Adrian didn’t say a word as he locked the nursery door and reset the cameras. His jaw tightened each time he blinked, like it was taking all his strength to hold back something dark. I stood in the hallway, staring at the note she’d left,the way she wrote it with such certainty.
I want him.
She wasn’t just threatening us anymore. She was claiming him. Our son. A child that wasn’t even born yet.
I followed Adrian down to the kitchen. The staff had left. The house was too quiet. Too still.
He poured a glass of water, but his hands shook. I took it from him and set it down. He looked at me then,really looked.
“She won’t stop,” he said.
“Then we can’t either,” I replied.
He nodded. But that wasn’t reassurance. That was resolve. He was going to war.
Vanessa called later that night. Her voice trembled.
“She contacted someone from the board. Sent pictures of the nursery. Told them your pregnancy was fake.”
I froze.
Adrian took the phone.
“Tell them to come see for themselves,” he said.
But i
