The black Maybach idled at the curb, its engine a low, purring beast that vibrated against the soles of Jonna's shoes as she stepped onto the sidewalk. She had chosen a black dress for the family dinner-high-necked, long-sleeved, mourning clothes for a marriage that was still technically alive.
The driver held the door open. Jonna slid into the backseat.
Flint was already there, illuminated by the blue light of his iPad. He didn't look up. He was typing furiously, his thumbs moving with the same aggressive precision he used to dismantle competitors.
"You're late," he said, his voice flat.
"Traffic in the closet was terrible," Jonna replied, settling into the leather seat.
The car pulled away, merging into the evening chaos. Jonna took a breath and immediately wished she hadn't. The air in the cabin was scrubbed clean by the climate control, but underneath the leather and ozone, there was a faint, lingering scent.
Chanel No. 5.
It wasn't her perfume. It was heavy, floral, and cloying.
Flint finally locked the iPad and turned to her. His eyes were cold, the color of slate. "Mother is going to be watching us tonight. Act like you tolerate me."
"Where were you last night?" Jonna asked. She didn't look at him. She looked at the smudge of foundation on his collar, barely visible against the white starch.
Flint adjusted his cuffs-the anchor ones. "Office. Preparing for the roadshow."
"Right."
The car sped toward the bridge, leaving the city behind. Jonna's phone vibrated in her clutch. It wasn't a call. It was an iMessage from an unknown number.
She opened it.
I'm pregnant. He's going to leave you soon.
Attached was a photo. A plastic stick with two distinct pink lines.
The world tilted. A sudden, violent wave of dizziness hit Jonna. Her stomach lurched, the bile rising so fast she tasted copper. The motion of the car, the smell of the foreign perfume, the lie on Flint's lips-it all collided.
"Stop the car," she gasped.
Flint frowned. "We're on the expressway, Jonna. Don't be dramatic."
"Stop the damn car!"
The driver swerved onto the shoulder. Before the wheels had fully stopped, Jonna threw the door open and scrambled out. She made it three steps to the grassy verge before her stomach emptied itself.
She retched until her throat burned, her eyes watering. The cold wind whipped her hair across her face.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel behind her. Flint stood there, hands in his pockets, looking down at her with annoyance rather than concern. He extended a handkerchief.
"Did you eat something bad?"
Jonna snatched the cloth, wiping her mouth. She stood up, her legs trembling. As the nausea subsided, a terrifying clarity took its place.
The lethargy. The morning sickness. The period she had missed two weeks ago.
She hadn't tracked it because she had been so focused on the divorce strategy, relying on the false medical reports she'd been filing to keep the family watchdogs at bay. But the math slammed into her brain like a freight train.
Ninety percent.
She looked at Flint, then down at her phone where the mistress's text still glowed. A flicker of her old 'Fixer' instincts surfaced-this wasn't just a jealous lover's impulsive text. The timing was too perfect, too damaging. This was tactical.
If Serena was pregnant, it was a scandal. If Jonna was pregnant, it was a prison sentence. The prenup was clear: any issue of the marriage belonged to the Harrington Trust. If she tried to leave now, they would take the baby.
Terror, cold and absolute, washed over her.
"We're going to be late for the dinner," Flint said, checking his watch. "Get in the car."
Jonna looked at his broad back, the suit jacket hiding the betrayal. She deleted the text message. She took a deep breath, forcing the air into her lungs, forcing her heart to slow down.
She couldn't let him know. Not about the mistress's text, and definitely not about her own body.
"Coming, darling," she said. She walked back to the car, her face a mask of porcelain. She hooked her arm through his, digging her nails into the expensive fabric of his sleeve until she felt the resistance.
