On my fifth wedding anniversary, I was kidnapped.
The month after my rescue, I discovered I was pregnant.
No matter how I tried to explain that I hadn't been violated—
Nine paternity tests. Every single one showed no biological connection to Val Gilbert.
Val scheduled a vasectomy immediately, proving through action that even if the child wasn't his, he loved me just the same.
The guilt crushed me. Session after session of hypnotherapy, and every time, I dreamed of my own violation—vivid, visceral, real.
Severe depression. I chose to end it.
After they revived me the sixth time—
I walked out of my room barefoot and stopped outside the study door.
The man who swore he couldn't live without me was inside, laughing with a friend.
"Val, I get that you wanted to bury Hazel Qiao's scandal, but staging your own wife's kidnapping? And then pinning your own child on the kidnappers—nine forged paternity reports! Aren't you worried you'll actually drive her to death?"
Val Gilbert was quiet for a few seconds. Then a soft sigh.
"Hazel only got pregnant because she took that antidote meant for me. I already owe her everything. And now some bottom-feeding pap throws her on the trending page for ten minutes, and she cries until her eyes swell shut. The only way to kill that story was a bigger one."
Ethan Ross didn't understand. "You want to bury Hazel's story—fine. With your resources, you could manufacture any headline. Why does your wife have to suffer for it?"
Val scoffed.
"If Renee Summers wasn't so cruel—always looking down on Hazel for her background—I wouldn't have needed to go this far. Let her taste what Hazel feels for once."
"Relax. She's got the Gilbert name. Even if she actually were violated and carrying some bastard, no one would dare disrespect her. A few whispers behind her back? It won't kill her. Consider it a small punishment for how she's treated Hazel."
"Once Hazel delivers safely, I'll set her up abroad. Six months, tops. Then I'll make it up to Renee and the baby properly. After all—" his voice softened, "—Renee is the only woman I've ever loved. Our child is the sole heir to Gilbert Group."
My skeletal hand drifted to my stomach.
I laughed. Tears streamed down my face.
Too bad, Val.
This baby was never going to make it.
——
Ethan hesitated before speaking again.
"Then... shouldn't you stop the hypnosis? Every session, you slip her psychiatric drugs while she's under and implant false memories of assault until she genuinely believes she was violated. Her mental state is already hanging by a thread. If you keep going, something irreversible will happen."
Val laughed, careless.
"Don't be dramatic. I consulted specialists—those drugs don't cause permanent damage. And after every session, I have them pump her full of premium nutrient IVs. A few nightmares won't kill anyone."
"But she's tried six times—"
Val cut him off, impatient. "That's just her being theatrical. She knows the child isn't mine, she's terrified I'll leave her, so she stages these little performances for sympathy. You think it's coincidence I manage to save her every single time?"
He laughed, mocking.
Something knowing in his expression. Satisfied, even.
I stood frozen in the doorway.
Every drop of blood in my body turned to ice.
Half an hour ago, this same man had knelt at my bedside.
Eyes red from crying.
Holding me like he wanted to absorb me into his bones.
Swearing that if I died, he wouldn't survive alone.
How could he transform so completely in the space of thirty minutes?
Become someone else entirely.
And with the coldest words imaginable—
Shove me into an abyss with no bottom.
Ethan sighed.
