A Shotgun Wedding with the Mafia Don-Chapter 35: Time to take out the trash

Sophia?

"Sophia... Morton?" She mumbled, scrunching her forehead in puzzlement and irritation.

Why did that name sound familiar?

Who was she?

"I want everything you can find about her?" She said to the private investigator she hired.

Her name had set alarm bells ringing inside her head, but her face remained a riddle.

As far as her memories were concerned, she hadn’t met her before, but there was something about her that made her feel uneasy.

Besides, how did she end up married to her ex-husband? What was her connection to the Morton family?

"Give me a week, Ms. Smith." The detective said.

Looking around the four corners of her luxurious penthouse suite, she knew she could not wait that long.

Every day wasted was already costing her millions. By returning to the States, she had to abandon her project, thereby breaching her contract.

But it was millions of dollars she was willing to burn as long as she could get back what was hers.

"You have two days." She impatiently said, demanding an answer sooner rather than later.

Oliver Morton was her husband. Only hers.

Anyone who tried to stand between her and her husband would learn that crossing her was a big mistake.

Therefore, the sooner she found out everything about her. Her background. Her dirty little secrets. The better she could crush her. And get back what had always been hers.

"And if you come with something juicy, I’ll make sure you get a nice, fat bonus." Using a generous incentive as a great motivator.

The man left with a smug smile on his lips, confidently guaranteeing that he would have the information in a couple of days.

"If you didn’t leave your husband, then you wouldn’t be in this mess, Hazel," Linda said reprimandingly, while they sat comfortably in the living room, sipping wine. "You wouldn’t have lost the Morton title and your husband."

Of course, her mother would blame her. But it was not entirely her fault if her marriage to the Morton heir didn’t work.

At that time, she was young. She was at the peak of her career. Every producer wanted her in their box office films. Every advertising agency wanted to sign her to represent their products.

Then, there was her husband. The cold, ruthless brute that she married.

"You know why I left, Mom." She said, turning and staring into her mother’s eyes, as if reminding her of the past. "You know why I chose my career over him."

Since she met Oliver, she knew he was the only man she wanted to marry. They grew up in the same circle, so she had seen him frequently and spent time with him through common friends.

Things changed when he started seeing that girl, Amelia. That fat girl that he tried hard to hide from the public’s eyes.

Yeah! She knew all about her.

At first, she was not threatened by her. Why would she? The fact that Oliver was hiding her meant that he was ashamed of her.

Amelia was nothing but a toy that Oliver was playing with to distract himself.

Amelia was nothing compared to her. Just a speck of dirt in her shoes.

Until she learned that she had moved in with him. At that point, she was afraid that she was losing Oliver.

"Mr. Morton, we have to talk. You have something you need to know about Oliver." She immediately called Oliver’s father and told him everything about Oliver’s relationship with that fat girl.

As expected, Mr. Maximus Morton was not happy about it. The next thing she knew, he had successfully driven that woman away from Oliver.

It was finally her chance to get his attention, but Oliver was too distraught by Amelia’s betrayal. Despite what she did, he wouldn’t even look at her.

One night, she followed him in a bar and drugged him. It was the only way she could have him.

Once alone inside a hotel room, she tried to seduce him. She believed if something were to happen to them, he would have no choice but to marry her.

It was just unfortunate that he passed out even before anything could happen to them.

Nonetheless, she did learn something valuable that night.

Amelia was pregnant. With his child.

"Not for long." She whispered to herself as a plan formed in her mind.

The next morning, he woke up naked in her arms.

Ten months later, she walked back into the Morton mansion with her child, whom she named Caleb.

"No! That child couldn’t be mine." At first, he denied that anything had happened between them. "Besides, it was just one night." Confused, he tried to reason.

"Well, once was enough. Remember, we didn’t use protection." But she knew he was too passed out to recall anything.

Then, Mr. Maximus Morton ordered a DNA test on the child. Of course, she was confident that the child had the Morton blood.

