Ten Times in the ICU: Escaping My Billionaire Husband

Alistair shoved me into the ICU ten separate times. All because I misplaced a single hairpin belonging to Kendall—the fake daughter who stole my life.

He orchestrated my kidnapping while I carried his child. He gaslit me into believing my captors violated me.

He twisted my mind until I believed the baby growing in my womb was a stranger's bastard. Then he took to the internet, gloating.

He casually posted a thread asking strangers how to "compensate" me.

Beatrice and Harrison—my own flesh and blood parents—stormed the comment section to say I brought it all on myself.

Every ounce of my suffering was a cruel punishment designed by the man I loved, all to protect their precious adopted daughter. Fine. They want a pictureperfect family without me?

They can have it. I squeezed my eyes shut. I let the freezing wind rip across my face. And I stepped off the thirtieth floor.

Chapter 1 The wind whipped viciously at my hair on the rooftop ledge. I prepared to jump. Then my phone buzzed in my tight grip.

A local forum notification illuminated the cracked screen. The profile picture froze the blood in my veins. "My wife hurt my little sister, the most important person in my world.

I taught her a tiny lesson. Accidentally put her in the ICU ten times. Punishment is over now. How should I compensate her?" The comment section exploded with outrage.

Yet the original poster replied, completely unbothered. "You guys don't get it. Her parents gave me the green light.

She deserved every bit of it." "She threw her biological daughter status around the second she moved back.

She targeted her adopted sister and snatched Kendall's most expensive hairpin. Kendall cried for ten whole minutes. Her eyes got red." "I had no choice.

I staged a fake kidnapping while she was pregnant. Gaslit her into thinking the thugs assaulted her. Forged ten separate paternity tests so she’d believe she carried a bastard.

It was the only way to shatter her ego so she’d stop harassing Kendall." "I just wanted her to feel Kendall’s pain. Now she’s learned her lesson. She’ll treat Kendall better.

It was for her own good, really." I stared at that avatar. Alistair. Numbness crawled up my arms as my fingertips trembled against the glass screen. A new notification flashed.

Someone liked his post. "The OP’s wife is my biological daughter. My soninlaw did all this to fix her bitter, jealous attitude. If you want to blast someone, blast her.

Leave my precious Kendall out of it." The replier's avatar was identical to Alistair's—a photo of Kendall’s favorite kitten.

Every shattered bone and every agonizing breath was engineered by the man I loved, just for her. Fine.

Have your unbroken, happy family. … The vitriol kept pouring into the comment section on my glowing screen. "Bringing Celeste home triggered my sweet Kendall's depression.

We thought the kidnapping trauma and the bastard pregnancy scandal would quiet her down. Stop her from competing with our baby. But no. She went after the company next.

Clawed her way to General Manager just to make everyone call Kendall a useless trophy!" Alistair replied instantly beneath Beatrice’s comment. "Thank God I used my investor status to sabotage Celeste at every turn.

I took the massive contract she negotiated and handed it straight to Kendall, promoting Kendall to GM instead.

And over such a tiny setback, Celeste coughed up blood and threw a tantrum all the way to the ICU. Tried to frame Kendall for it.

Poor Kendall had nightmares all night." I bit down hard on my bottom lip. Hot, metallic copper flooded my tongue. I had bled for that contract.

I hustled relentlessly and drank with clients until my stomach lining tore apart just to secure it. It was my absolute lifeline.

It was the only sliver of light I dragged myself toward after crawling out of that bastardpregnancy hellhole. One single sob from Kendall. That was all it took.

The man I loved snuffed out my only light with his own two hands. A random user tagged Alistair in the replies. "If you hate your wife so much, why did you marry her?

Why post a thread asking how to compensate her? Absolute walking red flag. Divorce her right now.

If I were your wife and found out about this massive gaslighting, I’d lose my damn mind!" Chapter 2 A minute later, Alistair dropped another comment. "You're kidding, right?

She’s obsessed with me. So what if she finds out? A little reality check never hurt anyone. I’ll just sweettalk her later and she'll forget it. But Kendall is different.

She's my childhood sweetheart. She suffered so much trauma because we didn't end up married.

Treating her better is just basic decency." Beatrice and Harrison chimed in to back him up. "If our soninlaw hadn't been in a coma from that car crash, we never would have brought her back!

We handed her a golden ticket—marrying a billionaire on life support to secure his trust fund! We gave her everything! And she repays us by bullying my sweet Kendall?

