Chapter 3

Before the tears could even begin to fall, the heavy wooden door flew open.

Nathan burst into the room. He looked disheveled. He rushed to my bedside, reaching for my hand. I yanked it away, as if his skin burned mine.

"Candice, honey, please," he begged. "You have to listen to me. This isn't what it looks like. I swear to you."

I stared at him, my expression completely dead. "You screwed your assistant into premature labor, Nathan. What exactly does it look like?"

He swallowed hard, shaking his head in a frantic rhythm. "No! You don't understand. I did this for us, for our future."

"For us?" I echoed.

"Yes!" Nathan leaned in, his eyes pleading with a sickening sincerity. "I knew how depressed you were. Seven years, Candice. Seven years of negative tests, fertility treatments, and crying on the bathroom floor. I couldn't watch you suffer anymore. I knew you thought you were completely barren."

He took a shaky breath, attempting to look like a martyr. "So, I made an arrangement with Victoria. She agreed to be a surrogate. I was going to surprise you tomorrow for our anniversary. I was going to bring you a baby, Candice. The baby you always wanted."

"A surrogate," I repeated flatly, letting the word hang in the tense air. "You expect me to believe you accidentally got your young assistant pregnant through traditional, aggressive intercourse, hid her from me for eight months, and planned to wrap a newborn in a bow for our anniversary?"

"It was the only way!" he insisted. "Clinics are so clinical, so expensive and complicated. I just wanted to give you a family! I love you!"

"You're a liar, Nathan," I said. "You're a pathetic, cowardly liar."

Before he could spin another sickening excuse, the door swung open again. Nicole marched in.

She glanced at my pale face, then rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh, stop being so dramatic, Candice. I heard the nurses gossiping at the station. So you lost a pregnancy. Big deal. It happens every day."

Nathan flinched slightly, but he didn't dare correct his mother. He never did.

Nicole crossed her arms over her chest, "Honestly, you should be thanking us. Your body is clearly useless. You couldn't hold onto a baby if your life depended on it. Victoria is giving this family a strong, healthy heir. You should be grateful we're even letting you stay in the picture to help raise him. You get to be a mother without doing any of the hard work."

The crushing grief that had been suffocating me suddenly evaporated. It was instantly replaced by a cold, sharp clarity.

Instead, I smiled. It was a slow, icy smile that made Nathan take a nervous step back.

"Grateful," I whispered. I pulled my phone out from under the blanket and held it up. I tapped the screen, stopping the recording, and made sure the file was saved to the cloud. "That's a very interesting choice of words, Nicole."

"What are you doing?" Nathan demanded.

"Securing my future," I replied smoothly. "And ending yours."

I looked directly into my mother-in-law's arrogant eyes. "You shoved me, Nicole. You violently assaulted a doctor in a hospital hallway. And in doing so, you killed my eight-week-old baby."

"It was an accident!" she scoffed, waving her hand dismissively, though a flicker of doubt crossed her face. "You tripped over your own feet."

"The security cameras in the hallway will say otherwise," I said, my smile widening into something lethal. "And so will the police."

"The police? Don't be ridiculous. I am a respected member of this community."

Right on cue, the heavy door to my recovery room opened wide. Two uniformed police officers stepped inside, their expressions grim and strictly professional.

"Nicole Davis?" the taller officer asked, his hand resting casually on his utility belt.

Nicole turned, her face instantly draining of color. "Yes? What is the meaning of this intrusion?"

"Ma'am, you are under arrest for aggravated assault causing the loss of an unborn child," the officer stated clearly. He pulled a pair of heavy silver handcuffs from his belt.

"What? No!" Nicole shrieked, backing away until she hit the wall. "She's lying! I didn't do anything! Nathan, do something!"

Nathan stood completely frozen.

The sharp, metallic click of the handcuffs echoed loudly in the small room.

"Get your hands off me! Do you know who I am? I will sue this entire city!" Nicole screamed at the top of her lungs, kicking wildly as the officers dragged her toward the door.

I watched her go, a cold, dark satisfaction settling deep in my chest.

But the chaos wasn't over.

Just as the officers dragged a thrashing, screaming Nicole into the hallway, a frantic OR nurse shoved past them, nearly knocking Nathan to the floor. Her green scrubs were covered in fresh, bright red blood.

"Dr. Davis!" the nurse yelled, her eyes wide with sheer, unadulterated terror. "It’s Victoria! You have to come back to the OR right now!"

Nathan spun around, his face turning a sickly, terrifying shade of gray. "What? What's wrong with her?"

The nurse looked directly at me, her voice trembling with absolute panic. "She's hemorrhaging severely. We can't stop the bleeding. If you don't intervene immediately, she's going to die."