I gave birth to my husband’s mistress’s child without knowing, and now they want to get rid of me to take my money. But they didn’t know a powerful man loved me—and he’d help me destroy them.
I told Maurice everything.
Every word that left my lips felt foreign, as if it weren’t my story at all… as if I were narrating some tragic tale I’d overheard about another woman.
But no.
This was mine. My hell. My truth.
My voice trembled, and more than once, I thought I’d choke on the words. But I had to keep going. I had to set myself free.
“The baby… the baby I carried,” I whispered, my voice barely there. “He wasn’t mine.”
I lifted my gaze to see Maurice frown, confusion darkening his eyes.
“What do you mean, not yours?”
“Someone switched the embryo,” I continued, drowning in grief. “They replaced it with one made from my husband… and his mistress.”
Maurice stared at me, shock widening his eyes as though lightning had struck him.
“What…?”
“Yes,” I said. “They wanted me to carry it. To give birth to it. To register it as mine…”
And then… kill me.
So that baby would inherit everything. My fortune. The insurance. All of it.
I pulled the USB from my handbag.
“I have proof. There’s footage…”
I handed it to him. He inserted it into his laptop without a word, his hands tense.
The screen lit his face in pale light.
And then he saw them.
Him… and her.
His mistress. My executioner.
Both of them naked, laughing. Trading filthy touches and false kisses.
And then, as if it weren’t enough, they spoke of me.
“That fool’s about to give birth,” the woman sneered. “Tell me—when do we get rid of her?”
“Wait until the baby’s registered,” my husband answered coldly. “The moment it’s done… I’ll arrange an accident. Cut the brakes. Make it look like fate.”
“Brakes? Love, this isn’t a bloody film! We need something more… permanent.”
“I’ve already spent a fortune getting your friend Marie to help at the clinic. Switching embryos wasn’t simple… or cheap. I had to fake massive losses to justify the money. This can’t fail, Zoe. It just can’t.”
The footage ended.
Maurice stood.
The powerful man everyone feared.
The lion who roared in boardrooms.
The shark who crushed competitors without hesitation—now trembling with disgust.
His eyes burned red. His breath came in sharp bursts, rage choking him.
“They’re dead!” he snarled. “I’ll ruin them! With my bare hands if I have to!”
“No!” I stepped between him and the door. “Not yet.”
He looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. Maybe I had.
“First… I want them to suffer. To burn in their own misery like I’ve burned in silence. I want them afraid, staring into mirrors at the monsters they’ve become. I want… revenge.”
Maurice stepped closer. He studied me with a gaze I couldn’t decipher.
Then he nodded.
“Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll help.”
I stared at him, stunned. “What…? What are you saying?”
“I’ll help,” he repeated, steel in his voice. “If you want them to pay… I’ll make sure they pay. Dearly.”
We’ll take everything. Their peace. Their power. Their security. All of it.
My chest tightened, emotion clawing at my throat. I blinked back tears, still disbelieving.
“Why…? Why are you doing this, Maurice?”
He lowered his gaze for a heartbeat. When he looked up again, his eyes held something deeper—something I couldn’t name but ached to understand.
“Why do you think you came to me, Emily?” His voice softened. “Why… of all people… me?”
I had no answer. My lashes fluttered down, but the truth spilled out anyway.
“I don’t know… I just… I felt safe here. I didn’t know where else to go. And here… I felt protected.”
Maurice closed the distance. His hands settled on my shoulders, warm and solid.
For a moment, the fear vanished.
“This will always be your refuge, Emily. No one will touch you here. No one will hurt you again. You have me.”
My body shook.
“But… you shouldn’t get involved. It’s dangerous—”
Then he roared, voice shattering the silence:
“I’m involved because I care! Because… I’ve always loved you, Emily! Always!”
The world stopped.
I’d expected many things—rejection, advice, scorn.
But never this. Never love.
Not when my life was in ruins.
Not when I felt like the ashes of a broken woman.
And yet… there he stood. Loving me amid the wreckage.
