calmer.

Even Annie was taken aback, staring intently at her, trying to find a crack in her composure.

But Renee ignored Annie, walking past her directly to the head of the room.

Carl's cold gaze met hers, filled with mockery. He casually played with his ring, his demeanor relaxed but a dangerous tension evident. It was intimidating, reminiscent of their past encounters where he always spoke to her with a disdainful tone.

He had already concluded that she was a scheming woman, so Renee saw no point in trying to explain herself. Instead, she smiled bitterly and confronted him and Annie, "The woman in the photo wasn't me. Since Annie won't admit it, we can only ask Uncle Carl himself.

"But it's strange, Annie. You and Uncle Carl are engaged. Anything between you two would be natural. Uncle Carl didn't deny it earlier, so why are you so eager to explain? It's almost as if you don't love Uncle Carl."

She could sling mud too.

She'd learned it from Annie in her past life.

Annie's expression froze. She turned quickly, not even adjusting her facial expression, shaking her head repeatedly.

"No, I love Carl. I just don't want to lie."

"If you don't want to lie, why are you slandering me? Besides..." Renee stared at Carl, enunciating each word, "Besides, is Uncle Carl the only man in the world? Couldn't I want to have someone else's child?"

Carl, in this life, I'd rather be involved with a stranger than have anything to do with you!

Hearing this, Carl's knuckles whitened, his cold eyes unfathomable.

He spoke in a low voice: "What did you say?"

Renee repeated loudly: "I said! Uncle Carl isn't the only man in the world! I could be pregnant with anyone's child, but it would never be yours! Am I wrong?"

Carl narrowed his eyes, his aura overwhelming.

It almost made Renee lose her balance.

She quickly turned her face away, looking at the others.

"Is there anything else to say? If not, I'm very tired and need to rest now."

She turned to leave.

"Stop!" Carl's voice was frighteningly cold, "Who is it?"

Everyone was stunned.

No one expected Carl to ask such a question.

Renee lowered her eyes, hiding all emotion.

At this point, how could he not know who it was?

But she knew what outcome Carl wanted.

She took out her phone, glanced at it, then looked at Carl, her tone flat: "Uncle Carl, don't worry. Everything will be over soon."

Carl frowned imperceptibly, his eyes betraying a hint of annoyance despite his belief that he controlled everything.

Just then, the butler entered with security guards.

"They're looking for Ms. Lacey."

Seeing so many people, the guard respectfully said: "Ms. Lacey, your delivery has arrived. Outsiders aren't allowed in the community, so I brought it here."

Renee stepped forward to take the opaque paper bag, saying coolly: "Thank you."

As the guard left, Renee walked to the coffee table under everyone's gaze and emptied the bag's contents.

It was emergency contraception.

Earlier, after instructing Susanne, she had felt uneasy and secretly ordered another dose to be absolutely sure.

She hadn't expected it to come in handy.

Renee opened the box in front of everyone, taking out the blister pack for all to see.

She held it in front of Carl's eyes for several seconds.

"Uncle Carl, can you see clearly? These are definitely contraceptives, right?"

"Uncle Carl, don't worry. I, Renee Lacey, will absolutely not bear any child I shouldn't have."

"Isn't this what you've been waiting for?"

Renee smiled bitterly, quickly popping out ten pills.

Then, she swiftly put one pill in her mouth.

"Is one enough? No? Then let's have more!"

"Two! Three! Four..."

Everyone was speechless, even shocked, watching Renee.

As Renee was about to take the fifth pill, unexpectedly, Patrick, who always obeyed the patriarch, rushed forward and knocked the pills away.

"Carl, what are you doing? Renee already said it wasn't her. Why are you all pressuring her like this? Won't this be just as scandalous if it gets out?"

Susanne hugged Renee, choking up: "Enough! Enough! Taking so many could be dangerous!"

By now, Renee was in such abdominal pain that she was breaking out in a cold sweat.

Even so, she still mustered her strength to open her palm to Carl, revealing one last pill.

"Uncle Carl, is this enough?"