he agony in my abdomen, dwarfed all pride. I was a CEO, a woman who commanded respect, but at this moment, I was

ody was wracked with sobs, my voice a choked, pathetic sound. "Please," I gasped, the word ripp

a mask of cruel satisfaction. "Remember, Alexa? That night, years ago, when I begged you to release Brooks from that ridiculous engagement? You looked at me like I was a

t of some provincial charm school, had latched onto him, she had come to me, pleading, tearful, insisting that their love was "true." I had dismissed her, coldly, pragmatically. The allia

ak, too broken, to argue the merits of a decade-old decision. My words were futile. "Please, Jazmyne,"

ungs as my face slammed against the cold floor, the last vestiges of air knocked out of me. Th

ess, Alexa. Even now, you're trying to use that thing to manipulate us. Trying to cling to some shred of pity."

heavy ache, then a sharp, tearing sensation. It was a relentless, unbearable torment. Blood. More blood. A

tural, fueled by a desperate, dying hope. "You pr

ing, my memory is so poor. Perhaps you misheard. Or perhaps, your beggin

or, Alexa. You tried to use that child, that thing, to usurp my place. To steal what's mine. You used our

und of agony and despair that reverberated through the empty penthouse. I felt a horrifying jolt, a final, wrenching tea

on tide, the final, undeniable proof

dulterated hatred. I looked at Brooks, at Jazmyne, their faces twisted with a grotes

ping with venom, "will rot in hell

so defiant, even now? Brooks,

oid of mirth. "No, she hasn't, has she? Get

h, darling, you always have the best ideas." She turned, h

g? I tried to scramble away, to drag my broken body across the marble, but my arms an

ed, my voice hoarse, thick wi

arling. Just making sure you understand the consequences of crossing us." She knelt, her movements swift and prac

e scraping against my skin, the trail of blood widening behind me. He hauled me towards the edge of

the cold, chlorinated water, sinking rapidly. My lungs screamed, desperate for air, but I was bound, helpless. The water filled my

r, yanking me violently upwards. I broke the surface, gasping, coughing, sputtering, water streamin

unforgiving. "Did you learn your lesson, you unfaithful bitch?" he hissed, his v

intensifying. I knew, with a horrifying certainty, what was happening. Even through the fog of pain and fear, my medical know

xing with the water on my face. "Please, Brooks! I'm... I'm bleeding. I'm losing consciousness. My baby... I'm havin

ill clinging to that bastard? Even now? Pathetic. I told you, Alexa, that thing isn't le

over my face, the fear of drowning momentarily ec

oing like a gunshot. The massive, reinforced oak door, usu

ered through the penthouse, filled with a