Kendall is the real victim here!" Their righteous indignation blinded them. They completely forgot to blur the names. People online quickly connected the dots. "Coma marriage?

The only billionaire heir who was in a coma recently is Alistair." "Holy shit! So Kendall is the fake daughter?" "Is no one going to talk about the most insane part?

Alistair is secretly married?!" An invisible fist crushed my windpipe. Air refused to enter my lungs. Keeping me a secret wasn't a privacy measure.

It was proof of his complete indifference. I wanted to laugh, but a choked gasp ripped from my throat instead.

Hot tears spilled over my lashes like broken strings of pearls, burning trails down my frozen cheeks. The screen flashed violently. The forum thread vanished.

A ceaseanddesist letter replaced it immediately. "This thread is based on baseless rumors.

The legal team will ruthlessly prosecute any comments defaming Miss Kendall's reputation." I didn't even have to guess. That legal shield was forged exclusively for Kendall.

Ten minutes slipped by. A massive crowd had already packed the pavement far below. The heavy rooftop door slammed open.

Alistair shoved past the firefighters, completely ignoring the rescue barricades, and climbed onto the rooftop. He sprinted toward the ledge, his chest heaving.

Panic filled his handsome face. "Celeste, don't do this!" His voice trembled uncontrollably. "I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong.

I can't survive without you!" I stared at his panicked face. The desperate, pleading man in front of me didn't match the arrogant poster from five minutes ago. My mind fractured.

Which version of him was real? Ever since I had transmigrated into this world and accepted the mission to win his heart, my entire universe had revolved around him.

He was just from a minor branch of the family back then. I had spent years nurturing him out of his coma.

I used my knowledge of the plot to clear his path straight to the top of the empire.

During those golden years, he used to crush me against his chest and whisper his vows. "Celeste, my life is nothing without you.

Only death could ever tear us apart." I swallowed every single lie. When I believed the kidnappers had violated me, I locked myself in the master bathroom.

I practically scrubbed off a layer of my skin with a bristle brush until the water turned crimson, trying to wash off the phantom touches.

When the forged tests proved I carried a bastard, bile burned my esophagus. I gripped a pair of surgical scissors.

I pressed the cold metal against my swollen stomach, wanting to carve the tainted flesh right out of me. When he stole my promotion and my contract, he gaslit me.

He said I lacked the corporate ruthlessness. He told me to rest at home. So I obeyed. I sat in a cold mansion for thousands of nights, waiting for him to come home.

It was during those dark times that Helix finally spoke up. Host, your mind is shattering. I’m dropping the mission requirements.

I’m taking you home… Helix promised to fulfill my ultimate wish, even though I failed the objective. A family who truly loved me. A partner who would never betray me.

Back then, I was totally blind to the rot hiding beneath their fake smiles. "Why would I leave?" I had told Helix. "I'm already living my perfect life." Now, that forum post had torn through the lies and disguises.

The delusion was dead. Chapter 3 Helix’s mechanical voice echoed inside my skull. "Host, Alistair is here. You’re going to cave again. The wind is brutal up here.

If you aren't going to jump, step back." Out of ten admissions to the ICU, nine times I dropped to my knees and begged Helix to keep my heart beating.

My mouth used to spill a constant stream of prayers for Alistair, Beatrice, and Harrison. I made them the center of my entire universe.

And how did they repay me? "No, Helix," I choked out, a raw sob tearing up my throat. "I'm really going home this time." Alistair caught my fractured whisper.

A fleeting look of disdain flashed in his eyes.

He probably thought the same thing he always did. "Ten times in the ICU, and has she ever actually died?" He shoved the mask of the devastated husband right back into place.

His eyes turned bloodshot.

He took a calculated step toward the ledge. "Celeste, if you jump, I jump," he swore, his voice cracking perfectly. "I'll follow you straight to hell." I tuned out his lies.

I squeezed my eyes shut and threw my arms wide open. I plummeted off the roof as the crowd's horrified screams shattered the night air. I didn't want Alistair anymore.

I didn't want my parents anymore. I was giving them the perfect, unbroken family with Kendall. … The sterile, chemical burn of bleach assaulted my nostrils.

I thought I made it back to my real world. A sickeningly familiar voice completely paralyzed my lungs.

Unfortunately, I had survived the fall. "Celeste, you're finally awake," Alistair breathed out. "You almost missed the rescue net.

