Chapter Two: The Stranger in the Maybach

"Elena Hart? Get in. You are going to catch a cold. And your husband doesn't deserve your tears."

I froze in the middle of Fifth Avenue. The rain was pouring down my red dress, soaking my hair, mixing with my tears. The black Maybach was idling right in front of me, its headlights cutting through the rain.

How did this man know my name?

He was not a man you would forget. He looked to be in his early thirties, with sharp grey eyes, dark brown hair neatly cut, and a black suit that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. He looked like power. He looked like money. He looked dangerous in a quiet, cold way.

"I don't know you," I whispered, holding my purse tighter. The wet ultrasound picture was still inside.

"I know," he said. His voice was deep and calm. "But I know Adrian Stone. And I know what he just did. My driver saw you running out of the Stone Tower crying. Get in, Elena. You are pregnant and standing in a storm. That's not good for you or the baby."

My hand instinctively went to my stomach. How did he know I was pregnant?

Fear shot through me. Was this one of Adrian's business enemies? In New York, billionaires had many enemies.

"Who are you?" I asked.

He opened the car door from inside. "My name is Julian Croft. And if you don't get in, you will get sick. I am not asking you to trust me. I am asking you to use common sense."

Julian Croft. Croft. The same last name as Vanessa Croft.

My eyes widened. "Are you related to—"

"Vanessa is my younger sister," he said, his jaw tightening. "And I am ashamed of what she is doing. Get in. Please."

The rain was getting heavier. I was shivering. My red dress was clinging to my body. People on the street were staring. I had nowhere to go. No money in my purse except for taxi fare. My phone battery was at 5%.

I looked back at the Stone Tower. The lights were still on in the penthouse. The penthouse where my husband was with another woman.

I made a decision. I got into the car.

The inside was warm. The leather seats smelled expensive. Julian handed me a soft black cashmere blanket without looking at me too much, like a gentleman.

"Thank you," I whispered, wrapping it around my shoulders. The blanket was so soft, it smelled like clean laundry and expensive cologne. It was the first kindness I had felt all night.

We drove in silence for a while. The rain was hitting the windows hard. New York looked blurry and beautiful at the same time, like a painting that had been left in the rain. I was still shaking, not just from the cold, but from everything. My hands would not stop trembling.

"You are safe now," Julian said quietly, as if he could read my mind. "No one will hurt you in this car."

I looked at him. Up close, he was even more handsome, but in a different way from Adrian. Adrian was the kind of handsome that made women turn their heads in restaurants. Julian was the kind of handsome that made you feel calm. His grey eyes were not cruel. They were tired, like a man who had seen too much betrayal himself.

"Do you have a family, Mr. Croft?" I asked suddenly. I didn't know why I asked. Maybe I needed to hear about someone else's life, so I could forget my own for a minute.

He smiled a small, sad smile. "I had a wife once. She left me three years ago. For my best friend. So I know a little bit about how you feel right now. That feeling like the ground has disappeared under your feet."

I stared at him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said. "It was the best thing that ever happened to me. It taught me that trust is expensive. You should not give it to just anyone. Adrian Stone does not know how to value trust. My sister Vanessa does not know how to value love. They deserve each other."

His driver was driving very smoothly. We were passing Times Square now. The big lights were flashing, but I didn't feel excited. I felt empty.

"I don't have anywhere to go," I whispered, more to myself than to him. "My mother is in Ohio. She is sick. She cannot help me. My father died last year. I left my job as a school teacher when I married Adrian because he wanted me to be at home. I have no money of my own. Everything is in his name. The house, the cars, the cards. Even my phone plan is under his company. If I leave him, I have nothing."

Julian was quiet for a long time. Then he said, "You have something he doesn't have, Elena."

"What?"

"You have truth. And you have a baby who will love you unconditionally. That is more than all his billions. Billions cannot buy you a child who loves you. Billions cannot buy you peace at night."

I started crying again, but silently this time. Tears just rolling down my face.

