Chapter 3

Olivia felt the familiar weight of obligation.

The contract. Five years. It was almost over, but not quite.

She didn' t resist as Ethan drew her closer.

His touch was practiced, impersonal.

He murmured something she didn' t catch, mistaking her stillness for acquiescence, her silence for desire.

She endured it, a silent count in her head: a few more days, a few more obligations.

Then, Austin. Then, Noah.

She woke alone the next morning.

Ethan was already gone, likely tending to Chloe.

Downstairs, Chloe was at the breakfast table, scrolling through her phone, a queen on her new throne.

She didn' t look up as Olivia entered.

Olivia poured herself coffee, her stomach churning slightly.

A wave of nausea hit her, sudden and intense. She gripped the counter.

Chloe finally looked up, her eyes wide with a strange, malicious glee.

"Well, well. Morning sickness, Liv? Didn' t take you long to try and trap Ethan with a baby, did it? Now that the five years are up."

Olivia stared at her. "I' m not pregnant."

"Oh, I think you are," Chloe said, standing up, her voice rising. "And we can' t have that. Housekeeper! Get me the... the stuff Dr. Albright left for emergencies."

The housekeeper, Mrs. Davies, hesitated. "Miss Chloe, I don' t think..."

"Do it!" Chloe shrieked, her face contorted. "Ethan put me in charge here! He' ll fire you if you don' t listen to me!"

Mrs. Davies, pale and trembling, scurried away.

Olivia felt a surge of fear. "Chloe, what are you doing?"

Chloe advanced on her, a small, unlabeled vial in her hand, forced from Mrs. Davies. "Just a little something to take care of your little problem."

"I told you, I' m not pregnant!" Olivia cried, backing away.

Chloe lunged, grabbing Olivia' s hair, forcing her head back, and poured the contents of the vial down her throat.

Olivia choked, the liquid burning.

Then, blackness.

She woke up in a hospital room.

A doctor, a kind-faced woman, was checking her vitals.

"Mrs. Cole? You' re awake. That' s good."

"What... what happened?" Olivia' s throat was raw.

"You were brought in unconscious. You ingested a substance, quite a dangerous one. We had to pump your stomach. You' re very lucky."

The doctor paused. "And for the record, Mrs. Cole, you are not pregnant. Whoever gave you that substance was mistaken, or malicious."