Chapter 2

I leaned against the cool wall, hidden by the doorway' s shadow.

The office door was slightly ajar.

"Yes, Mr. Hayes," another voice replied, smooth and professional. A private physician, by the sound of it. "As we discussed."

Ethan' s voice was low, chillingly calm.

"My son... the one Sarah just delivered. He was struggling, weak. It' s better this way. He needs to pass peacefully."

Pass peacefully?

My blood ran cold. What did he mean?

"There will be no... complications for you, Doctor. Innovatech Solutions is very generous to its friends."

"Understood, Mr. Hayes."

"Jessica Vance' s baby," Ethan continued, "born today, healthy. That child will be presented as ours. As Anson Hayes. My heir."

Jessica? Jessica was pregnant? With Ethan' s child?

The world tilted. I pressed my hand to my mouth to stifle a sob.

This couldn't be happening.

"And Mrs. Hayes?" the doctor asked.

"Ah, yes. Sarah." Ethan' s tone was dismissive. "I have something for her. An experimental drug. I sourced it through... channels. It needs to be administered discreetly. Ensure she can never conceive again. I promised Jessica our child would be my only heir."

He promised Jessica.

My mind reeled. The man I loved, the father of my child, was orchestrating its death, replacing it, and planning to sterilize me.

Because the baby was "weak."

Because of Jessica.

Tears streamed down my face, hot and silent.

My baby, my little fighter, was not weak. Ethan was the monster.

The office door opened. I shrank back further into the shadows.

Ethan and a man in a suit, the doctor, walked out.

Ethan' s face was composed, almost serene.

He didn' t even glance my way.

They walked towards the neonatal unit.

I wanted to scream, to run, to stop them.

But my legs wouldn't move. I was frozen in horror, in disbelief.

My perfect marriage, my loving husband – all a lie.

A devastating, cruel lie.

My baby. He was going to kill our baby.

The image of Ethan, feigning panic at the gala, flashed in my mind.

The rush to this specific private hospital.

It was all planned.

The push on the stairs... was that planned too?

To induce labor early? To have both babies born on the same day?

The thought was too monstrous to bear.

I stumbled back to my room, my body shaking uncontrollably.

The brief hope I' d felt was gone, replaced by a cold, terrifying certainty.

My life was not perfect. It was a nightmare.

And Ethan was the architect of it all.