Chapter 1

The ultrasound gel felt cold on my swollen belly.

I was at the clinic for a crucial prenatal scan, alone.

My father, Charles Fairmont, and my fiancé, Markus Thorne, were supposed to be here.

They' d called an hour ago, a rushed explanation about a vital "investor meeting" they couldn't miss.

Disappointment was a familiar ache, but I tried to understand.

Their world, the world of high finance and Fairmont Industries, was demanding.

Just as the nurse prepped the machine, my phone buzzed.

An anonymous email.

No subject, just a link.

My heart drummed a nervous rhythm. I clicked it.

A live stream flickered to life on my screen.

A lavish party, champagne flutes clinking, music swelling.

And there was my father, Charles, beaming, his arm around Veronica Jenkins, his long-time mistress.

He raised a glass. "To my fiancée, Veronica!"

The crowd cheered.

Fiancée?

My breath hitched.

Then the camera panned.

Markus. My Markus.

He stood beside Chloe Jenkins, Veronica's daughter, Chloe' s hand resting on her own visibly pregnant stomach.

Markus smiled, that charming smile I' d fallen for.

A voiceover, likely Chloe' s, announced, "And to my fiancé, Markus Thorne!"

The image blurred. My head spun.

The stream caught Charles speaking to Markus, his voice low but clear.

"Your 'commitment ceremony' with Liza was just for show. Once Chloe's baby is born, it won't be seen as illegitimate."

Markus nodded, his expression serious.

"Liza has everything. Chloe's been an outsider her whole life; I won't let her child suffer that."

The words hit me like physical blows.

Commitment ceremony. Just for show.

My child...

My phone buzzed again. A text message from an unknown number.

It was an image, a scanned document.

"Vasectomy Confirmation – Alexander Sterling."

Below it, a short message: "If you're willing, your child could be my only heir."

Alexander Sterling? The West Coast tech mogul?

I vaguely knew him from charity circuits, a quiet, intense man.

Rumored to have had a vasectomy.

The words on the screen swam before my eyes.

The cold gel on my skin suddenly felt unbearable.

The nurse was saying something, her voice distant, muffled.

I couldn't breathe.