Chapter 4

Blood trickled down my forehead.

Then came bottles of water, cans, and anything else the crowd could throw.

"You lied to us, Audrey! We already published stories based on what you told us!"

I didn't dare move. I stood bent over, my jaw clenched so tightly it ached, stripped of every last shred of dignity.

I couldn't have said how long it took for the reporters to disperse.

My phone buzzed again.

"Audrey, this scandal has damaged the firm's reputation," a former coworker wrote. "The board is demanding compensation. They've brought your parents in."

The news made the ground tilt beneath my feet.

I fumbled for my parents' number, but before I could finish dialing, a taxi stopped outside the Prescott mansion. Mom and Dad hurried out.

"Audrey! What on earth is going on?"

My stomach churned. "Mom, Dad, please go home. Everything's fine."

Vivienne appeared behind me.

"Audrey, why did you tell your parents Oliver had collapsed from an allergic reaction?"

My parents went pale.

"Oliver's sick? Where is he?"

Vivienne sighed with theatrical pity. "You don't know? Your daughter's been sleeping with my husband, and now she's after my money. She's even using her own so—"

"Shut your mouth!" I snapped.

But Mom was so upset that her blood pressure spiked. Before I could catch her, she collapsed.

It took half an hour to get her admitted to the hospital and settled.

Then a message from Vivienne appeared.

"Third floor. Your son is here."

I raced up to the third floor.

Oliver was lying weakly on the floor of his hospital room.

"Ollie!"

"Mommy... I feel awful..."

The sound of his voice ripped through me. I turned and slapped Vivienne across the face.

She didn't even try to dodge.

A terrible feeling seized me.

A moment later, Graham came charging in.

"Audrey!"

My hand was still trembling in the air.

Sabrina and the others crowded in behind him, instantly rushing to Vivienne's defense.

"Audrey, haven't you done enough? Vivienne agreed to raise your boy, and now you're attacking her?"

"You really are a gold digger! All you care about is money!"

I ignored them and seized Graham's arm.

"Oliver's in there! Help him!"

"I will," he said.

Relief barely had time to reach me before he cupped Vivienne's cheek.

"After you make Vivienne feel better."

She blushed. "Oh, Graham. You're too much."

Then she turned to me, all sweetness.

"I'm sure you didn't mean it, Audrey. But even my parents have never slapped me, so you can make it up to me by cleaning my shoes."

I looked from Graham to the room where my son lay.

Then I gritted my teeth, dropped to my knees, and used my sleeve to polish Vivienne's heels.

Without warning, the point of her stiletto came down on my right hand.

I gasped.

She smiled. "A little faster, Audrey."

Her weight shifted, grinding the heel against my fingers again and again. Pain shot through my hand and up my arm.

"It hurts," I choked out.

Vivienne lifted her foot in exaggerated surprise.

"What hurts? Audrey, don't tell me you're accusing me of stepping on you."

Disgust flashed across Graham's face.

"Stop acting, Audrey. You were willing to use Oliver to compete for attention. What are you complaining about now?"

He turned to Vivienne. "Come on. Let's get that cheek checked."

They left together.

I started toward Oliver's hospital room, but Sabrina suddenly unclipped the leash from her dog.

My breath caught.

That dog had always been vicious toward me. Every time I visited her house, it lunged as though it wanted to tear me apart.

I stumbled backward, but I wasn't fast enough.

Its teeth closed around my injured hand. I fell, curling around the pain as I screamed for help.

"Someone, please! Help me!"

Graham paused down the hallway. Then he kept walking.

Just as I thought I couldn't bear another second, a child's delighted laughter rang out.

Oliver wasn't lying helplessly on the floor anymore.

He was on his feet, bouncing with excitement.

"That was fun! Tricking Mom is the best game ever!"

Tricking me?

I stared at him. The terrible truth settled slowly into place.

My son, the boy I'd always been so proud of, had been acting alongside Vivienne the entire time.

I laughed. Tears fell beside the blood on the floor.

Before darkness swallowed my vision, I saw someone familiar running toward me.

Two hours later, Graham was carrying Vivienne downstairs when something by the stairwell caught his eye.

A small, bloodstained severed finger.

He stopped dead.