The sun hadn't even risen when the door burst open.
Avery was dragged out of sleep by a hand gripping her upper arm. Julian yanked her out of bed.
"Get dressed," he snarled.
"Julian! You're hurting me!" Avery stumbled, trying to find her footing.
He threw a handful of paper scraps at her face. They fluttered down onto the duvet.
"Explain this," he demanded.
Avery looked down. She saw the letters. HCG.
Her heart stopped.
"It's... it's old," she stammered. "From my annual checkup. It was a false alarm."
"Liar," Julian hissed. He grabbed her wrist, dragging her toward the door. "Dr. Halloway is too slow. We're going to the private clinic in Uptown. Now. I want the truth."
"No! Julian, please!"
He didn't listen. He marched her down the stairs, past a smirking Scarlett who was drinking coffee in the foyer, and shoved her into the passenger seat of his car.
He drove like a maniac. He didn't take her to the family hospital where she might have allies or privacy. He took her to a high-security private facility known for its absolute discretion-and its lock-down policies.
When they arrived, a man was waiting. Dr. Vance. A cold man who owed the Vanderbilt family everything.
Avery panicked.
"Just a blood draw, Mrs. Vanderbilt," Vance said, his eyes cold.
"No!" Avery backed into the counter. Her hand closed around a pair of surgical scissors left on a tray.
She raised them, pointing the blades at her own neck.
"Stay back!" she screamed. "Don't touch me!"
Julian froze. He looked at her-really looked at her. Her eyes were wild, filled with a terror so profound it shook him.
"Avery, put them down," he said, his voice wavering for the first time.
"You want the truth?" Avery cried, pressing the metal against her skin. A drop of blood welled up. "The truth is I hate you! I hate what you've done to me!"
"She's unstable, Julian," Vance said, stepping forward with the needle. "We should sedate her."
"Back off!" Julian roared at the doctor.
He looked at Avery. He saw a woman on the edge of a breakdown. He saw a woman who would rather bleed than let him near her.
A dark thought took root in his mind. She was this terrified of a test. Why? Unless... unless she had already done something to ensure the result would be negative? Unless she was trying to hide the fact that she had terminated it?
The thought made him sick. It made the world tilt on its axis.
"Fine," Julian said, his voice turning to ice. "We're leaving."
He turned his back on her. "You've made your point. You're crazy. Get in the car."
Avery lowered the scissors, her knees buckling. She had bought herself time. But at what cost?
