Chapter 4

Drake came home a few hours later. He found me on the sofa, still clutching the puppy, my face pale and tear-streaked.

He sat beside me, his voice cautious. "Elaine, we need to talk about... us. About having a family."

I managed a smile. It felt like my face was cracking. "What about it, Drake?"

The smile seemed to reassure him. He relaxed, draping an arm around my shoulders. "I' ve been thinking. Maybe... maybe we should stop trying. The treatments, they' re so hard on you. It' s too much."

He paused, gauging my reaction. When I said nothing, he continued.

"Maybe we could... adopt."

The cruelty of it stole my breath. He didn' t just want to bring his son into our lives; he wanted me to raise him. He wanted me to become a mother to the child of the woman who destroyed my life, a living, breathing reminder of his betrayal. He was counting on my love for him, my desperate desire for a child, to make me agree to this monstrous proposal.

I gave him the reaction he wanted. I let my eyes fill with tears, my lower lip tremble. I looked up at him with a gaze full of manufactured hope and pain.

"Adopt?" I whispered, as if the thought had never occurred to me.

He nodded, his expression softening with fake sympathy. "Yes. We could give a child a home. A good life."

I knew what he was really saying. He was going to bring Cody here and pass him off as an adopted son. And he expected me to smile and play along.

Because I was his stupidly in love wife.

"Okay," I whispered, my voice thick with unshed tears. "Let' s adopt."

I was leaving. None of this would be my problem soon. He could think whatever he wanted.

A few days later, he brought the boy home.

The puppy, who I' d named Lucky, had become my shadow, a tiny, warm comfort in the cold emptiness of my life. He was asleep at my feet when Drake walked in, holding Cody' s hand.

"Cody," Drake said, his voice gentle. "This is your new mommy. Say hello to Elaine."

The boy took one look at me and burst into tears, a loud, wailing cry that echoed through the silent house. He hid behind Drake' s legs, peering out at me with terrified, tear-filled eyes.

Drake sighed, scooping the boy into his arms and murmuring soothing words. He didn' t even glance at me. It was as if I weren' t even there. He carried the crying child upstairs, leaving me alone in the cavernous living room.

"He' s just scared," he called down a few minutes later. "He' ll get used to you."

I just nodded, my face a blank mask.

I could hear the maids whispering in the kitchen.

"Mrs. Cordova is so lucky. The boss loves her so much."

"I know, right? She can' t have kids, and he still treats her like a queen. Now he' s even adopting a child for her."

"He' s been so patient. Any other man would have left her years ago."

Lucky whined, sensing my distress, and licked my hand. I stared down at his trusting brown eyes, and the tears I' d been holding back finally fell.

I was a joke. A pathetic, barren wife, pitied by my own staff.

I hugged the tiny puppy to my chest, burying my face in his soft fur.

"You want to come with me, Lucky?" I whispered. "We can go far away from here."

He yipped, as if in agreement.

The next day, I had an appointment scheduled. An abortion. I couldn' t bring a child into this mess. A child that was half his. I sat in the cold, sterile waiting room, my number in my hand, my stomach churning with a mixture of grief and resolve.

But when they called my name, I couldn' t move.

I walked out of the clinic, my hand on my belly. He was a monster. But this baby... this baby was mine. Just mine.

When I got home, the house was eerily quiet. I called for Lucky, but there was no answering yip, no sound of his tiny paws scrambling across the marble floor.

A sense of dread crept over me.

I found him in the living room. He was lying on his favorite rug, still and silent. A small trickle of blood stained the white fur at the corner of his mouth.

Drake was standing by the fireplace, holding a perfectly calm Cody in his arms. He looked at the dead puppy on the floor with cold indifference.

I knew. In that instant, I knew. He had killed him.

My vision tunneled. The world swam in a haze of red.

"Drake?" My voice was a raw, broken sound I didn' t recognize.

He looked up, his expression instantly softening into one of concern. "Elaine, you' re back. I missed you."

The room started to spin. I stumbled towards Lucky' s small, still body, my legs shaking so badly I could barely stand.

"I' m sorry, Elaine," Drake said, his voice laced with false regret. "He tried to bite Cody. I had no choice."

I knelt down, my hand hovering over Lucky' s fur, not daring to touch. He was still warm.

"Lucky," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. "His name was Lucky. I just named him yesterday."

"It' s just a dog, Elaine," Drake said, his voice hardening with impatience. "I' ll buy you ten more if you want."

I knew he was lying. I knew Lucky wouldn' t have hurt anyone. He was the gentlest creature I had ever known.

"I want to see the security footage," I said, my voice dangerously quiet.

Suddenly, Cody, who had been silent until now, pointed a small finger at the puppy. "Bad doggie! Doggie bite Cody!"

A maid appeared at my side, her face pale. She handed me a tablet. "Mr. Cordova, the footage, sir."

I hit play. The screen showed Cody, alone in the living room with the puppy. He was pulling Lucky' s tail, kicking him, tormenting the small animal until it finally yelped in pain and snapped at the air near his hand.

It never touched him.

My blood ran cold. This child wasn' t just scared. He was cruel. A product of his mother.

Drake was still trying to soothe the boy, but I saw the flash of annoyance in his eyes. He wasn' t comforting his son; he was managing a problem.

He looked at me, his patience clearly gone. "Are we really going to fight over a stupid dog, Elaine?"

The world went black.

The last thing I heard before I fainted was Drake' s panicked voice, calling my name.