My husband’s mistress locked me inside a hospital room, beat me while I was thirty-three weeks pregnant, and tried to force me to surrender my marriage, my company, and my unborn child. She thought my father was a harmless mechanic—until one phone call revealed he was the most powerful anonymous mafia boss in the world.

Before Detective Ortiz could ask another question, the sound of raised voices echoed from the hallway outside.

“She is my wife!” a man shouted arrogantly. “Get your hands off me!”

The door swung open, and Silas Vance strode into the room.

He looked like a man who had rushed straight from a high-powered board meeting. He wore a crisp, tailored navy suit, but his silk tie was missing, and his dark hair was slightly unkempt.

To an outsider, he appeared to be a frantic, devastated husband.

To me, he looked like a murderer whose plan had just failed.

“Mara!” Silas exclaimed, rushing toward my bed with his arms outstretched. “Oh my God, darling! I came as soon as I heard!”

Nurse Priya immediately stepped directly into his path, blocking him with her arm.

“That is close enough, Mr. Vance,” Priya said sternly.

Silas glared at the nurse with absolute disdain.

“Out of my way. I am her husband and her medical proxy.”

“Not anymore,” I said.

My voice was quiet, but it hit the room like a shattering pane of glass.

Silas froze. He turned his attention to me, his handsome features tightening slightly into a mask of restrained frustration.

“Mara, don't be ridiculous,” Silas said softly, using that smooth, hypnotic tone he always used when he wanted to manipulate me. “I know you’ve been under an immense amount of emotional stress due to your high-risk pregnancy. You’re not thinking clearly.”

“I am thinking clearer than I ever have in my life, Silas,” I replied, glaring straight into his eyes. “Odalys beat me with a belt in this bed. She had your private key.”

Silas didn't even blink.

“I reported that key stolen three days ago, Mara,” Silas lied effortlessly. “Odalys is mentally unstable. She’s been obsessed with me for months. I had no idea she took my key or that she was coming here.”

“She had the separation documents your private attorney drafted, Silas,” I pointed out, my voice dripping with venom. “She knew about the secret bank accounts at Kade Capital.”

Silas’s jaw twitched. A flash of pure, unadulterated hatred crossed his eyes for a fraction of a second before he quickly smoothed it over.

He took a step closer to Priya, leaning over her shoulder to look at me.

“Mara, you need to be very careful about the accusations you make right now,” Silas warned in a low, dangerous tone. “Given your recent history of... paranoid outbursts and emotional instability, making false police statements could land you in a psychiatric facility before you even give birth.”

Detective Ortiz stood up slowly from her chair, her hand resting near her holstered sidearm.

“Is that a threat, Mr. Vance?” Ortiz asked coldly.

Silas turned to Ortiz, offering a fake, polished smile.

“Of course not, Detective. I’m simply a concerned husband worried about my wife’s deteriorating mental health.”

I looked at Silas—the man I had loved for six years, the man I had built a billion-dollar empire for—and I felt nothing left inside me except cold, unyielding rage.

“Get out,” I said.

“Mara—”

“I am revoking your status as my medical proxy effective immediately,” I declared loudly. “I am barring you from this floor. If you attempt to step near me or my daughter again, I will have security remove you in handcuffs.”

Silas stared at me for a long, terrifying moment.

He didn't argue. He didn't plead.

He simply leaned in slightly and whispered, “You just destroyed yourself, Mara. You have no idea what’s coming for you tomorrow.”