CHAPTER 35

Helena's POV

I was in the ice rink alone at 2am when it happened. It was just me, the Zamboni lines and the sounds of my skates carving circles because I couldn’t sleep.

My phone lit up. When I picked it up, I didn't realize there was forty seven texts waiting for me all from people I hadn’t talked to in a year.

I couldn't help notice Mara's text message asking if I was truly okay. Of course I wasn't.

But as I scrolled through the text messages, I realized she wasn't just asking about my well being. It had something to do with Vanessa.

I clicked on the message from an unknown number and that was when I saw it. Vanessa was standing there with a cream dress and a hand on her stomach with Brent’s hands on her shoulders like he owned her.

I read the text below. They were expecting a child together, they had lost one before and this one was a miracle.

The rink went silent. Even the hum of the lights sounded loud.

I pressed my palm to my own stomach. The thin, white scar was still there under my shirt. The one I got from the D&C after Brent told me I was boring and had me thrown out of our house while I was bleeding.

They lost one before....No! I was the one who lost one not them.

I pressed my eyes shut and was about to put down the phone when I got another text from Mara.

I checked it, the message said to check my email now. So I checked it and found a hospital invoice from St. Mercy dated three days ago which was before Vanessa's announcement.

Patient: Vanessa Torres

Procedure: D&C

Notes: No fetal tissue present. Patient admitted with self-induced bleeding. Hormone therapy on file.

Attached to the mail was a photo of an ultrasound and in the corner was a name.

The date was the same date as the night I had miscarried, the same night Brent called me hysterical and told security to drag me out.

She stole it!

I threw my phone. It skidded across the ice and cracked.

When Jarett found me ten minutes later, he didn't ask me any questions, he just saw my face and pulled me into his arms.

“She did it,” I whispered into his jacket. “She faked it. And she used mine.”

Jarrett went still. Then he pulled back and his green eyes went cold.

“Then we have to burn it down.”

"We have to let the world know the truth, Jarett." I said, wiping the tears with the back of my palm.

Jarett nodded his head and went to get his laptop ready. By six am, we had already created an anonymous account and leaked the truth.

We published the invoice, the ultrasound that had my name and a screenshot of Vanessa’s text to her stylist who created the pad she was wearing to give the illusion of a four months old pregnancy.

By 9am Brent was live, this time, he was not

But not with Vanessa. This time he was alone in the kitchen.

“Vanessa and I need to talk,” he said to the camera. “I just saw some things online. If this isn’t true—”

He stopped and looked off camera.

When he came back, his face was blank. The golden boy was gone.

“It’s not true,” he said quietly. “There’s no baby.”

The internet imploded.

I watched it from Jarrett’s couch with an ice pack on my knuckles.

Jarrett paused the video. “I'm not sure he knew what Vanessa did.” he said.

I stared at him blankly. “What?”

“Look at him. That’s not acting. Vanessa played him too.”

My stomach dropped. All this time I thought they were in it together.

My phone rang from an uknown number. I answered it. Vanessa's voice immediately came through the other end.

“Hi Helena. Loved the post...really classy.”

“What do you want?” I asked sternly.

“Just to warn you,” she said. “The people I work for don’t like loose ends. And now you’ve pulled the thread.”

I hung up the phone without another word.

That evening, Jarett came to me and told me that he had found something

“Vanessa isn’t just a team manager,” he started. “Her family sits on the Alpha Council. They regulate wolves and humans with wolf blood.”

I laughed. “You can't be serious right now.”

"I'm not joking, Helena." He said.

My eyes bulged instantly. "You mean to tell me that..."

"Yes she is." He finished for me. “Brent married you because the Council told him to,” Jarrett continued. “To watch you. Vanessa was assigned to make sure you never found out.”

“So the fake pregnancy—”

“Was to keep you out of the picture while they figure out what to do with you.”

The world tilted. I felt lightheaded and immediately dropped to the floor. Jarrett was on top of me, shielding me, as the front door splintered and two men holding sliver knives walked in.

“Helena, look at me,” he said. “Breathe. Don’t fight it.”

My vision went gold. I could hear the men’s heartbeats. I could smell the silver. And I could feel something inside me clawing to get out.