Chapter 3

On the way back to the penthouse, I asked the chauffeur to stop outside a diving supply store. "I'm supposed to jump into the ocean before the yacht explodes, right? I figured I'd get some emergency supplies, just in case something goes wrong."

The chauffeur didn't suspect a thing.

Ten minutes later, he returned with an emergency survival kit. Inside were a whistle, a flashlight, an emergency blanket, and a diving knife sharp enough to cut through safety ropes.

As he handed me the kit, he made a point of warning me. "Ms. Lawson, that knife is extremely sharp. You'd better let one of the crew members look after it once you're on board."

I slipped the knife into my bag. "Sure," I said.

When I returned to the penthouse, cardboard boxes were piled high outside the door. Workers were taking down the living room lights. Even the painting had been removed from the walls.

Rachel stood in the bedroom doorway, her eyes red with anger. "Ms. Lawson hasn't even moved out yet! What gives you the right to touch her things?"

The man overseeing the inventory remained expressionless. "Mr. Prescott made it clear that Ms. Monroe doesn't want furniture someone else has already used. The entire penthouse has to be redecorated by tonight."

Just like that, the place I'd called home for three years could become someone else's in a matter of hours.

Winona was sitting at the dining table, holding a glass jar. Inside were all the little notes Hayden had written to me over the past three years.

Because I had a sensitive stomach, he'd leave reminders for me to eat on time.

When I couldn't sleep, he'd tell me to wait for him to come home.

The first time I tried baking a cake, I'd made a complete mess of the kitchen. He'd left me a note that read, "Don't worry. I like my cake a little burnt."

I'd carefully saved every single one of those notes, no matter how insignificant they seemed. I'd always believed people could say things they didn't mean, but the words they wrote down came from the heart.

Winona pulled out a note, glanced at it, and suddenly laughed. "Does Hayden seriously still use the same old lines? You'd think he'd come up with something new after all these years."

She dropped the note into the paper shredder on the table. The machine whirred to life. Within seconds, those familiar words had been reduced to tiny strips of paper.

Rachel rushed over and switched off the machine. "Ms. Monroe, don't you think you've gone too far? Those are Ms. Lawson's personal belongings!"

Winona answered in a gentle voice. "I just don't want her taking these things overseas and fooling herself into thinking Hayden ever loved her."

She looked up at me. "Ms. Lawson, remember when you had that miscarriage? Hayden stayed by your side for three whole days, didn't he?"

I said nothing.

Losing that baby had left a wound in my heart that would never heal. I'd been five months pregnant when I accidentally fell down the stairs and lost our baby.

Hayden had canceled a board meeting and stayed at my bedside for three days.

When I woke up, I was so overwhelmed with grief that I wandered toward the window in a daze.

He'd rushed forward and pulled me back with all his strength. His eyes had been bloodshot. "Winnie, we can have another baby someday. But there's only one you, and I can't lose you."

That was the moment I'd finally believed he truly loved me.

Winona took out her phone and opened an encrypted file. "Did you really think you lost that baby by accident? During those three days, Hayden deliberately suspended all the company's public activities and leaked the news of your miscarriage.

"The people holding me captive thought he was so distraught over you that he'd lost his composure. That's why they decided to move me to another location. And that transfer was exactly what gave away their location."

My fingers slowly turned ice-cold.

Hayden'd actually been willing to kill his own child for Winona.

Winona continued, "It was the same with that trip you two took to Somerby. My captors were keeping a close eye on his private jet. He took you on that vacation to help you relax, but the whole trip was just a diversion so the rescue team could fly out of the country on a different route.

"And remember that ten-billion-dollar deal he supposedly canceled for you? That was just another act he put on for my captors."

Every little thing I'd treasured as proof of his love had been nothing more than another piece of someone else's escape plan.

Footsteps sounded at the door. Hayden walked in.

I looked at him and asked quietly, "Those three days I spent in the hospital… were you ever genuinely worried about me?"

He hesitated for a moment. "You were going to be fine. You had the best doctors in the hospital looking after you."

"So, you only stayed by my side to convince the abductors you loved me?"

"Yes." He admitted it as calmly as if we were discussing the weather.

I forced myself to ask another question. "What about that ski trip to Somerby?"

"That was to provide cover for the rescue team."

"And the deal you canceled?"

"That was part of the plan too."

I nodded slowly. "Of course. If you can treat your own child as nothing more than a pawn to be sacrificed, I guess there's nothing you wouldn't do."

Hayden frowned. "Winnie, the doctors told us your body wasn't strong enough to carry the pregnancy to term. If you'd tried to give birth, both you and the baby could have died."

My eyes burned with fury. "And that gave you the right to kill the baby yourself? He was your own flesh and blood!"

"Calm down," Hayden said coldly. "I admit I could've handled some things better over the past three years. But I paid off every penny of your family's debts, gave you a life most people could only dream of, and made sure no one ever bullied you again. I've more than fulfilled my responsibilities as the man who's been financially supporting you."

He walked toward me. "Winnie, don't be greedy. You've already gotten more than most people could ever dream of."

There it was again.

Ever since they'd demanded that I fake my death, everyone had been so eager to remind me of everything I'd supposedly gained. Yet not a single person had ever bothered to ask whether any of it was what I actually wanted.

Winona gently took his hand. "Hayden, the engagement press conference has been rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon. If the yacht doesn't explode until that evening, won't it be bad luck to have both stories making headlines at the same time?"

Hayden pulled out his phone. "Then we'll move up the departure time of the yacht."

He made a call, his voice steady and decisive. "Notify the marina. The yacht leaves at 10:00 am tomorrow. Set off the explosives at 11:40 am."

After hanging up, he turned to me. "We're only moving things up by a few hours. The boat that's supposed to pick you up and your new identity are already arranged. Nothing will change for you."

I nodded and walked away.

Back in my bedroom, I slipped the diving knife into the inside pocket of my coat.

If they needed me dead so everyone else could move on with their lives, then I'd give them exactly what they wanted.