If you didn't open your eyes today, I was going to hand over the company and end my own life to join you." His eyes were rimmed with red. His voice trembled with feigned sorrow.

He held my hand tightly, gripping me like a lost treasure he just won back. He leaned down to press his lips against my forehead. My vision focused on his collarbone.

A fresh, bruised hickey stained the skin of his neck. The heavy, suffocating scent of Kendall's signature magnolia perfume rolled off his clothes.

I never noticed these glaring red flags before. My stomach churned sickeningly. I leaned over the bed rails and dryheaved directly onto the floor.

Sheer panic wiped the fake relief off Alistair's face. He screamed for every doctor in the wing. He hovered over my bed.

His dark eyes locked onto Grant, playing the role of the tormented billionaire who wished he could absorb my physical pain. The doctor pressed two fingers against my thready pulse.

A heavy sigh pushed past his lips. "Her body is completely ravaged," Grant stated grimly. "Severe physical trauma compounded by extreme emotional distress. She needs absolute peace.

No more triggers." The doctor adjusted his glasses. "The day she collapsed, I rushed to the manor. She was locked in full respiratory alkalosis.

Her entire body was violently convulsing. Ten more minutes and her heart would have given out. Sir, you need to monitor her mental stability." The medical terms faded into static.

My brain mercilessly dragged me back to that butchered tile floor. Duke’s lifeless, unblinking eyes staring up at me.

Thick, dark blood pooling in the grout lines, soaking into the soles of my shoes. My vacant eyes trembled slightly. Duke was my longest, most loyal companion in this hellish world.

And Kendall poisoned his milk. She slaughtered my dog and cooked him into a stew. Alistair felt the violent tremors ripping through my spine.

He disguised his annoyance with fake sympathy and dragged me against his chest. He shot a lethal glare at his assistant. "Investigate exactly what happened that day.

Whoever did this will pay with their life to apologize to Celeste." The heavy hospital door slammed open. Kendall stood in the doorway, dripping in white haute couture.

Two perfectly timed tears hung on her eyelashes, making her look like a helpless victim. A flash of malice appeared in her eyes the second she looked at me.

She suddenly dropped to her knees on the linoleum.

Her manicured fingers gripped a thick leather riding crop. "Alistair, it's all my fault!" Kendall sobbed, her voice filled with feigned guilt. "If I knew my sister would completely lose her mind over it, I would have just let Duke maul me to death!

I wouldn't have defended myself! Celeste, please, use this and beat me!" Chapter 4 Alistair froze. A flash of genuine heartache crossed his eyes—but it wasn’t for me.

Right behind him, Beatrice and Harrison squeezed the fabric of their designer coats until their knuckles turned white.

They were trying desperately to keep their masks from slipping.

They had to maintain the illusion of being my loving parents. "What are you doing?" Alistair reached out, trying to drag Kendall up from the linoleum.

But she planted her knees firmly against the floor. She refused to budge.

She tilted her tearstained face up to him. "Alistair, if my sister can't bring herself to do it, then you have to," Kendall choked out. "If she doesn't vent this anger, her depression will just spiral.

It's only a few lashes. Whip me. Even if you tear my skin open, I'll take it. As long as it makes her feel better." She shoved the leather riding crop straight into Alistair's palm.

She played the ultimate martyr. She made it look like I was using my trauma as an excuse to bully her. Even the attending physician softened. He shot me a glare of pure disgust.

Two sentences. That was all it took for her to paint me as the villain. I used to desperately defend myself before. Not anymore.

Before Alistair's twisted sympathy could fully kick in, my fingers snapped around the handle of the riding crop. I wanted to chuck it across the room. His hand shot out.

His fingers clamped tightly around my frail wrist. "Enough!" Alistair growled. "Stay out of this, Celeste.

I'll handle Kendall's situation and give you a proper explanation." The brutal pressure made my wrist sting and turn red. I stared directly into his eyes.

I saw the cold, guarded glare he usually reserved for his enemies. He looked at me like a threat. A hollow laugh ripped from my throat.

My dead heart suddenly contracted, squeezing out a final, pathetic drop of fury. Why did he instantly assume I was going to hurt someone? Just because she was Kendall?

My grip tightened around the leather handle. I ripped my arm back and swung the crop directly at Alistair— "No!" A slender figure lunged forward.