"When I found out I was pregnant this morning, I was so happy," I said, my voice breaking. "I bought a little blue onesie. I hid it in my purse to surprise him. I thought he would cry with joy. I thought we would finally be a real family. Instead, I found him with her. On our anniversary."

Julian handed me a clean handkerchief from his pocket. It was white and folded perfectly.

"He will regret it," Julian said, his voice hard now. "Men like Adrian always regret it when they lose a good woman. But by then, it is too late."

His driver started driving. I didn't even ask where we were going.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked after a few minutes, my teeth chattering.

"To my hotel. The Plaza. I have a private suite. You can stay there tonight, take a hot shower, call your family. Tomorrow morning, you can decide what you want to do. I will not be there. I have a business meeting in London at 6 a.m. The suite will be yours alone. My housekeeper will bring you dry clothes."

He was so calm. So cold. So different from Adrian.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked. "You don't know me. And Vanessa is your sister."

Julian looked out the window at the rainy city lights. His grey eyes were hard.

"Because Vanessa is my sister, I know exactly what she is," he said. "She has wanted Adrian Stone since she was twenty-two. She thinks marrying a billionaire will make her a queen. And because Adrian Stone is my biggest business rival. He stole a contract from me last month worth eighty million dollars. So when I saw his wife crying in the rain, holding what looked like a doctor's paper, I put two and two together."

He knew everything. This man was not stupid.

"So this is business for you?" I asked, feeling a little hurt.

"At first, yes," he admitted honestly. "But when I saw you standing there... you looked like my mother did when my father left her. So now it is not business. Now it is human."

I didn't know what to say. I just held the blanket tighter.

We arrived at The Plaza Hotel. The driver opened an umbrella and walked me inside through a private entrance so no photographers would see me. Julian didn't touch me. He kept a respectful distance.

His suite on the top floor was like a palace. Three bedrooms, a living room bigger than my old apartment in Chicago.

"There is hot soup on the table. The bathroom has towels. A doctor is on standby downstairs if you need her. My number is on the desk if you need anything," Julian said, standing by the door. "Goodnight, Mrs. Stone."

"It's Elena," I said softly. "Just Elena. I don't think I am Mrs. Stone anymore."

He nodded. "Goodnight, Elena."

And then he left.

As soon as the door closed, I collapsed onto the big soft bed and cried again. But this time, it was quieter.

I took a hot shower. I found a white silk nightgown laid out for me, expensive and clean. I ate the chicken soup. It warmed my stomach where my baby was growing.

My phone buzzed. It was Adrian. 23 missed calls. 15 messages.

[ELENA, WHERE ARE YOU? COME HOME NOW.]

[ELENA, YOU ARE OVERREACTING. IT WAS NOTHING.]

[ELENA, THINK ABOUT OUR REPUTATION.]

[ELENA, ANSWER ME. YOU ARE PREGNANT WITH MY CHILD.]

My child. Not our child. My child. That was how he saw it now, like property.

The last message made my blood boil:

[IF YOU DON'T COME HOME TONIGHT, DON'T COME HOME AT ALL.]

I turned off my phone.

I looked at the ultrasound picture I had dried with a hairdryer. The tiny white dot. My baby. I placed my hand on my still-flat stomach.

"It's just you and me now, baby," I whispered. "Mommy will protect you. I promise."

I fell asleep, exhausted, in the big white bed that was not my husband's.

I woke up at 3 a.m. to a knocking sound.

I thought it was a dream at first. Then I heard it again. Louder. Someone was banging on the suite door.

"Elena! I know you are in there! Open this door!"

It was Adrian's voice.

How did he find me? How did he know I was at The Plaza?

My heart started beating wildly. I grabbed the blanket and ran to the door, looking through the peephole.

Adrian was there, soaking wet from the rain, his hair messed up, his eyes red with anger. Behind him were two of his security guards. And behind them, Julian Croft, who had apparently just come back from the lobby, looking furious.

