The house was quiet, settled into the uneasy silence of 2 AM. Serena couldn't sleep. Her abdomen was still cramping, a dull, rhythmic reminder of the danger she was in. She needed water.
She cracked open the guest room door. The hallway was empty.
She walked softly toward the kitchen. As she passed the grand staircase, she saw a figure standing at the top.
Victoria.
She was wearing a silk dressing gown that cost more than Serena's car. She was looking down at Serena, her face twisted in a sneer.
"Does your stomach still hurt?" Victoria asked, her voice echoing slightly in the cavernous space. "Or are you just looking for attention?"
Serena didn't stop. "I'm getting water."
Victoria laughed. It was a cold sound. "You know why Julian chose me, don't you? Because you are boring, Serena. You are a robot. You have no fire."
Serena stopped at the bottom of the stairs. She looked up. "At least I don't use a child as a prop for my Instagram."
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
A door opened down the hall. It was the library. Julian stepped out, still wearing his dress shirt, sleeves rolled up.
Victoria saw him. Her expression changed instantly.
She let out a sharp gasp. "Oh!"
She threw herself backward.
It was clumsy, but effective. She tumbled down the last two steps of the staircase, landing on the plush runner with a thud and a loud, piercing scream.
"Julian! Help!"
Julian was there in seconds. He rounded the corner just in time to see Victoria sprawled on the floor and Serena standing frozen at the base of the stairs. He dropped to his knees beside her. "Victoria!"
Victoria was sobbing, clutching her ankle. "She pushed me! She pushed me, Julian!"
Serena stood frozen, three feet away from the bottom of the stairs. Her hands were empty. Her mouth hung open in shock.
Julian looked up at Serena. His eyes were black with rage. "Are you insane?"
"I didn't touch her!" Serena cried, her voice rising. "I was standing here! She threw herself down!"
"Liar!" Victoria wailed, burying her face in Julian's chest. "She said she hated me! She said she wanted me dead!"
"My ankle... I can't feel my ankle..." Victoria sobbed.
Julian didn't look at Serena again. He scooped Victoria up into his arms.
As he stood, he turned sharply. His shoulder slammed into Serena's.
It wasn't an attack, but it was forceful. Serena, already weak and dizzy from the pain and stress, stumbled back. She hit the wall hard.
The impact sent a shockwave through her body. A sharp, tearing pain ripped through her lower belly.
She slid down the wall, gasping. "Julian... I..."
He didn't stop. He was already walking away, carrying Victoria toward the master suite.
"Call the family doctor!" he shouted to the butler who had appeared in the hallway.
He didn't look back.
Serena sat on the floor. She watched them disappear.
The butler looked at her with disdain. He turned and went to the phone.
Serena was alone.
She felt a warmth between her legs. Wet. sticky.
She reached down with a trembling hand. She pulled her fingers back.
Blood.
Bright red blood against her pale skin.
Panic, cold and absolute, seized her throat.
She wasn't just cramping. She was bleeding.
She grabbed the wall and forced herself to stand. Every movement was agony. She couldn't stay here. If she stayed here, she would lose the baby. They wouldn't help her. They would probably be glad if she miscarried.
She limped back to the guest room. She locked the door.
She went to her purse and dug out the bottle of progesterone pills she had bought online from an overseas pharmacy when she first suspected the pregnancy. She hadn't wanted to create a medical record on Julian's insurance.
She swallowed two pills dry. They scratched her throat going down.
She lay on the bed next to sleeping Leo. She curled into a ball, clutching her stomach. She knew she needed a hospital, but going there meant Julian finding out. And right now, Julian was the enemy.
"Please stay," she begged the life inside her. "Please don't leave me."