Kendall threw her body like a human shield in front of Alistair. The leather sliced through the air with a vicious crack. "Ah!" Kendall shrieked. Her knees buckled.

She collapsed into a dead faint. Alistair caught her limp body instantly.

When his gaze snapped back to me, his eyes were absolute ice. "You've gone way too far this time, Celeste." He didn't spare me another second.

He scooped Kendall into his arms and stormed out. The heavy hospital door slammed shut behind them with a deafening crash. I stood perfectly still.

My fingers shook so violently the riding crop clattered to the floor. Night fell. The nurse finished her final rounds. Then, the shadows moved.

A heavy hand suddenly clamped over my nose and mouth. The pungent smell of chemicals rushed into my nose. I struggled a few times before my vision darkened.

Then, absolute darkness swallowed me. I woke up to pitch blackness. A blindfold dug into my skin. Rough rope bit into my wrists, binding me tight to a metal chair.

I couldn't move a single muscle. Crack! The first lash tore across my chest. Whitehot agony exploded from my collarbone and ripped straight down to my stomach.

My spine violently arched. A choked gasp clawed its way out of my throat. "This is what happens when you cross the wrong people.

Consider this a lesson." The torturer's voice echoed from the darkness dead ahead. Crack! Crack! Crack! The leather rained down.

Each strike hissed through the air before slicing into my flesh. Skin split open. Warm blood trickled down my ribs. "Is this… for Kendall?" I sank my teeth into my bottom lip.

I forced the words past the metallic taste of my own blood. The whipping stopped. Ten agonizing seconds of dead silence stretched out. Then, the strikes returned. Faster. Harder.

Unforgiving. The brutal rhythm continued until I lost consciousness. I drifted in a hazy purgatory.

Then, the sharp beep of a connected cell phone pierced the ringing in my ears. "Sir. Ma'am. It's done," the thug reported respectfully. A voice crackled through the phone speaker.

A voice permanently etched into my DNA. "Good. I'll pass the message along to Alistair. Send her back now." The last drop of warmth vanished from my veins.

It was Beatrice, my own mother. Chapter 5 One accidental strike. Just one. And they ordered the thug to shred my back with ninetynine lashes in return?

An icecold chill replaced the blood in my veins. My fractured ribs ground together with every agonizing breath.

Helix’s mechanical voice hummed through the static in my skull. "Host, hold on. I never thought my eyelids would flutter open again. A doctor stood over my bed, adjusting my IV.

Half a month. That’s how long I was trapped in the dark. Beatrice, Harrison, and Alistair had apparently never left the hospital wing.

They donated blood and threw millions at elite specialists just to force my heart to keep beating. Alistair reached past my pillow to hit the call button.

The sleeve of his custom suit rode up.

Raw, brutal whip scars crisscrossed his skin. "Celeste, I failed you," he choked out, his eyes filled with fake remorse. "I let those thugs drag you away.

For every lash they gave you, I took one myself.

I need this agony carved into my bones so I never fail to protect you again." I let out an absurd laugh until hot tears spilled over my lashes. He ordered the hit.

He held the leash. I wrenched my face toward the sterile white wall. I refused to waste a single syllable on him. Alistair mistook my silence for a petty grudge.

He flooded my room with imported Juliet roses. Beatrice and Harrison piled my bedside table with haute couture and diamond sets.

But the second the heavy oak door clicked shut behind them, my phone screen lit up. A photo loaded. Kendall lounging in a sea of millions of dollars' worth of Juliet roses.

The pathetic, bruised stems in my vase were just her leftovers. The diamonds my parents bought me? Bargainbin accessories discarded from her walkin closet. "Trash gets the scraps.

If my life was as pathetic as yours, I would’ve killed myself ages ago. Xoxo." I didn't even need to read the caller ID.

That night, the chemical scent of chloroform choked me again. I woke up with thick nylon ropes biting into my wrists. A heavy block of C4 was strapped tightly across my ribs.

The digital timer glared neon red, displaying fifteen minutes.

Kendall sat in the folding chair across from me, not trembling in the slightest, with a malicious smirk already playing on her lips. "Celeste.

Who do you think Alistair and our parents will drag out of here first?" She tilted her head. "Oh, you didn't know? I'm carrying Alistair's baby. He’s going to choose me.

You're just collateral damage." The phantom image of the hickey on Alistair's neck flashed behind my eyelids. The revelation didn't even make my pulse spike.

