Chapter 5

Evelyn’s POV

I collapsed into the corner of the holding cell, the smell of damp concrete and cold iron filling my nose. I was shivering, but not from the cold. I was shivering from fear. If I was convicted of corporate espionage, I’d be facing years in prison. How could I protect my baby in a place like this? How could I survive?

"You really are a pathetic little thing, aren’t you," a sharp voice echoed.

Before I could react, someone grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked my head back. I gasped, my eyes watering from the pain as I was forced to look up. A woman stood over me, her face twisted in a cruel smirk.

She looked familiar. I’d seen her in society magazines, always trailing behind Daphne like a loyal shadow. She was one of Daphne’s friends.

"So, you’re the little bitch who stole Daphne’s man? Hope you enjoyed your three years with him. Because it’s over now," she hissed, her grip tightening. "Did you really think a plain, pathetic thing like you could keep a Harrington?"

She glared down at me but I didn't answer. I didn't care about the insult. My only instinct was to curl into a ball and wrap my arms tightly around my stomach. 

‘Please don't hit my baby. Please, don't hit my baby.’

"Enough!" a guard shouted, banging a nightstick against the bars. He looked at me through the bars with a look of disdain. "Evelyn Harrington, you’re being released on bail. Get up."

The woman let go of my hair, giving me one last contemptuous kick on my shin. But I didn't feel the pain. My heart leapt. Ryan. It had to be Ryan. He hadn't forgotten me after all. He’d finally realized how much he needed me. He was coming to save me.

I scrambled to my feet, smoothing my messy hair and wiping the dirt from my face. I followed the guard out to the waiting area, my heart pounding with a tiny, flickering flame of hope. Surely, Ryan had found out the truth and knew I was innocent.

But when I walked into the room, the flame in my heart was doused with ice.

Ryan was there, but he wasn't alone. He was sitting on a chair with Daphne beside him, his arm wrapped protectively around her. She looked fragile, her head resting on his shoulder. Daphne’s friend followed me in and stood beside them.

"Ryan!" Without thinking, I ran toward them, stopping just short of the table between us. "Ryan, thank God. You have to listen to me. I didn't steal those files. I would never betray you or the company. I was framed, I swear—"

"I don't care about the files, Evelyn," Ryan interrupted. His voice was cold, his eyes not even meeting mine. He was looking at Daphne, his thumb tracing small circles on her arm.

I froze. "What?"

"I'm here for one reason," he said, finally looking at me with a gaze so indifferent it hurt worse than a slap. "Daphne is pregnant. We’re getting married in a few weeks. I won't have your 'scandals' and legal drama upsetting her or putting my child at risk. I’m here so we can end this. I need to sever all ties with you, Evelyn. For the safety of Daphne and my child."

The world felt like it was tilting. Daphne was pregnant? The words rang in my ears like a death knell. He was so worried about her "fragile" state, yet he had let me be dragged to jail while I was carrying his child.

Daphne let out a soft, theatrical sigh, leaning closer to him. "Ryan, I’m feeling a little light-headed. Can we go soon? The air in here is so... musty."

Ryan’s expression shifted instantly. He looked at her with a tenderness I had prayed for every night for three years. "Just a moment, darling. We'll leave soon."

He signaled to his assistant, who stepped forward and placed a check on the table.

"Since it’s clear that all you ever wanted was money, here it is," Ryan said, his voice dripping with disgust. "Consider this a final payout. Take it and leave this city tonight. I don't want to see your face, hear your name, or deal with your antics ever again. We’re finished."

My heart was bleeding. My hands shook and I felt a large knot twist in the pit of my stomach. But I looked at the check. It was my ticket out. It was a way to save my baby.

"Ryan, please, just let me explain—"

"I’m going to get the car started," Ryan cut me off, standing up and helping Daphne to her feet as if she were made of glass.

Daphne paused, giving Ryan a sweet, tired smile. "Go ahead, honey. I just want to say a few final words to Evelyn. Woman to woman. I'll be out in a minute."

Ryan nodded, kissed her forehead, and walked out of the room without even so much as a glance back at me.

The moment the door shut, the "fragile" look vanished from Daphne’s face. She stood up, her back straight, her eyes flashing a wicked, triumphant light. She walked over to the table and picked up the check, turning it over in her slender fingers.

"You want to know a secret, Evelyn?" she whispered, leaning in close. "I was the one who framed you. I sent those files from your computer. I called the police."

I stared at her, my mouth dry. "Ryan... he’ll hate you when he finds out."

Daphne laughed, a high, mocking sound. "Oh, honey. Ryan already knows. He knew the minute the charges were filed that it was me."

My breath hitched. "He knew?"

"And he didn't care," she hissed, her face inches from mine. "He doesn't care if you're innocent. He doesn't care if you rot in a cell. Don’t you get it? All he cares about is making me happy. And seeing you lose everything? Well…that makes me very, very happy."

Before I could react, she took the check, my only hope for survival, and tore it into tiny, jagged pieces. She tossed the scraps into my face like confetti.

"No!" I shouted, my voice sounding like it was coming from miles away. I collapsed to my knees, my fingers trembling as I tried to gather the tiny, torn pieces. "No, no, please...this is all I have."

"You're not getting a dime," she sneered. "I suggest you listen to Ryan and get the hell out of this city before I decide to frame you for something even worse. You're nothing, Evelyn. You've always been nothing."

She turned on her heel and floated out of the room, her friend casting me one last derisive look as she followed Daphne out.  

I broke down, desperately trying to piece the shredded paper back together, but my tears blurred my vision until I could barely see anything. It was useless. There were too many pieces. I’d never be able to put the check back together. I collapsed right there, the world spinning around me, gasping for breath between my sobs.

What was I going to do?

The money I had depended on to survive, the money meant to save my child, had been completely destroyed by Daphne.