“What the hell are you talking about?!” I shot to my feet, my voice cracking through the room like a whip. “Who do you think you are to say something like that about my wife?!”
But the housekeeper didn’t back down. She was still on the phone, sobbing so hard I could barely make out her words.
“I’m not lying, sir,” she choked out. “I’m telling the truth, sir! She’s not breathing anymore! It looks like she’s been gone for hours. There’s blood everywhere underneath her, and the baby’s face is completely purple-“2
“Shut up!” I barked, my pulse thundering in my ears. “You’re fired! Right now! Get out of that villa–this instant! I’ll send someone else to take care of her!“}
I hung up before I lost it completely, but my hand was trembling.”
Just as I was pulling myself together, Shannah walked into the room, rocking the baby gently in her arms.
She glanced at me, her brows furrowed with concern. “Why are you yelling like that?” she asked softly, her tone tinged with a light pout. “The reporters are still outside waiting to take our family photo. If they hear you shouting, they’ll think you’re upset with me… or the baby.” As she reached out to touch my arm, I instinctively pulled away.
“Shannah,” I said, my voice low, strained. My gaze locked on hers. “Tell me the truth.“}
She blinked.
I swallowed hard. “That night… Are you sure Zareena really gave birth? She made it through, right? She was okay?“}
For a split second, she froze.}
thought I saw a flicker of panic in her eyes before I traced pain on her face.}
“Sullivan… Y–You don’t believe me anymore?” she asked, her voice shaking now. “She did give birth that night. She and the baby were fine. I even showed you the video, didn’t I?”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she clutched the baby tighter. “Or… did she tell you something again? If that’s the case, maybe I should just leave with the baby.”
“No,” I said quickly, reaching out and catching her hand. My tone softened. “Why wouldn’t I believe you?“}
I let out a bitter laugh, trying to calm myself down. “It’s Zareena. That woman must be up to her same old sickening games again–trying to fool me like she always does.“}
Even as I said it, though, the words tasted off. Flat. Like I was trying to convince myself more than her.”
After a moment, I released her hand with a sigh.”
“You stay here with the baby,” I said, already turning toward the door. “Finish the trip. I’ll head back first. I have a bad feeling about this. If Zareena’s planning something again… I need to stop it before she hurts you or our baby.”
I didn’t wait for her reply. I walked out fast, brushing past the reporters, ignoring Shannah’s voice as she called after me.
By the time I boarded my jet, the housekeeper’s voice played in my head like a broken record.§
‘She’s dead. A dead baby.. Blood everywhere.‘}
‘No. That can’t be real!‘
I took a long, unsteady breath, dragging a hand down my face.
‘This has to be one of Zareena’s games again,‘ I told myself inwardly. ‘She’s always been dramatic. Always fighting to win, even if it means putting herself in danger.”
Memories from my previous life flashed in my mind–too vivid to ignore.
‘She’d taken labor–inducing meds without hesitation, just to deliver early. Just to make sure her child would be born before Shannah’s. Just to secure the heir’s position. She only cared about herself.
‘There’s no way she used labor inhibitors like she claimed this time. She must’ve given birth safely long ago. She’s just putting on a show now to get sympathy.@
My hands curled into fists, knuckles cracking as the pressure built behind my temples.
Still, no matter how hard I tried to reason it away, the knot in my gut only tightened.§
‘I need to call the hospital myself and check on the baby, I decided. ‘As long as the baby is still in the nursery, that means Zareena’s definitely lying!‘
Without hesitating, I pulled out my phone and hit the number for the hospital.
“I want a video,” Lsaid the moment someone answered. “Right now. Of the baby my wife gave birth to. Go take it and send it to me immediately.”
There was a pause on the line.
Then came a quiet voice, hesitant. “Please hold on, sir. I’ll go check.”
As the silence stretched, my thoughts drifted–unwelcome, but unstoppable–back to something I hadn’t thought about in years.
After the car crash, when I finally woke up, my mother had been sitting by my bed, her eyes red and swollen. She’d told me the man who saved me–Zareena’s father–was in a coma.
From that day forward, she’d said, the little girl waiting outside my hospital room wasn’t just a stranger anymore.
She was my sister.k
8:17 PM
And it was my job to protect her.
e
