He hung up and tossed the phone onto the table, irritation rolling off him in waves.
That was when Faith came downstairs wearing my silk nightgown.
She walked over to Tony and nestled into his arms like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Babe, why are you so worked up this early in the morning?"
Tony wrapped his arm around her waist, but his eyes stayed locked on me.
Five years ago, when Tony had first taken over the company, he hadn't known a thing. I was the one who taught him how to read financial statements, how to negotiate with clients. I handed over every resource I had, even entrusted him with the company seal and the security keys.
Now he was using the power I gave him to cut off every escape route I had.
"You think threatening me with divorce is going to work?"
Tony stood and walked toward me.
"I've had actual control of the company for a long time now. You don't have a cent to your name."
"And that half-dead processing plant your family runs? One word from me, and it goes into liquidation tomorrow."
He reached out and gripped my chin, fingers tightening until my jaw ached.
"You're going to sign that agreement like a good girl."
My head was forced back. I stared up at the face I'd known for years.
"And if I don't?"
Tony shoved my face aside and pulled a tissue from his pocket, wiping his hand like he'd touched something filthy.
Then, right in front of me, he pulled Faith into his arms.
"You don't sign, and I'll destroy your family's reputation in this city. Every last shred of it."
By afternoon, the sky had gone dark.
Wind whipped the clouds into a fury, and rain came down in sheets.
I stuffed a few changes of clothes into my suitcase and zipped it shut.
I was dragging it toward the top of the second-floor staircase when Faith stepped into my path.
She'd changed into a white dress. A glass of red wine dangled from her fingers.
"Flora, it's pouring out there. Where could you possibly be going?"
I didn't answer. I moved around her and headed for the stairs.
Faith's hand shot out and grabbed the handle of my suitcase.
"Tony said you're not going anywhere until you sign that agreement."
I yanked the suitcase back. "Let go."
Faith released her grip and took a step backward, positioning herself right at the edge of the staircase.
She looked at me, and a strange little smile curled at the corner of her mouth.
"Flora, please don't kick us out."
The words had barely left her lips before she threw herself backward, tumbling down five steps.
The wine glass shattered against the floor. Red liquid splashed across the white fabric of her dress.
The front door swung open at that exact moment.
Tony folded his umbrella as he stepped inside, just in time to see Faith crumpled at the bottom of the stairs.
"Faith!"
He threw the umbrella aside and rushed to her, scooping her up.
Faith leaned into his chest and pointed at her elbow. A tiny patch of skin had been scraped raw.
"It hurts, babe. But Flora didn't mean it. I just lost my footing, that's all."
Tony's head snapped up. His eyes were bloodshot, fixed on me with pure fury.
He set Faith down, took the stairs two at a time, and seized a fistful of my hair.
A tearing pain ripped across my scalp.
He dragged me downstairs.
My stomach slammed into the banister, and a violent, wrenching cramp exploded through my abdomen.
"Tony... let go..."
I clutched my belly. Something warm slid down my inner thigh.
Tony didn't hear me. He dragged me through the living room and hurled me out the front door.
I hit the flooded courtyard hard.
Wind and rain hammered into me, soaking through to my skin in an instant.
I knelt in the water, arms wrapped around my stomach as the pain grew worse and worse. Blood seeped into the rain pooling on the ground, spreading in pale red ribbons around my knees.
"Tony... my stomach... it hurts so bad... take me to the hospital..."
I grabbed at the leg of his trousers, my voice shaking.
Tony kicked my hand away and stood over me, looking down like I was nothing.
He bent down and slapped me across the face. Hard.
A high-pitched ringing filled my ears, and the taste of blood flooded my mouth.
"You're nothing but a vicious, scheming bitch!"
"You pushed Faith down the stairs, and now you're faking sick for sympathy?"
He pointed toward the front gate.
"You can kneel out in the rain and think about what you've done to her!"
He turned, walked inside, and slammed the door shut behind him.
A few minutes later, the garage door opened.
Tony pulled out in the car with Faith and her son, tires tearing through the mud, spraying filthy water in their wake.
I lay facedown in the mud, my vision going dark at the edges.
...
Hours later.
Tony pushed open the front door in high spirits, a limited-edition Transformers toy in each hand.
Let's see if she's ready to behave.
He kicked off his shoes and headed for the living room.
The house was dead silent.
He looked down. On the entryway rug, a trail of blood had spread in a dark, ugly stain.
It stretched all the way to the front door.
On the shoe cabinet by the entrance sat a prenatal exam folder, soaked through by the storm.
The folder was unsealed. Its contents had slipped out.
A single ultrasound photo.
The toys slipped from Tony's hands and clattered to the floor.
His fingers trembled as he picked up the blood-smeared photo.
On the back, written in neat, delicate handwriting:
Honey, the doctor says it's the twin boys you've always wanted.
Tony's mind went blank. A cold wave of dread crawled up from his gut.
He stared at those words, eyes bloodshot.
He tore out of the house like a man possessed, didn't grab an umbrella, just threw himself into the car.
The car screamed through the downpour and skidded to a stop in front of the emergency wing at City Central Hospital.
Tony burst through the doors and slammed his hands on the nurses' station counter.
"My wife! Her name is Flora Fox! Where is she?!"