"This is my private suite, Stone," Julian said coldly. "You have no right to be here."

"She is my wife!" Adrian shouted, banging again. "Elena! You are my wife! You are carrying my baby! You cannot hide with my enemy!"

I opened the door a crack. I was shaking.

"Adrian, how did you find me?" I asked.

He grabbed the door and pushed it open. "Your credit card. You used your credit card for the taxi to the clinic. I tracked it. Then I called every hotel near the Tower. Don't play games with me, Elena. You are embarrassing me."

Julian stepped between us. "Don't touch her."

Adrian laughed, a cruel laugh. "Who are you to tell me not to touch my own wife? Julian, stay out of my marriage. This is between me and her."

He looked at me, and his eyes were not sorry. They were angry. Possessive. Like I was a car he owned that someone else had driven.

"Elena, we are leaving now," he said, grabbing my wrist hard. "We will talk about this pregnancy at home. If it is even mine."

If it is even mine.

Those five words.

Those five words killed every last piece of love I had for Adrian Stone.

I looked at him, tears in my eyes, but my voice was clear and strong for the first time that night.

"Let go of me, Adrian. That baby is not yours anymore. I will raise it alone. I would rather be a poor single mother on the streets of New York than be the wife of a cheating liar like you. I want a divorce."

The whole hallway went silent.

Adrian's face changed. The anger turned into shock. Then into cold, cold fury.

"A divorce?" he whispered. "You want a divorce from me? Do you know who I am, Elena? Do you know what I can do to you? You have nothing. No money. No family here. No job. You think anyone in New York will hire the woman who tried to divorce Adrian Stone?"

He stepped closer, his voice low and threatening so only I could hear.

"If you try to divorce me, I will make sure you never see a penny from me. I will make sure that child grows up knowing its mother destroyed its father's life. You will regret this, Elena Hart."

He let go of my wrist and turned to leave.

Julian watched him walk away, his fists clenched.

As soon as Adrian's elevator doors closed, my legs gave way. I fell to the floor.

Julian knelt down beside me. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, sobbing. "He said the baby is not his. He thinks I cheated. After everything he did."

Julian's grey eyes were full of a cold fire now.

"He wants to play dirty?" he said quietly. "Fine. Then we will play dirty too. Elena, if you want to divorce him, I will help you. I have the best lawyers in Manhattan. And I have something he doesn't have."

"What?" I whispered.

"Proof," he said. "My sister has been bragging to everyone that she is going to be the next Mrs. Adrian Stone. I have messages. Photos. And I have a way to make him pay for every tear you shed tonight."

He took out his phone and showed me a picture. It was Vanessa and Adrian in a restaurant last week, holding hands, kissing. The date on the picture was the same day Adrian told me he was in Boston for business.

It was not just one kiss tonight. It had been going on for months.

I felt like I was going to vomit.

Julian put his hand gently on my shoulder.

"So, Elena Hart," he said, looking straight into my eyes. "Do you want to cry all night, or do you want to make the billionaire who broke your trust pay?"

Before I could answer, my phone, which I had turned back on, buzzed loudly on the floor.

It was not Adrian. It was an unknown New York number.

I answered with a shaking hand.

A woman's voice said, "Is this Elena Stone? This is the New York Daily Post. We have received photos of your husband with another woman tonight. We are going to publish the story tomorrow morning: 'BILLIONAIRE ADRIAN STONE CHEATS ON PREGNANT WIFE ON ANNIVERSARY NIGHT.' Do you have a comment?"

My heart stopped.

Someone had photographed us tonight. Someone had sent the photos to the press.

Who?

I looked up at Julian. He looked as shocked as I was.

If this story goes out tomorrow, my life, my baby, my marriage, everything will be destroyed in public.

Who sent those photos to the newspaper?

Adrian don show him true colour! Do you think Elena should trust Julian? Comment "TEAM JULIAN" if you want her to fight back!