Chapter 3

I braced myself against the wall and struggled to my feet, only for my legs to give out beneath me. Pain started in my lower abdomen, each wave worse than the last.

I had to push through it. Mom was still being treated, and I couldn't let myself collapse.

Three hours later, the light outside the procedure room finally went out.

The doctor came out looking grim. "We've stabilized her, but she needs more specific medication to get her through to tomorrow's surgery."

I nodded frantically. "Do it."

The doctor handed me a billing form to sign, but the words kept swimming before my eyes.

A nurse steadied me. "Ma'am, why are you still bleeding?"

I looked down and saw that my pants were soaked through with blood. The moment the tension left me, I pitched forward.

When I woke up, the doctor's words were clinical and brutal.

"You were four weeks pregnant. The embryo suffered severe trauma. By the time we found out, it was too late to save the pregnancy."

It took me several minutes to process the news.

There had been a baby, and now it was gone?

There was no time to grieve. I forced back my tears and asked, my voice hoarse, "What about my mom?"

"She's still unconscious, but don't worry. The bill's already been paid."

"Who paid it?"

"Mr. Naylor."

I texted Nathan. "Thank you. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

He replied, "No rush. Get some rest and try not to worry. Something came up at work. I'll come see you when I'm done."

Before I passed out, I'd glanced at the total on the bill. I couldn't even count how many zeros there were, but I knew I couldn't let Nathan cover it for me.

I was thinking about sending him the money when a text from my bank suddenly appeared on my screen. It was a bank alert showing a one-million-dollar debit.

My breath caught as I hurried to open my banking app.

My balance was zero.

That was the emergency money I'd saved for Mom.

I'd worked around the clock until I'd made myself sick because I didn't want to burden Dylan. I'd done it so I wouldn't have to scramble when Mom needed the money.

Only Dylan knew my banking password. He was the only one who could have accessed it.

I was on the phone trying to find out where the money had gone when Jessica posted another update. It was a purchase agreement for a condo downtown. The property was in her name.

The price was exactly one million dollars.

I was trembling all over, too furious to think straight.

When I stormed into Dylan's office, Jessica was there too, spinning around happily with the purchase agreement in her hands.

I snatched it from her, ripped it to pieces, and threw the pieces to the floor.

Dylan frowned. "Ashley, have you lost your mind?"

My eyes were red as I stared him down. "You used my money to buy your other woman a condo?"

Dylan was silent for a moment, but he didn't deny it.

"You hit her. Consider it an apology."

He said it like he had every right to.

So this was his idea of an apology?

It cost one million dollars, plus an innocent life. That was one hell of an expensive apology.

"Dylan, that money was supposed to save my mom's life!"

Something cold flickered in Dylan's eyes. "Stop using your mom to pressure me. If you want the money, get on your knees and let Jessica hit you back!"

I gritted my teeth as my nails dug into my palms. The pain helped clear my head.

Mom was in the ICU, and each dose of the medication she needed cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I'd just angered the man holding the purse strings.

The realization left me feeling hopeless. I closed my eyes and sank to my knees, humiliated.

Jessica walked over, her eyes red as she kept saying she was sorry, but she didn't hold back. The slap cracked across my face, snapping my head to the side.

Before I could recover, the second slap landed, then a third and a fourth. Soon, the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Dylan's eyes softened for a moment. "That's enough! I already sent the money."