Chapter 1
I hadn’t left our bed in three days.
My body ached so bad I could barely lift my head.
My throat was raw from crying, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw Margaret’s cold smile and Jason’s sneering face.
Liam was supposed to be in New York for three more days.
For two weeks, his mom and brother had been filling his head with every lie they could think of.
They said I snuck men into the mansion when he traveled.
They said I’d only married him for his $40 million real estate fortune, that I was counting the days until he dropped dead.
The night before, Margaret had sent him a blurry photo.
A man’s jacket, draped over our front porch rail.
Irrefutable proof, she’d called it.
I’d stared at that photo for an hour when Liam forwarded it to me.
I didn’t even have the strength to argue anymore.
That’s when I stopped getting up.
I just curled under the comforter, the hospital report crumpled in my fist, and waited for whatever came next.
The front door slammed so hard the chandelier in the foyer rattled.
My blood turned to ice.
Only one person slammed doors like that.
The bedroom door flew open, bouncing off the wall.
Liam stormed in, his face purple, his suit jacket thrown over one shoulder.
“Where is he?” he roared.
He ripped the lamp off the nightstand.
It shattered against the marble floor, shards skittering everywhere.
I flinched so hard my teeth chattered.
I pulled the comforter tighter around me, too hoarse to make a sound.
He took two steps to the bed, grabbed the edge of the blanket, and ripped it clean off in one hard yank.
Cold air hit my bare arms.
I curled into a tighter ball, sobbing so hard my shoulders shook.
He froze mid-yell.
His mouth hung open.
There was no lover.
Just me.
Pale, gaunt, tears streaking my face, the hospital report pressed to my chest, a half-empty bottle of prenatal vitamins on the nightstand beside me.
“What the hell is this?” he snarled.
He snatched the paper before I could stop him.
His eyes scanned the first line.
All the color drained out of his face in a single second.
8 weeks pregnant.
Elevated levels of a slow-acting toxin in my blood.
Enough to kill the baby first, then me, if exposure didn’t stop immediately.
“I found out last week,” I whispered.
My voice cracked so bad I could barely get the words out.
“The doctor said it’s been in my system for four months.”
I nodded at the dresser.
Under my sweaters, I’d hidden a stack of bank statements.
They showed Margaret and Jason buying small, untraceable doses of that exact toxin from a Florida lab every two weeks.
I’d also found Liam’s father’s original will, locked in Margaret’s old safe the week before.
It left 70% of the entire estate to any firstborn grandchild.
The rest to me, if Liam died before we had kids.
If I lost the baby and got sick enough to die?
Every last penny went to Jason.
Liam’s hands shook so hard the report crinkled in his fist.
For six months, he’d called me paranoid.
Told me I was imagining the cold shoulders, the snide comments, the way my food always tasted bitter when Margaret cooked.
He’d yelled at me two weeks earlier for ruining Margaret’s birthday dinner.
I’d fallen asleep at the table.
I’d been too weak from the poison to keep my eyes open.
His phone buzzed in his pocket.
Three quick texts in a row from Margaret.
He read them out loud without meaning to, his voice hollow, like someone had punched all the air out of him.
First: Is the tramp gone yet?
Second: Jason’s outside with security, ready to drag her out if she fights.
Third: Don’t worry, the toxin clears her system in a week—no proof, just a crazy cheating wife.
Liam looked up at me.
His eyes were wet.
The rage drained out of him so fast he swayed on his feet.
He opened his mouth to beg, to say he was sorry, to tell me he’d never doubt me again.
But before a single word came out, the front door downstairs creaked open.
May you like
We heard Jason’s loud, laughing voice calling up the stairs, loud enough for the whole house to hear.
“Bro, we brought the cops! We told them she attacked Mom—they’re ready to lock her in the psych ward right now!”