Seeing my lack of reaction, Kendall lunged out of the chair. Her palm cracked viciously across my cheekbone.

She drove the sharp heel of her stiletto directly into the halfhealed lacerations on my chest. A sharp pain shot through my chest.

My face turned ashen as I gritted my teeth. "You stupid bitch!" she shrieked, her mask completely shattering. "You should have rotted in the gutter!

Why did you crawl back here to steal my trust fund and my man?! One tear. I dropped one single tear, and those three pathetic simps hired thugs to destroy you. Ninetynine lashes!

You clung to them like desperate, chewedup gum. They don't even want you! Why won't you just get lost?!" Her manic screaming echoed off the concrete walls.

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed my skull downward. She ground my cheek into the abrasive cement floor. Coarse gravel ripped my skin open like sandpaper.

She only froze when the deafening screech of tires ripped through the warehouse exterior. Kendall towered over my bleeding body.

Pure arrogance radiated from her posture. "Time's up, Celeste. The C4 is live. I hold the detonator. The second I step out of this warehouse, I'm pressing the button.

Burn in hell." Hot, sticky blood pooled in the corner of my eye. I let it drip. It didn't matter who they chose. I never planned on surviving this anyway.

Chapter 6 A deafening crash shook the warehouse exterior.

The bodyguards and their tactical security team breached the rusted doors, heavily flanking Alistair, Beatrice, and Harrison. Their eyes snapped directly to Kendall.

A smug look flashed in Kendall's eyes before her face crumpled into feigned terror. "Alistair! Mom! Dad!" Kendall shrieked, crying weakly towards them. "Get me out of here!

They hit me! My baby can't take this!" Heartache nearly overflowed from Alistair's eyes. Beatrice and Harrison completely ignored the hunting knife pressed against Kendall's throat.

They lunged forward. "Name your price!" Harrison roared. "Just let our daughter go!" The lead kidnapper stepped out of the shadows.

He dragged the cold steel against Kendall's collarbone. "I only let one walk out of here." "Double the ransom," Alistair snarled. "Take both." The kidnapper shook his head.

He pressed the blade harder into Kendall's skin. "Pick one." Alistair squeezed his eyes shut. His jaw tightened dangerously. Then, his freezing gaze locked onto me. "Celeste.

Why did you run off alone?" My throat closed up. I just stared at him.

His face darkened with a fury black as ink. "I choose Kendall." "You staged this entire stunt, didn't you?" Alistair sneered, disgust twisting his features. "All because you missed your chance to whip her?

I checked the security footage. How could you be so vicious?! Kendall walked on eggshells the second you crawled back to this family!

The fear of triggering another one of your fake panic attacks paralyzed her! We all knew you were faking your depression. We just played along.

And now you pull this?" "I choose Kendall. Consider this a reality check.

Find your own way home when you finally snap out of your delusion." He scoffed, turning his back on me. "Stop threatening suicide. We both know you lack the guts.

Eleven trips to the ICU? I refuse to play your pathetic games anymore. Enjoy the warehouse." I took a deep breath, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

A sudden, sharp pain pierced Alistair's heart. Oxygen completely vanished from his lungs. An instinctual, cold dread whispered that he just shattered something he could never fix.

Kendall dug her manicured acrylics into his forearm. "Alistair, my stomach hurts so much. The baby…" That single word severed his hesitation.

Alistair scooped Kendall against his chest and strode out into the freezing night. The kidnapper swiftly secured my ropes to the concrete pillar.

He vanished through the rusted back door without a single sound. My heavy eyelids fluttered shut.

I reached out to the mechanical presence in my mind for the absolute last time. "Helix. Cash in every single point. Broadcast it all.

Every beating, every lie, and exactly what happened tonight. Plaster it across every screen on this planet." The words barely left my tongue. BOOM!

A deafening shockwave shattered the concrete. A monstrous, roaring wall of whitehot fire swallowed me whole. Beatrice and Harrison whipped around.

Seeing the roaring flames, their faces completely blanched. Two voices tore through the chaos at the exact same second. "Celeste!" "Congratulations, Host!

Welcome home!" My parents froze on the cracked asphalt. Their knees buckled as the flames licked the night sky. "Celeste!

Our baby remains inside!" Deafening static hijacked Alistair's brain. His arms completely gave out. Kendall hit the harsh pavement with a heavy thud.

