Chapter 1 I Swear You'll Both Pay For This

"Oh... slow down a little..."

Ragged breaths tangled with the slick, rhythmic smack of skin, and the solid oak bed protested beneath two people, its strained groans speeding into a frantic cadence that would send most people blushing.

"Why are you so... intense tonight?" the woman gasped. "Did Alexandra fail to satisfy you?"

"Why bring her up?" the man scoffed, voice low and edged with disdain. "Just looking at her kills the mood. You're the only one who is this tempting, this impossible to resist... Besides, that old man finally died today, so I'm in an excellent mood."

The woman let out an unrestrained laugh, loud and delighted. "My, aren't you cruel?" she teased, tilting her head. "We practically sent my grandpa to his grave, and now, we're tangled up here like this. Once you marry Alexandra and claim all that inheritance for yourself..."

Her voice dipped with malicious glee. "If that man knew, he'd be clawing his way out of the coffin!"

Just outside the door, I stood frozen, eight months pregnant, my breath locked in my chest as I stared at their tangled bodies.

Each syllable struck me like a blade, cutting deeper than the last.

At that moment, a glacial grip closed around my heart, freezing the blood in my veins until the cold spread from my skin straight into my bones, leaving me hollow and numb.

Rage shook through me in violent waves as recognition finally slammed home-the man in that room was my fiancé, Karson Jones, and the woman wrapped around him was my stepsister, Lilah Harris. And I was the person they had just mentioned, Alexandra Harris.

Following my mother's death, my stepmother married my father and brought Lilah into my life with her.

We shared no blood ties, and Lilah had spent years competing with me over every scrap of affection, status, and attention.

But never in my darkest suspicions had I imagined she and Karson would be involved-let alone sink so low as to plot the death of my grandfather, who had loved me more than anyone else!

The shock slammed into me, sending a stabbing pain ripping through my abdomen. Strength drained from my legs as they buckled beneath me, and I fought to remain standing, my breaths coming out in ragged gasps.

"Who's out there?"

Karson's sharp, wary voice sliced through the silence.

Wrapping an arm around my stomach, I tried to turn and run, but my legs betrayed me, locked stiff as stone where I stood.

Karson hastily put on some clothes and charged out of the room, his grip snapping shut around my wrist with a bruising force. "Alexandra?"

Moments later, Lilah emerged behind him, brazenly wearing my nightgown. With a smug smile, she slid her arm through Karson's and leaned into his chest. "It's you? I'm sorry-you weren't supposed to find out yet. We planned to keep all that a secret until after you gave birth to the baby."

She then tipped her head and said, "You heard us, didn't you? Then you should know that Karson loves me."

Raw fury and humiliation crashed into my chest as I stared at Karson, my voice shaking uncontrollably. "You!" My teeth clenched hard. "I'm carrying your baby! How could you betray me like this? Just wait. I'll rip off your masks and show everyone your true colors!"

Lilah burst into sharp, mocking laughter. "Alexandra, don't bother wasting your strength." Her gaze dropped deliberately to my stomach. "That baby you're carrying? It isn't Karson's at all."

My breath hitched as the words slammed into me. "What... what kind of nonsense are you spewing right now?"

A slow, satisfied look crossed her face as she said, "When Karson got engaged to you, I was furious. So, he found a way to make me happy." She paused deliberately. "He got you drunk and sent you straight into some old man's bed. If you expose us, we'll flip the story and accuse you of cheating first. Tell me, Alexandra, when that happens, who do you think the public will believe?"

The world tilted violently, and I felt as though lightning had ripped straight through my chest, the pain closing in until it nearly crushed the air from my lungs.

I turned toward Karson, wringing out the last scraps of strength just to say, "Tell me the truth. Is that true?"

Impatience hardened Karson's features as he looked at me. "Yeah. Push this any further, and you'll regret it."

Rage exploded out of me, raw and feral. "You're both monsters!" I bellowed, swinging wildly and slapping the two of them with all the strength I had left.

Clutching her cheek, Lilah shrieked, fury twisting her expression, "Are you out of your mind, Alexandra? How dare you hit me?"

Her eyes flashed viciously as she lunged forward and seized a fistful of my hair.

I didn't even have time to resist. My forehead was driven into the freezing metal railing again and again, the sound sickening.

Pain tore through my skull like fire, draining the strength from my limbs. Darkness flooded my vision as the world tilted, spinning violently.

The sharp sting erupted from my forehead, radiating like wildfire through every nerve, threatening to drag me under.

Through the fog, my fingers closed around a vase nearby, and summoning everything I had left, I hurled it toward Lilah.

"Ah!" A piercing scream burst from Lilah's lips before she cried out, "Karson! She struck me! She's trying to murder me!"

Heat streamed down my face as blood poured from my forehead, staining my sight a murky red.

Relying on unsteady legs, I tried to flee, only for Karson to turn to look at me, his expression hard with icy rage.

"You bitch!" he said with fury. "Who gave you the nerve to hit Lilah?"

Before the last word could leave his mouth, a savage kick struck my side, hurling me headlong down the staircase from the second floor.

Each collision was merciless, my body battering step after step until everything finally stilled.

Agony detonated through my body as I lay there, unable to move.

Beneath me, I felt a spreading warmth, while a tearing, unbearable pain tore through my abdomen.

Blood pooled under my body, blooming across the floor in a matter of seconds.

Unhurried footsteps followed as Karson and Lilah came down the stairs, their gazes indifferent as they looked at me.

Summoning the last scraps of strength left in my fingers, I clutched Karson's pant leg and begged hoarsely, "Please... save my baby... Take me to the hospital..."

However, without hesitation, Karson shook me off with a ruthless kick.

Dropping into a crouch, Lilah produced a contract and extended it toward me, a cruel smile curling her lips. "Alexandra, you want your baby saved? That's simple, but nothing comes free. Grandpa left everything to you. Sign this agreement to transfer everything to us, and I might consider saving your baby."

Refusing to be tricked again, I yelled until my throat burned, "Help! Someone-please help me!"

Impatience flashed across Lilah's face as her eyes turned glacial. "You'll sign this today, whether you want to or not!"

Without waiting, she seized my trembling hand, dragged it across the paper, and forced my name onto the agreement. Then, she pressed my bleeding fingertip down to leave a crimson thumbprint.

Finally satisfied, she rose and pressed a kiss to Karson's lips. "Come on," she said sweetly, curling her fingers around his sleeve. "Let's go upstairs and pick up where we left off."

Locked in each other's arms, Lilah and Karson turned away and disappeared up the stairs, never once glancing back.

My arm stretched after them, fingernails clawing uselessly at the floor, leaving faint scratches in the wood.

"I hate you... I swear you'll both pay for this..."

Pain surged through me in a crushing wave, dragging my awareness into darkness.

Before I passed out, I was still thinking about my unborn child.