Chapter 4

The world snapped into sharp focus. The cacophony of the gala, the flashing lights, the sneering faces – they all faded, replaced by the white-hot rage that consumed me. "Poor, troubled girl?" Elisa's words were a brand, searing my soul. My hands trembled, not with fear, but with a fierce, protective fury.

"Shut up, Elisa!" I roared, my voice raw, cutting through the polished chatter like a shard of glass. Every head in the room swiveled towards me. The music faltered. Silence descended, thick and suffocating.

I pushed past the bewildered reporter, my eyes locked onto Elisa' s startled face. "You despicable liar! You dare to speak of my daughter like that?" My voice cracked, raw with emotion. I didn't care about decorum, about public image, about anything except the blazing injustice of it all. "Alexis is not troubled! She is a victim! Your son, Gordon, is a bully! He pushed her!"

The crowd gasped, a ripple of shock spreading through the opulent ballroom. Flashes exploded, cameras now pointed solely at me.

"And you!" I turned my gaze to Emmett, who had rushed forward, his face a mixture of alarm and fury. "You stood by and let him do it! You covered it up! You helped her steal my art, my life, while my daughter fought for hers!" My voice was a desperate, primal scream. "Alexis is alive! She is still fighting! And you will not erase her! You will not erase me!"

Elisa, ever the actress, dissolved into theatrical sobs. "She's mad! She's completely lost it!" she wailed, clutching her chest. "Someone, please, she's unhinged!" She lunged towards me, her hands outstretched, aiming for my face again. But this time, I was ready.

I sidestepped, her attack missing its mark. My hand shot out, not in a slap, but a desperate shove. She stumbled back, caught off balance, and then, with a dramatic cry, she collapsed. But this time, she didn't just fall. Her head hit the marble floor with a sickening crack. And then, a small, dark stain began to spread beneath her.

Panic erupted. Screams filled the air. "She's bleeding!" "Call an ambulance!" "Oh my God, she's pregnant!"

The last word hit me like a physical blow, a sudden, horrifying twist I hadn't seen coming. Pregnant? My mind reeled. Emmett' s child?

I stared, numb, as chaos engulfed the room. Reporters clamored, guests shrieked. Emmett, pale and stricken, rushed to Elisa' s side, ignoring the crowd, ignoring me. His face, usually so composed, was contorted with genuine terror.

"Elisa! Elisa, stay with me!" he pleaded, cradling her head. "No, no, not the baby!"

Elisa whimpered, her eyes fluttering open, then closing. "My baby... I'm losing our baby, Emmett..." Her voice was weak, but laced with a cruel triumph aimed directly at me.

Emmett' s head snapped up, his eyes, wild and accusatory, fixed on me. He didn't see the blood, the fear, the desperation in my own eyes. He saw only a monster. "You! You did this, Adelia! You killed our child!"

His words were a fresh stab, a brutal punch to my already battered soul. I stumbled back further, the crowd parting around me, their faces a mixture of disgust and horror. I felt a shove from behind, a stranger's hand pushing me away from the scene. My feet tangled, and I fell, hitting the ground hard. My already throbbing head slammed against the floor again, sending a blinding flash of white across my vision. A sharp pain shot up my arm, a tearing sensation.

As I lay there, dazed and disoriented, Emmett stood over Elisa, his back to me, murmuring reassurances. He never once looked back. He picked her up, gently, carefully, as if she were made of glass.

"She said... she said Alexis deserved it," I whispered, the words barely audible, choked with tears and pain. "She admitted Gordon pushed her."

But Emmett didn't hear me. Or perhaps, he didn't want to. He turned his head, his eyes meeting mine for a brief, chilling second. They were devoid of any recognition, any warmth, any trace of the man I once knew. Just cold, pure hatred.

"You're going to pay for this, Adelia," he snarled, his voice low and menacing. "You're going to pay for everything." He looked past me, at the security guards now converging. "Take her. Get her away from here. Lock her up. She's a menace."

Rough hands grabbed me, hauling me to my feet. My arm screamed in protest, a searing pain shooting through it. "My arm! You're hurting me!" I cried, trying to pull away.

Emmett watched, his face impassive. He turned away, his arm tightening around Elisa as they moved through the frantic crowd. He tossed one last glance over his shoulder, a look of utter contempt. My heart fractured into a million pieces.

I was dragged away, my protests unheard, my pain invisible. Dispersed shouts of "monster" and "murderer" followed me. They threw me into a stark, cold room, locking the heavy door behind me. The sounds of the gala, the ambulance sirens, slowly faded, replaced by the ringing in my ears and the thudding of my own desperate heart.

Hours later, incoherent accusations echoed from the other side of the door. Emmett' s voice, distorted by rage, blamed me for Elisa' s miscarriage. My stomach churned. A miscarriage. My outburst had caused a miscarriage. The thought was a sickening weight.

I let out a bitter, hollow laugh. "Funny," I mumbled to the empty room, tasting blood from where I'd bitten my lip. "He threatened Alexis's life support, and now I'm the monster."

His voice, laced with chilling menace, penetrated the thick door. "No one can protect you now, Adelia. Not after this."

My heart, already a frozen shard, turned colder. I stared at my hands, scraped and bleeding from the fall, the physical pain a dull counterpoint to the emotional devastation. My world was gone. My husband was gone. My daughter was still gone. And now, I was a murderer.