He completely ignored her screams. He sprinted dead straight into the roaring inferno. "Get her out!" A bodyguard lunged forward, tackling Alistair to the gravel. "Boss, stop!

The entire perimeter is rigged with accelerant! A secondary explosion guarantees your death!" Alistair's eyes were bloodshot as he stared blankly at the flames.

He swung his fist, fracturing the bodyguard's jaw in a blind frenzy. "Bullshit! I ran the intel before we arrived! That building holds nothing!

Accelerant doesn't exist there!" "But the updated satellite feed—" The bodyguard never finished his sentence.

Kendall scrambled up from the dirt and threw her body directly between Alistair and the fire.

Chapter 7 Kendall blinked her wide, tearsoaked eyes. "Alistair, you can't actually fall for this cheap stunt! Celeste dragged me here. She obviously planted the accelerant herself!

If she actually wanted to die, the first eleven ICU trips would have worked.

This explosion is just a pathetic trick to tear us apart." "She’s faking her death to manipulate your sympathy! I literally heard her whispering with the thugs about a backdoor.

She walked out of here ages ago." She dug her nails into his lapel. "Alistair, if you run in there now, you're just playing right into her sick trap.

You're going to get yourself killed for nothing." Beatrice and Harrison frowned, quickly chiming in to support her. "Kendall is right," Harrison agreed. "The thugs didn't exit through the front.

There has to be a backdoor.

Celeste has completely crossed the line this time!" Beatrice scoffed. "The second she crawls back, we're shipping her off to a quiet place in the countryside to rest.

This family cannot afford another one of her humiliating scandals." Alistair steadied his breathing.

Her excuses easily convinced him, and the frantic panic clawing at his chest gradually subsided. "You're right," he muttered. "Celeste is obsessed with me. She wouldn't dare die.

She's just testing my limits to scare me." A low chuckle actually left his throat. A twisted hint of indulgence bled into his tone. "We already agreed.

The second this baby is born, Celeste's name goes straight onto the birth certificate as the mother. Her pathetic suicide attempts ruined her body.

This child is my ultimate compensation to her. Once you deliver, I'm flying you out of the country. I will always protect this family." Kendall forced a sweet smile and nodded.

The second she turned her back, a malicious glint flashed in her eyes. Celeste was already a pile of scorched ash in that warehouse. Who exactly was he planning to play house with?

Alistair’s convoy pulled up to his sprawling manor. Before he even stepped out of the car, he saw dozens of the city's elite billionaires crowding the iron gates.

Every single one of them was dressed in pitchblack mourning attire. Weston, Alistair's absolute closest friend, stepped forward first.

He clamped a heavy hand on Alistair's shoulder, his face twisted in genuine grief. "I'm so sorry, man. Celeste had a beautiful soul.

She’s going to a better place." Alistair paled instantly. His expression dropped to the freezing point. A suffocating pressure radiated from him. "What the fuck did you just say?

Who gave you the right to curse Celeste?!" Weston blinked, completely confused. He wiped the moisture from his eyes and pulled out a heavy, blackandgold embossed envelope.

The stark word Funeral was stamped right on the front. "Your own estate staff delivered the funeral announcements an hour ago. It stated the CEO's wife died in a tragic explosion.

We all came to pay our respects. You guys just got back from the site…" Weston trailed off. "I know you're in absolute denial. But you can't bring the dead back to life.

Stay strong, Alistair." Every single VIP in the courtyard stared at Alistair with profound pity and devastating sorrow.

The entire social circle firmly believed Alistair worshipped the ground I walked on. I had dragged him out of his coma.

I had stood by him when his blood relatives had thrown him to the wolves. When he finally claimed his empire, he threw a billiondollar wedding that paralyzed the nation.

Five years of uninterrupted, suffocating devotion. At least, that was the PR narrative. The reality? Kendall forced out one tear, and he orchestrated a brutal kidnapping.

He branded his own unborn child as a worthless bastard. The horrific memory from the warehouse violently slammed into Alistair's skull.

He remembered the exact moment he chose Kendall. He remembered my shattered, lifeless smile. It was the absolute tranquility of a woman who had already accepted death.

The frantic, suffocating panic he just buried clawed its way back up his throat, burning like battery acid.

Before he could roar a demand, a courier in a uniform shoved past the iron gates. "Excuse me, which one of you is Alistair?" the courier asked, holding out a sealed package. "I have an urgent delivery.

It's listed as your wife's final effects." Chapter 8