Chapter 4

Two days later, I had a full report on Gemma Chan. She wasn't a fragile orphan. She was a grifter with a long history of scams, and worse, she had been on the payroll of a shell corporation linked to our biggest competitor.

I found her at the private club Connor had set her up in. I didn't go alone. I brought two of my own security guards, men loyal to me, not to Connor.

We cornered her in the library, a room paneled in dark wood, with the sound of a thunderstorm raging outside.

She looked up from her book, a smirk playing on her lips. "Well, well. If it isn't the long-suffering wife."

I threw the file on the table in front of her. "The act is over, Gemma."

She glanced at the papers, her smirk widening. "And what are you going to do about it? He loves me. He'll always choose me."

"We'll see about that," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. I nodded to my men.

They grabbed her. She fought, spitting and cursing, but they were professionals. They dragged her out to the club's indoor pool. The room was dark, lit only by the flashes of lightning outside.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, fear finally entering her eyes.

"I'm teaching you a lesson," I said calmly.

They pushed her head under the cold water. She came up sputtering, choking.

"Admit what you did," I said. "Admit you leaked the data to George Corp."

She just laughed, water streaming down her face. "You're pathetic, Haven. You think this will change anything? He'll still love me."

"Again," I said to my men.

They held her under longer this time. She struggled violently. When they pulled her up, she was gasping for air, her face pale.

"Please," she begged, the fight finally gone out of her. "Please, stop."

"Tell me the truth," I demanded.

She was about to speak when the doors to the pool flew open. Connor stood there, his face a thundercloud of rage. He must have had a tracker on her.

"Haven! What the hell are you doing?" he roared.

He ran to Gemma, pulling her away from my men and into his arms. He held her, whispering soothing words, his eyes burning with fury as he looked at me.

"Are you insane?" he shouted. "She's just a girl! Look what you've done to her!"

I held up the file. "She's a corporate spy, Connor! She's the one who leaked the data! It's all in here."

He didn't even look at it. He strode over to me, snatched the file from my hand, and threw it into the pool. The papers scattered, the ink bleeding into the chlorinated water.

"I don't care about your damn proof!" he yelled, his face inches from mine. "I care about her! She's been through enough!"

The betrayal was so absolute, so complete, it left me numb. He would rather believe her lies than face the truth.

A sharp, unbearable pain shot through my abdomen, and I doubled over, gasping. The world tilted on its axis.

Through a haze of pain, I saw Gemma clutch her chest, a pained expression on her face. "Connor," she whimpered. "I feel faint. I think... I think my heart..."

It was a performance, but he bought it completely. His attention snapped back to her, all his anger at me replaced by concern for her.

He scooped her up into his arms. "I'm getting you out of here," he said, his voice full of a tender care that was a knife in my gut.

As he carried her away, he looked back at me, his eyes filled with a cold, hard contempt.

"You've gone too far this time, Haven. You'll regret this."

The storm broke outside, and the rain began to fall in sheets. I stood there, clutching my stomach, the pain a relentless, tearing thing.

I was losing everything. My husband, my company, and maybe, something far more precious.