He took out his phone.
Called his attorney.
And said quietly, "I need you here tonight."
Evelyn tried to stop him.
"Daniel, we can discuss this tomorrow."
He ended the call.
Then looked at her.
"No."
She stared.
"You're acting emotionally."
He gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
"Emotionally?"
His mother stepped closer.
"You're humiliating the family."
Daniel looked around the ballroom.
The white flowers.
The elegant cake.
The decorations celebrating a baby who never existed.
He turned back.
"You spent months humiliating me, and you're worried people saw it?"
Evelyn's expression hardened.
"I will not be spoken to this way in my own home."
Daniel stared.
For a moment, an old instinct rose.
Apologize.
Soften the words.
Find a compromise.
He had spent his life doing it.
Whenever Evelyn became angry, he tried to make the room comfortable again.
But something was different now.
He had seen Sophie's frightened face.
He had watched Mara stumble after Claire shoved her.
He had heard his mother accused of paying for a fake pregnancy.
And he had seen the messages.
There was no polite explanation left.
Daniel took a breath.
"Then I'll leave."
Evelyn went still.
"What?"
He looked toward Claire.
"The engagement is over."
She began crying again.
"Daniel, please."
He shook his head.
"I can't marry you."
Claire stepped forward.
"I really do care about you."
He looked at her.
For a moment, his expression softened with grief.
"Maybe you do."
She swallowed.
"But you let me believe I had a child coming."
Claire looked down.
He continued.
"You watched Sophie struggle with the idea of sharing her father. You let her think she was getting a sibling."
Tears spilled down Claire's face.
"You knew how important being a father is to me."
She nodded.
"I'm sorry."
Daniel stared.