Seven months pregnant beneath a thousand crystal lights, I heard my husband calmly explain in Italian that I was nothing more than a toy he planned to discard after our son was born. Dominic Callahan believed I couldn’t understand him, but every word was perfectly clear—and before dawn, I would be gone with the evidence he never expected me to find.

The grand auditorium erupted into absolute, unbridled chaos. Flashing camera lights blinded the central stage as dozens of high-profile journalists surged forward, shouting over one another to ask Dominic questions he could never hope to answer. Dominic stumbled backward away from the wooden podium, his face drained of color, clutching the polished brass railing as if he were a drowning man clinging to debris.

“What is the meaning of this treason?” Charles Vane screamed into the microphone, his voice cracking as he tried to physically block the federal agents advancing down the carpeted aisle. “This video is a fraudulent deepfake orchestrated by bad actors!”

“The wire fraud signatures and audio authentication were verified twenty minutes ago by the Southern District of New York, Mr. Vane,” the lead federal agent barked back, pulling a set of heavy steel handcuffs from his belt. “Dominic Callahan, you are under formal arrest for corporate fraud, grand larceny, and conspiracy to commit medical endangerment.”

As the agents stepped onto the stage and pinned Dominic’s arms behind his back, his dark eyes locked onto mine across the roaring crowd. The smooth, handsome facade was completely gone, replaced by a wild, feral rage that exposed his true monster.

“Clare!” Dominic roared, struggling violently against the arresting officers. “You crazy bitch! You think you’ve won? That boy in your stomach is a Callahan! You have nothing without me!”

I stood tall in the center aisle, holding my head high, watching the man who had tried to destroy me get led away in heavy steel chains.

Then, a sudden, brutal wave of sharp, tearing pain exploded across my lower abdomen.

My breath hitched violently in my throat. The entire room spun on its axis, the loud noise of the media crowd fading into a dull, rushing roar in my ears. I gasped, dropping the microphone as my hands shot instinctively to my heavy belly.

“Clare!” Marcus caught me just as my knees buckled beneath my coat.

A warm liquid pooled around my leather boots on the polished marble floor.