Chapter 1

For eight years, I endured seven miscarriages, clinging to the hope of starting a family with my husband, Joshua.

Then I overheard the truth. He and my adoptive sister, Harlow, had orchestrated every loss. They needed the unique stem cells from my miscarriages to cure their own secret child.

My body was just an incubator for their twisted plan. After the eighth miscarriage, they left me barren, my womb removed to save my life. They stole my children, my future, and my ability to ever be a mother.

They thought I was a broken, naive princess. They had no idea they had just created a queen bent on revenge.

Now, I'm back. And I will burn their empire to the ground, leaving them with nothing but the ashes of their betrayal.

Chapter 1

Eleanor POV:

"It's positive, Eleanor. Congratulations." Dr. Evans smiled, her words a soft melody in the sterile quiet of the examination room.

My hands trembled, clutching the thin stick with two faint pink lines. This was it. The eighth time. Eight years, seven heartbreaks, but this time felt different. A fragile hope, shimmering like morning dew.

"The baby looks strong, and your numbers are good." She paused, her smile fading slightly. "But Eleanor, given your history, this is likely your last chance. Your body... it can only take so much."

A cold knot tightened in my stomach. Last chance. The words were heavy, a stark warning against the joy swelling in my chest. But I pushed it away. This baby would be different. This baby would make us a family.

I practically floated out of the clinic, a goofy grin plastered on my face. I had to tell Joshua. I had to tell him right now. He'd been so supportive through all the losses, holding me as I cried, whispering promises of a future with children. He deserved to know first.

I drove straight to his office, the headquarters of Hunt Technologies, the empire we'd built together. Or rather, the empire I had helped him build. My father's connections, my endless belief, my relentless pushing of his vision. I rushed past the sleek glass doors, my heart thrumming with anticipation. It was still early, the offices quiet. I planned to slip into his private office, surprise him with the news. Maybe a little note, tucked next to the test. A perfect moment.

The door to Joshua's office was slightly ajar. I heard voices. His voice, and another, softer, familiar one. Harlow. My adoptive sister. A pang of annoyance, but I dismissed it. She often visited. I was about to push the door open, to share my joy, when a cold sliver of sound pierced the air.

"Are you sure this is the last one, Joshua?" Harlow's voice, laced with a sweetness that now scraped against my nerves.

My hand froze on the doorknob. The last one? What was she talking about?

"Yes, Harlow. Dr. Evans just confirmed it to her. Her body can't handle another loss." Joshua's tone was dismissive, almost clinical. No, not almost. It was clinical.

My blood ran cold. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. I pressed myself against the wall, listening, my breath catching in my throat.

"Good. We can't afford any more delays. Your father's patience is wearing thin, and my pregnancy is progressing nicely." Harlow chuckled, a sound that made my skin crawl. "This eighth one, the cord blood... it has to be enough to cure our child, Joshua."

Our child? Cure? Umbilical cord blood? The words scrambled in my mind, refusing to form a coherent thought. It was a nightmare. A horrifying, impossible nightmare.

"It will be enough. Dr. Evans assured me the fetal stem cells from an eighth-trimester miscarriage are incredibly potent, especially from a mother with Eleanor's unique genetic markers. It's the only way to save our son, Harlow." Joshua's voice hardened. "And to secure my position in the company. Benjamin will never suspect a thing."

Benjamin. My adoptive father. My world tilted. My vision blurred. Joshua. My husband. My best friend. The man who had held me through seven miscarriages. He had orchestrated them. All of them.

I felt a cold, paralyzing dread seep into my bones. Seven times. Seven tiny lives. Seven times I had cried myself raw in his arms, believing his sorrow was genuine. Believing he loved me. He had used me. Used my body as an incubator, a factory for his twisted plan. And Harlow. My sister. The one I had always tried to protect. She was in on it. She was pregnant with his child.

I took a shaky step back, the positive pregnancy test still clutched in my hand. It felt like a cruel joke. A sick, twisted irony. This baby, my last hope, was just another tool in their monstrous game.

