"Nothing," I said, placing the phone back on the table with steady hands despite my racing heart.
"Just mistook it for mine."
Hannah's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"
I smiled, feeling a surge of dark satisfaction. "You mean sedated?"
Her face paled. "Excuse me?"
"No, no, nothing," I waved dismissively. "I'll go sleep. Feel very tired for some reason."
I turned and walked up the stairs, feeling her eyes boring into my back.
Once safely in my room, I immediately forwarded all the evidence to Patricia.
Six days I'd endured this hell—just one more day until the bodyguard arrived.
My fingers flew across my phone screen as I typed: "Please file the divorce papers tonight. Attached is all the evidence I've gathered. They've been drugging me. I need this done immediately."
I hit send, then deleted the message from my outbox. A sense of determination replaced my fear.
The countdown to my revenge had begun.
…
That night, the sound of car engines jolted me awake. Voices drifted up from downstairs, unfamiliar and loud.
I crept to the window, peering down at the driveway. Two cars had pulled up on the driveway.
I slipped into the hallway and descended the stairs quietly, stopping halfway when the front door swung open.
Kallus and Hannah stood in the foyer, welcoming two older women. I recognised the first immediately.
Margaret Luma, my mother-in-law, who had made it clear from day one that I wasn't good enough for her precious son.
The second woman I'd never seen before, but when Hannah called her "Mom," I understood.
"Mom, where's Kingsley?" Hannah asked, glancing behind them.
A small boy toddled through the doorway, no more than three years old. Dark hair like Kallus with Hannah's button nose.
"Mama!" he squealed as Hannah scooped him up, covering his face with kisses.
My heart shattered all over again. While my baby lay cold in the mortuary, theirs thrived.
"What is this wretch doing here after losing her child?" Margaret's shrill voice cut through my thoughts.
I hadn't realised she'd spotted me on the stairs. She marched forward, finger pointing accusingly.
"You don't deserve to be in this house! If you can't be a mother to my son's child, you're worth nothing! You should be kicked out immediately!"
Something inside me snapped. A laugh bubbled up from my chest.
"Is that why you asked your son to fuck this bitch?" I pointed at Hannah, my voice razor-sharp.
Everyone froze. Kallus's face darkened with fury. "How dare you disrespect my mother and Hannah!"
The dam broke. Words poured out, unstoppable. "How dare you murder my child!"
Shock rippled through the room. Hannah's mother's mouth fell open. Evelyn went pale.
Hannah thrust Kingsley into her mother's arms and stormed toward me, face contorted with rage. "You crazy bitch!"
She lunged up the stairs, grabbing a fistful of my hair. Pain seared my scalp as she yanked.
"You think you can say whatever you want?" She hissed, nails digging into my skin.
I fought back instinctively, shoving at her chest. "Get off me!"
My hands connected with her shoulders—harder than I intended. Hannah's eyes widened in surprise as she lost her balance.
Time slowed. Her arms windmilled. Her foot slipped off the step.
Then she was falling, tumbling backward down the marble staircase, limbs flailing until her head struck the floor with a sickening crack.
Everyone gasped. Hannah lay at the bottom of the stairs, motionless.
Soon, blood began pooling beneath her golden hair…
…
Kallus roared and rushed to Hannah's side, cradling her bloody head in his lap.
Even at that moment, I couldn't stop thinking how he hadn't been there for me while I was giving birth yet here he was, holding Hannah in his arms.
"Call an ambulance!" he screamed at his mother, who fumbled for her phone.
My legs gave away. I collapsed onto the step and my body trembling uncontrollably as I stared at Hannah.
"You killed her," Kallus snarled up at me, his face contorted with rage and grief. "You fucking killed her!"
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. This wasn't supposed to happen.
"I didn't—she attacked me—I just pushed her away—"
"Shut up!" His voice cracked with fury. "I'll make you pay for this!"
Hannah's mother wailed, clutching Kingsley who began to sob, confused and frightened by the chaos.
The little boy reached toward his motionless mother, his small face crumpling.
"Mama! Mama!"
Something broke inside me at the sound of his cries. My hands flew to my mouth, stifling a sob.
