Chapter 4

Esther tumbled backward, her feet finding no purchase. The world became a dizzying blur of motion and pain as she fell down the long, winding staircase. She landed with a sickening thud on the marble floor of the foyer.

A warm, wet stickiness spread beneath her. Blood. It pooled around her, staining the white marble a deep, horrifying crimson.

A moment later, Katia also came tumbling down, landing theatrically beside her. Katia' s face, however, held a smug, victorious smile.

"Let' s see who he chooses now," Katia whispered, just for Esther to hear.

Julian rushed to the top of the stairs, his face pale with shock. He saw Esther, lying in a pool of her own blood, and his pupils contracted in alarm.

For a split second, he moved toward his wife.

"Julian!" Katia cried out, her voice weak and trembling. "She pushed me! I' m so sorry, I tried to tell her you loved her, but she got so angry..."

Julian froze. His gaze shifted from Esther' s broken form to Katia' s tear-stained face. The momentary concern for his wife vanished, replaced by a cold, hard fury.

He strode down the stairs, stepping right over Esther without a second glance. He knelt beside Katia, gathering her into his arms.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice laced with panic.

"I' m fine," Katia whispered, putting on a brave face. "You should check on Esther. The baby..."

"No," Julian said, his jaw tight. He held Katia closer, and without another look at his bleeding, unconscious wife, he carried her out the door.

Lying on the cold floor, Esther watched them go. A strange, broken sound bubbled up from her chest. It was a laugh.

She laughed and laughed until the tears came, hot and bitter, mingling with the blood on her cheek.

She remembered a time when a scraped knee was treated like a mortal wound. Now, he stepped over her bleeding body.

How foolish she had been. How utterly, devastatingly foolish. A man' s promises were worth nothing.

Her vision blurred, the edges turning dark. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was the pristine white of the marble, now irrevocably stained.

She woke up in a hospital bed, the smell of antiseptic filling her nostrils. A nurse was checking her vitals.

Julian stood by the window, his back to her, his posture rigid.

"How' s the baby?" he asked the doctor without turning around.

The doctor looked at Esther, confused. "Mr. Mcgee, I'm not sure what you're talking about. Regarding the pregnancy, your wife's records show that several days ago..."

Esther' s eyes widened. She had to stop this. Not yet. The final blow had to come from her. She knocked a glass of water off the bedside table. It shattered on the floor.

The sound broke the tension. Julian finally turned, his gaze falling on her. The brief flicker of concern in his eyes was instantly replaced by anger.

"You pushed her," he accused, his voice low and venomous. "You pushed Katia down the stairs."

Esther looked at the doctor and gave a tiny, almost imperceptible shake of her head. The doctor, seeing the terror in Esther' s eyes, seemed to understand.

"Mr. Mcgee, your wife needs to rest. We can discuss this later," the doctor said, quickly ushering the nurse out of the room.

They were alone.

Julian walked to her bedside, his face a mask of cold fury. "Katia is so kind, so forgiving. And you... you just can't stop, can you? You had to hurt her."

"She pushed me, Julian," Esther said, her voice weak but steady.

"Don't lie to me!" he snapped. "Katia is a delicate flower. She wouldn't hurt a fly. How could she possibly push you?"

"Check the security cameras," Esther said, her voice gaining strength. "They'll show you the truth."

For a moment, he faltered. A flicker of doubt crossed his face. But then his jaw tightened. "I don't need to check any cameras! I trust what I see with my own eyes, and I saw her tears!"

Just then, Katia appeared in the doorway, limping dramatically, her face a picture of tearful innocence.

"Julian, don' t blame her," she sobbed, clutching his arm. "It was my fault. I shouldn' t have come. I' ll leave. I' ll leave you two alone."

"No," Julian said instantly, pulling her into a protective embrace. "You' re not going anywhere."

He looked over Katia' s shoulder at Esther, his eyes filled with a possessive fire.

"You see what you' ve done?" he said, his voice dripping with menace. "You' re out of control. You need to be punished."