Eventually, the Morton patriarch ordered their union, giving Oliver no option.

When she married him, she thought that it was the fulfillment of her dreams. Finally, she would be standing beside the man she loved.

But—

"He never loved me, Mom." At that time, she thought that once they were living together, he would eventually fall for her. That Amelia’s shadows would eventually fade and disappear from their lives.

But months turned to a year and so on, but he never did.

Amelia lived in his heart, under the guise of hate. But she knew too well that he didn’t stop loving her.

In the end, she realized she would never be able to replace her in his heart. She was tired of being married to Oliver with Amelia’s shadow constantly looming over their relationship.

To Oliver Morton, their marriage was nothing but an arrangement. First, to appease their parents. It was a merger between two great families. Then, to give Caleb a name. The Morton name.

No matter what she did, he would never love her.

"So, what?" Linda flippantly said, her expression was cold as ever. "You don’t need love, my child." Although her voice was calm and gentle, it still lacked warmth and affection.

To the Smith family, money, power, connection, and status were everything. In the meantime, love, hope, and dreams were a weakness.

Truthfully, her parents didn’t push for the marriage because they wanted her to be with the man she loved.

"In this world, what you need is their name, the Morton name. Their protection." Her mother continued, reminding her of her stupidity for divorcing her husband. "And the Morton wealth."

Now that her father was gone, the vultures were circling around her father’s business. Her mother was slowly losing her control. They needed the Morton family’s support to survive this crisis.

Then, admittedly, her acting and modeling careers were slowly going nowhere. Project offers were dwindling.

In the entertainment business, youth, figure, image, and connection were the foundation of a successful career. Losing one or more was like a death sentence.

Unless she could do something about it. Like regaining her position in the Morton family and getting custody of Caleb.

But how could she do that now?

If Oliver only loved her, she would never have left him. But now that he had married someone else, she could not help but regret her decision.

"Who knew that Oliver would remarry again?" She countered, tired of hearing her mother’s condescending tone.

Even after Amelia left, Oliver never stopped loving her. He had refused to get close to anyone. He had locked his heart and thrown away the key.

After divorcing her ex-husband, she truly believed he would eventually die alone. She believed he would never marry again, at least not in this lifetime.

"Well, he found someone... A fucking nobody." Her mother stared at her with eyes that said everything she didn’t want to hear.

Oliver easily replaced her with a woman who didn’t belong in their social circle. Somebody who didn’t come from a reputable family, with no connection or wealth.

It was a fucking joke. An insult to her and her family.

"I’m sure that marriage wouldn’t last." She believed that Oliver couldn’t be in love with that woman. Therefore, there must be a reason why he married her. She just had to find out what it was.

"Then, stop whining, Hazel, and fix this." Her mother downed the remaining wine in her glass and left, leaving her to deal with her problem on her own.

"Gain Maximus trust back." Her mother suggested. "Or, get that child back."

"He is your biggest ticket back in the Morton family." Linda reminded her.

Of course, her mother was right.

"If only you didn’t treat that kid so poorly, you could have easily regained his trust again." Her mother chastised her for her mistake.

Although she knew her mother had a point, she could not do anything about the past. "What’s done was done."

Remembering how the child flinched when she tried to touch him when she visited him the other day. And, the way he avoided looking in her direction when she went into the mansion today?

"I just have to work harder to gain his trust. Besides, I’m still his mother." At least in everyone’s eyes.

But truthfully, she hated that kid because Caleb constantly reminded her of that woman.

"Excuse me, Ms. Hazel, but your next appointment is here." Her assistant suddenly said. "The reporter from the Entertainment Buzz."

Quickly, she stood up, straightening her dress to make her look presentable. Then, she greeted the man who entered her suite with his crew.

"Please, come in."

"Thank you, Ms. Smith, for giving us an exclusive interview." The reporter said.

"It’s my pleasure." She said. "I think it is time for the world to know my secrets."

It was time to take out the trash.

If she had gotten rid of Amelia, she could easily get rid of this Sophia.