Chapter 1

On our third wedding anniversary, I cut my business trip short and came home with flowers.

The master bedroom door was half open.

Vanessa was wearing my robe, sitting on Adrian’s lap, her mouth against his ear as she called him brother. His wedding band sat on the nightstand, and his hand stayed on her waist.

“My sister-in-law still thinks she can’t have a child,” she asked, smiling. “When are you going to tell her I’m pregnant?”

“After the foundation gala.”

Adrian’s voice came through the crack in the door.

“There’s that file too. She hasn’t been well. Don’t upset her right now.”

I held the wall on my way downstairs and sent him a message: I just landed, and I’m almost home.

Twenty minutes later, I rang the doorbell again.

He had changed his shirt and put the wedding band back on. He took the flowers from my hands and asked why I hadn’t told him I was coming.

That night he poured me water as usual and reminded me to take my medicine.

Those pills came from the concierge clinic the Morettis used. For three years I had believed he understood my body better than I did.

This time I kept the pill in my palm. After he left, I called my old doctor, Maya.

Later I learned that his affair was not the only thing I needed to uncover.

……

When I heard Vanessa mention the pregnancy, I backed all the way to the stairwell before I dared let go of the wall.

The voices upstairs were still going.

"You keep telling me to wait. If she never gets better, what happens to our child?"

Adrian kept his voice low. "I already have someone preparing the paperwork. Until the gala, stay away from her."

"Adrian, you can't bear to hurt her, can you?"

"She still has rights with the foundation. We can't turn on her right now." He paused. "I'll handle it."

After my mother died, I used the money she left me to make a restricted gift to the Bennett Center. The gift agreement gave me the right to audit the accounts, oversee the projects, and take part in major decisions.

That had to be what Adrian meant.

I left through the side door. The driver was still loading luggage by the car. When he saw me come back, he asked, "Miss Bennett, why are you back down?"

"I left something in the car." I pulled the door open. "Take the long way around."

Once we were out of the gate, I texted Adrian: Just landed. Almost home.

He answered right away: Waiting for you.

Twenty minutes later, I stood at the front door again and rang the bell.

Adrian opened it himself. He had changed his shirt, and his wedding ring was back on his finger.

"You're home early?"

He took the flowers from me and kissed my forehead. He smelled like a fresh shower.

"I wanted to surprise you."

"You should have let me pick you up." He put an arm around me and walked me inside. "Was the flight rough?"

The anniversary dinner was already set in the living room. Two champagne glasses stood beside the cake, and the vase held white lisianthus, my favorite.

He had thought of everything.

Vanessa came down the stairs in a different dress. She froze when she saw me, then smiled and called me sister-in-law.

"I came for a book I left here. I'm heading right out."

I glanced at her bag. "Found it?"

"Found it. Adrian helped me look."

Adrian pulled out a chair for her. "Stay for dinner. Evelyn bought a cake."

Vanessa sat down and didn't touch her wine glass. I didn't ask.

During dinner, Adrian kept putting food on my plate. He asked if the trip went well, if I had taken my medication on time, and said he would go with me to my follow-up appointment tomorrow.

I spent a week in the hospital last year. He canceled his meetings and sat by my bed. Every time I woke up, he was there.

I was grateful to him for a long time because of that.

Vanessa suddenly set down her knife and fork. "Sister-in-law, did the doctor say you still can't stop the medication?"

"What made you ask that?"

"I'm just worried about you. Adrian has gone through so much trouble for your health."

Adrian glanced at her. She looked down at her water and said nothing more.

After dinner, he brought over my pill case and set one tablet beside my hand.

"You flew today. Take it early and get some rest."

For three years, no matter how late his business trips ran, he called to remind me. Once I told him the pills made me dizzy and I wanted to stop for two days. The next day, he brought our private doctor to the house.

The doctor said my body needed slow, careful treatment. Adrian stood beside me and wrote down every instruction.

"What is it?" he asked.

I stared at the tablet. "I just remembered the doctor said I could skip one dose before the follow-up."

"Which doctor?"

He asked too quickly. Vanessa looked up too.

I smiled. "Maybe I remembered wrong."

Adrian poured me water. Only when he saw me bring the pill to my lips did his face relax.

Back in my room, I spat the pill I had hidden under my tongue into a tissue. I photographed the name and batch number on the case, then stored the photos and the pill separately.

My phone lit up. Maya had answered the message I sent earlier:

Don't go to the Morettis' clinic tomorrow. Bring the medication you're taking now. I'll run a full check on you.

I was about to reply when Adrian's voice came through the door.

"Evelyn, are you asleep?"

I slipped everything into my bag and turned off the screen.

"Not yet."

The handle turned.

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