"The ambulance is coming," Margaret announced, her voice shaking. She pointed at me, eyes burning with hatred. "And so are the police. You'll rot in prison for this."
I scrambled to my feet, backing up the stairs. "It was self-defense! She attacked me first!"
"Who do you think they'll believe?" Kallus's voice dropped to a deadly whisper.
"The grieving husband whose wife just lost their baby? Or the mentally unstable woman who pushed his innocent secretary down the stairs in a jealous rage?"
The calculation in his eyes chilled me to the bone.
He'd already formulated the narrative of how I'd snapped after losing my child.
No one would believe the truth. Not when Kallus controlled the story.
Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder by the second.
"You have nowhere to run," Kallus said, his lips curling into a cruel smile despite the tears on his cheeks. "No one to help you."
I slumped to my knees, paralysed by the gravity of what had happened.
The sirens grew closer and then stopped abruptly as red and blue lights flashed through the windows.
Officers burst through the door, their weapons drawn. Within seconds, rough hands pulled me to my feet.
"She murdered my secretary!" Kallus shouted, tears streaming down his face. "She pushed her down the stairs in cold blood!"
Cold metal handcuffs locked my wrists as an officer recited my rights. I barely heard the words.
But just then, the front door opened again.
A mailman stepped in, looking startled at the scene.
"Package for Kallus Luma. Needs signature."
Kallus snatched the large envelope, scribbling his name without looking.
My lips curved into a smile. The divorce papers. The evidence. Patricia had delivered as promised.
Kallus tore open the envelope, his expression shifting from confusion to shock to rage as he flipped through the documents.
"You bitch," he hissed, holding up the screenshots of his messages about murdering our son.
The officer gripped my arm, leading me toward the car.
I looked back over my shoulder, meeting Kallus's furious gaze.
"Careful with that temper, darling. Prison doesn't suit men like you."
I smiled as the police car door slammed shut behind me.
…
As the police car pulled away from the mansion, tears streamed down my face.
I'd been so close, just one more day until my brother's bodyguard would arrive.
Now, I was headed to a jail cell while Kallus held the divorce papers containing evidence of his crimes.
Yet somewhere beneath my despair, there was a small satisfaction.
The look on Kallus's face when he realised I'd known all along and that I'd gathered evidence against him, had been worth everything.
Suddenly, the police car jerked to a halt as another vehicle swerved across our path, blocking the road.
"What the hell?" the officer muttered, unbuckling his seatbelt.
I watched through tear-blurred eyes as the driver's door of the other car swung open.
A man stepped out—tall, broad-shouldered, with a confident stride that commanded attention.
His face was striking, with strong jawline, and alert eyes that missed nothing.
The officer approached him with one hand hovering near his weapon. They exchanged words I couldn't hear, their conversation growing more intense by the second.
Then something unexpected happened. The officer glanced back at me, nodded, and returned to our car.
Without a word, he unlocked my handcuffs.
"Mrs. Luma, you're free to go. I apologize for the inconvenience."
"What? I don't understand—"
The officer simply shook his head and walked back to his vehicle, leaving me standing on the roadside as he drove away.
The stranger approached, his expression softening as he studied my face.
"Are you alright?" His voice was deep, concerned.
"Who are you?" I asked, rubbing my wrists where the handcuffs had dug into my skin.
A smile touched his lips. "I think you already know. You were expecting me, after all."
My mind raced, connecting the pieces. "Agnes sent you... you're the—"
"Bodyguard. Yes." He extended his hand. "Bory Kingston. Your brother sent me to protect you. I was supposed to arrive tomorrow, but when I heard it was for you, I dropped everything. Saved me half a day's travel time."
Relief washed over me like a tidal wave. "You're on time."
"And you're in big trouble." His eyes flickered toward the mansion.
Bory gestured toward his car. "Shall we go? I believe we have some unfinished business with your husband."
I looked back at the mansion one last time, thinking of Hannah lying on the marble floor, of Kallus's rage, and of my murdered son.
"Ex husband and yes," I whispered, sliding into the passenger seat.
"We have a score to settle."
