Chapter 1

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The rhythmic sound of the heart monitor pulled me from darkness. My eyelids felt heavy, as if weighed down by lead. When I finally managed to open them, harsh fluorescent lights assaulted my vision, making me wince.

White walls. The antiseptic smell. Tubes and wires connecting me to machines. A private room at Seattle General Hospital.

I tried to move, but pain shot through my body like lightning. Every breath hurt. Bandages wrapped around my ribs, and an oxygen mask covered my nose and mouth, helping me breathe through the agony.

Memory came in fragments. The grand staircase at our Manhattan penthouse. Victoria's cold smile. Alexander standing at the bottom, watching with empty eyes as I tumbled down. My hands instinctively flew to my belly—my swollen, pregnant belly that had housed our child.

But my fingers found only flatness beneath the thin hospital gown.

No. No, no, no.

Tears welled in my eyes and slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them. My baby. Our baby. The tiny life I had felt kicking just days ago.

"Mrs. Hayes."

I turned my head slightly to see Dr. Patel standing beside my bed, her face a professional mask of compassion. I'd met her briefly during my pregnancy checkups. Now she stood at my bedside with a chart in her hands and pity in her eyes.

"I'm glad to see you're awake," she said softly. "How are you feeling?"

What a ridiculous question. How was I feeling? Like my heart had been ripped from my chest. Like my world had collapsed. Like I was drowning in an ocean of grief.

"My baby," I whispered, my voice raspy from disuse. "My baby..."

Dr. Patel's expression softened further. She pulled up a chair and sat beside me, close enough to speak quietly but far enough to give me space.

"I'm very sorry, Mrs. Hayes. The trauma from the fall caused placental abruption. We did everything we could, but there were complications..." Her voice trailed off, medical jargon that all meant the same thing.

My baby was gone.

"You've suffered significant physical trauma as well," she continued. "Three broken ribs, a concussion, and internal bleeding that required surgery. You'll need time to heal physically before you can even begin to process the emotional trauma."

I turned away from her, staring at the ceiling as more tears slid down my face. The physical pain was nothing compared to the hollow ache in my chest, the emptiness in my womb.

"I'll have the nurse increase your pain medication," Dr. Patel said, rising from her chair. "Try to rest. We'll talk more when you're stronger."

After she left, silence filled the room, broken only by the steady beeping of machines. I lay there, numb and hollow, until the medication pulled me back into merciful darkness.

When I woke again, the room was dimmer. Night had fallen. The pain was duller now, masked by whatever drugs flowed through my IV. My throat felt parched, my lips cracked. I reached for the water cup on the bedside table, wincing as my body protested the movement.

My phone lay beside the cup. I hadn't even realized it was there. With trembling fingers, I picked it up, needing some connection to the outside world, some reminder that life existed beyond this sterile room of grief.

The screen lit up with notifications. Business emails. Missed calls. Social media alerts.

Groggy from medication, I opened Instagram, a habit so ingrained I didn't think twice. The first story that appeared was Alexander's.

My husband. The father of my dead child.

I tapped on his profile picture, and my world shattered all over again.

Alexander and Victoria, smiling on a sun-drenched beach. His arm around her waist. Her hand resting on what looked like a small baby bump. Their faces glowing with happiness.

"Building our dream life with our little miracle on the way. #blessed #familyfirst"

The timestamp showed it was posted just hours ago. While I lay here, broken and bleeding from the fall she had caused. While our baby—my baby—was gone forever.

They weren't just having an affair. They were building a life. Having a baby. While I recovered from losing mine.

The phone slipped from my fingers as darkness crept into the edges of my vision. In that moment, something inside me hardened and changed. The Sophia who had loved Alexander with blind devotion died, right there in that hospital bed.

In her place rose someone new. Someone who would make them pay.