POV: LAUREN“What?” she gasped, her eyes wide with shock at my reaction. The mask of superiority slipped for a moment, revealing pure astonishment. Before she could respond, the loud cry of a baby echoed through the house.My body jolted instantly. The uncontrollable crying filled the stairs and flooded the halls like an alarm, triggering every cell in my body. My eyes welled up with tears, and I let go of Violet’s wrist forcefully, shoving her back without hesitation. She stumbled two steps, but I didn’t look back.I ran up the stairs, heart pounding, hands shaking, completely ignoring Violet’s desperate screams echoing behind me:“Hey! You can’t go up there!” she shouted, breathless. “This isn’t your house anymore!”I didn’t care. I opened one door, then another, until I flung open the third. Inside the room, I found a y
POV: LAUREN“What are you doing in my house?!” Violet’s voice cut through the air like a blade—shrill and filled with fury. She stopped at the door and looked me up and down, her eyes locking onto the tear in my shirt that exposed part of my bra. “In my husband’s office, with that shameless face… Have you completely lost your mind, you wretched bitch?”Her gaze was dripping with contempt, her lips twisted in disgust, and I froze, my heart pounding so hard it made my chest ache. I tried to fix my shirt with trembling hands, but it was useless.She stepped forward, and before I could react, she grabbed my arm tightly. Her grip was brutal, her fingers digging into my flesh like she wanted to bruise every bone. A whimper escaped me as I felt her sharp nails tearing into my skin.“You came here to offer yourself to him, didn’t you?” Violet hissed, her f
POV: LAURENHot tears streamed down my face, but I kept my gaze locked on his, refusing to look away. My breathing was shallow, my chest rising and falling rapidly, and the heat of his face so close to mine made me nauseous. The smell of his expensive cologne mixed with tobacco was suffocating, and I could see the veins pulsing in his neck, his anger growing in every tensed muscle.“Ethan, that baby is my daughter who was switched at the hospital with Violet’s baby,” I finally said, my voice trembling but clear. Each word felt like it was tearing something inside me, yet it also brought a painful relief, as if I were finally releasing a weight I had carried for so long.He released my face abruptly, the motion so sudden that my head lightly hit the wall. Before I could recover, he slammed his fist into the wall beside my head, the impact echoing in the silent office. The sound made me flinch, and for a moment, I feared he would strike me.“Have you completely lost your mind, Lauren?”
POV: LAURENI stood in the dim light of Ethan’s office, the air thick with the acrid smell of cigar smoke mingling with the scent of expensive leather furniture. My hands trembled slightly, but I kept my fists clenched to hide any sign of weakness. Lauren Becker, in the flesh, facing the man who had already shattered my life once.“Lauren Becker in person,” Ethan said, his voice dripping with disdain as he took a drag from his cigar, the glowing red tip flaring in the dark. He exhaled the smoke slowly, as if savoring every venomous word. “I didn’t know your husband allowed his wife to visit her ex.”His cold eyes scanned me up and down, and the crooked smile on his face was a clear attempt to rattle me. He sat behind his mahogany desk, his body relaxed in the leather chair, but there was a calculated cruelty in every gesture. Ethan was a predator, and I knew that any misstep could be fatal.“We need to talk, Ethan,” I replied, ignoring the taunt. My voice came out steady, but inside,
POV: LAURENHenry had warned me he’d be out all morning. It had been a month since the court order for the maternity test was issued, and so far, no progress. Ethan was clearly playing games with us, delaying every attempt to collect blood with lame excuses and last-minute cancellations. It was just another one of his dirty tricks.That morning, I left Theodor and Noah with my mother. I borrowed Kate’s car—my best friend and confidante.“Girl, I really don’t like this,” Kate muttered, gripping the key tightly between her fingers. “You can’t just go to his house alone. Did you forget what happened last time?”Her voice was filled with worry, her eyes locked tensely on my face. The memory of the ball hit me like a slap. I swallowed hard, my throat tightening.“I don’t have a choice, Kate,” I replied quietly, feeling a faint tremor creep up my hands. “He has my daughter. I need to see her with my own eyes.”Kate grabbed my shoulders, trying to hold me back. Her eyes begged for reason.“L
POV: VIOLET“You’re afraid of him?” Ravi raised an eyebrow mockingly. “Seriously, Violet? Since when do you let a man control you?”“Since I realized I’m sleeping with a lunatic murderer,” I shot back through gritted teeth. “Did you forget the plan was always to steal everything and vanish? Or did you change the script without telling me?”He laughed. A low, venomous sound. He tapped his finger on the wooden table as if each tap was plotting a new move on the board.“Not if Henry destroys him first,” he replied with a crooked smile, leaning back in the chair like a bored king surrounded by pawns. “And frankly, I think that’s exactly what he’s going to try.”“Great,” I rolled my eyes. “One more problem.”“Tell me something, Violet…” He t