The memories flooded back, a torrent of pain and deception. Each miscarriage, a different story. The slipped medication, the "accidental" fall, the sudden, unexplained bleeding. He had always been there, a picture of devastated grief, whispering comforting lies. My poor Eleanor. We'll try again, my love.

He had never loved me. Not even a little. I was a means to an end. A resource. A stepping stone to his ambition and a walking blood bank for his real family.

A choked sob escaped my lips, but it was swallowed by the sudden fury that consumed me. My knees buckled. I sank to the floor, pressing my hand over my mouth to stifle the screams threatening to erupt. Tears streamed down my face, hot and bitter. This wasn't grief for the baby yet. This was pure, unadulterated rage. This was the crushing weight of eight years of a meticulously crafted lie.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand, forcing myself to breathe. My vision was still blurry, but I could make out their silhouettes through the crack in the door. Harlow was leaning against Joshua, her head on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her. They were laughing. Sharing a moment of intimacy, a moment built on my suffering. He stroked her hair, a gesture he used to reserve for me. The realization hit me like a physical blow. He loved her. He had always loved her.

"Eleanor is so naive," Harlow murmured, her voice dripping with venom. "She truly believes you love her."

Joshua chuckled, a low, guttural sound that tore through my soul. "She's always been easy to manipulate. Benjamin's sheltered princess. She paved this entire company for me. And now, she'll give me the final piece I need."

My vision sharpened. My mind went cold, clear. The tears stopped. I wasn't just a victim. I was a weapon. And they had just loaded me.

My hand instinctively reached for my phone, a cold, hard rectangle in my trembling fingers. I fumbled for the voice recorder, my heart pounding a furious rhythm against my ribs. Click. The red light glowed. I steadied my breathing, every muscle in my body tensed. I would not let them win. Not this time. Not ever again.

I crawled away silently, my body screaming with violated trust. Once safely in my car, parked several floors below, I let out a guttural scream that was swallowed by the hum of the engine. The positive pregnancy test crumpled in my fist, a symbol of everything I had lost and everything I would fight for.

My biological family. They had found me a few years after Benjamin adopted me. They were working class, struggling. They had painted a picture of regret, of wanting to reconnect. I, a naive young woman starved for connection, had fallen for it. They had introduced me to their other daughter, Harlow. My supposed sister. All of it, a carefully constructed illusion.

I threw the crumpled test out the window. It fluttered away, a white flag of surrender to a past that was now irrevocably broken. No, not broken. Burned to ashes.

I picked up my cell phone, my fingers flying across the screen. My father's number. Benjamin. He had always warned me about Joshua, about the glint in his eye, the ambition that overshadowed everything. I had dismissed his concerns, blinded by love.

"Dad," I choked out, my voice raw and broken.

"Eleanor? What's wrong, sweetheart? You sound terrible." His voice was warm, concerned. The genuine concern I had always craved, and foolishly overlooked.

"He... he planned it all, Dad. All of it. The miscarriages. For Harlow. For their child." The words tumbled out, a confession of my deepest pain and his deepest betrayal.

A heavy silence. Then, a quiet, controlled fury in his voice. "I knew it. I warned you. That boy... he's a snake."

"I want him to pay, Dad. I want them both to pay. For every single life they stole. For every tear I cried. For every lie." My voice was cold now, devoid of emotion. "I want to ruin him. Completely. Financially. Socially. I want him to lose everything, just like I did."

Benjamin's voice was firm, resolute. "Consider it done, Eleanor. I'll make arrangements. You just focus on yourself. And on that baby. We'll protect this one, no matter what."

"No," I whispered, a new resolve hardening my gaze. "This baby... this is my strength. My reason. I will do this. For them. I will make sure they never forget the price of their betrayal."

I ended the call, my hand still trembling, but with a different kind of energy now. Not fear, but purpose. The game had changed. And I was no longer a pawn. I was the player.