Chapter 4

Seth McQueen was Scarlett's older brother, and also one of Zach's closest friends.

A year ago, Scarlett had drugged Rose, and Seth had apologized to her afterward.

Zach had once asked whether she minded him staying in touch with Seth. What Scarlett had done was her own doing, and Rose had no reason to hold it against her brother.

"I know," Rose said.

Zach looked mildly surprised. "How do you know?"

He hadn't hidden anything from her, hadn't even said Scarlett's name, only ever referring to her as Seth's sister.

All of Rose's lingering unease evaporated at once. She teased, "Guess."

"Did you have someone watching me?" he shot back, just as playful.

"Don't be ridiculous." Rose gave him a look. "If you actually wanted to do something behind my back, me watching you wouldn't stop you anyway. Kimberly told me."

"Why is it always her?" Zach huffed, the corner of his mouth curving downward despite himself.

Over the following two weeks, Rose barely saw Zach at all. He'd told her he wanted to get everything at the office squared away in advance, so that once her leave started, he could stay by her side and wait out the rest of the pregnancy with her.

Today was her last day at work. Her due date was two weeks out.

Everything was handed off and settled by the time Bruce Statham, the hospital director, came to her office in person.

She started to get up to get him a glass of water. He waved her off before she could. "Don't trouble yourself, I won't stay for a drink. Just a quick word."

Rose set the glass back down and sat across from him. "Is there something you wanted to discuss, Director?"

"That opportunity I mentioned before, the exchange program at Winthrop General. Have you had any more thoughts on it?"

There were only three spots for the program this year. He'd given the other two away already and had been holding this last one open for her, because he saw real promise in her and wanted her career to go further.

Rose shook her head, smiling. "I'll pass, but thank you for thinking of me. My family's here in Calizzy. I don't want to be apart from them."

Winthrop General Hospital was renowned nationwide, the kind of place countless doctors dreamed of working. Before she'd married Zach, it had been Rose's own dream posting too.

But now she had Zach, and soon a child. Her old ambitions had faded. All she wanted these days was a peaceful, steady life with her family.

Bruce nodded, understanding. He rose to leave. "Then go home and take care of that baby. I'll be waiting to hear the good news."

"Thank you." Rose started to rise to see him out.

He waved her back down before she could stand all the way up. "Sit, sit, don't bother."

He walked a few steps toward the door, then paused and turned back. "The spot's still open for another two months, until the final decision's made. If you change your mind, just let me know."

Once he'd gone, Rose began packing up her things. Her leave would run for a little over three months, and she'd already decided to spend part of it reading up on medical texts, hoping to better prepare herself to become an attending physician once the baby was born.

The medical books, along with a handful of everyday items, filled an entire cardboard box.

By the time she'd finished packing, being this far along left her a little short of breath. She braced a hand on her lower back and eased herself into a chair to rest, then reached for her phone on the desk.

It was five-thirty already.

Zach had said he'd come by early to help her carry her things and pick her up so they could head to the family estate together for dinner. It was already half an hour past quitting time, and she'd already packed everything up herself. Where was he?

She dialed his number. It rang for a long time with no answer, then went to voicemail.

Her brow creased.

In the old days, he'd never let it ring more than three seconds before picking up. Texts used to get answered instantly, too. Lately, though, calls went unanswered more and more often, and replies took far longer to come.

Was he really that busy these days?

A vague sense of disappointment settled over her, the feeling that she wasn't as much of a priority to him as she used to be.

But she reminded herself that all this work was so he could be free to focus on her once the baby came. Once they were together waiting out the rest of the pregnancy, this fleeting low mood would fade on its own.

Never mind. She'd just get herself home.

Since Zach had said he'd come pick her up, she hadn't asked Todd to come, which left her no choice but to call a car.

Just as she started for the door with the box, one of her interns spotted her and immediately took it from her hands, carrying it all the way out to her ride before heading back inside.

She'd barely gotten home when her mother-in-law called.

"It's this late, and you two still aren't here?"

Marilyn Peyton's tone was sharp, clearly irritated.

The Peytons had always favored Scarlett as their ideal daughter-in-law. Zach had married Rose against their wishes, and they'd never warmed to her for it.

Rose stayed gentle and deferential no matter what, and it had never earned her any goodwill from them.

Eventually, she'd made peace with it. If genuine effort couldn't buy genuine warmth in return, there was no point wasting more of it on people who'd never give her the time of day. So aside from the family's standing Sunday dinner, she made a point of never showing up in front of the Peytons otherwise.

Except today wasn't a Sunday. For some reason, Marilyn had called first thing that morning, insisting she and Zach come to the estate tonight without fail.

"Zach's still at work..."

Before Rose could finish, Marilyn cut her off.

"He's busy, so what? Are you too busy to make an appearance too? You're this close to giving birth, and you're still dragging yourself off to that pathetic little job. Does the Peyton family look like it needs whatever pocket change you bring in?"

Rose had grown used to her mother-in-law's sharp tongue. She held the phone in silence, saying nothing.

Silence wasn't fear. It was simply that she didn't want to put Zach in a difficult position.

"Get yourself over here right now. Tommy's back. Do you have any idea who you're keeping waiting?"

With that, the line went dead.

Rose listened to the dial tone buzzing in her ear, momentarily frozen in place.

Tommy Ginsberg was back?

Tommy was the Peyton family's foster son, taken in when he was fifteen and raised by them for thirteen years. Two years ago, he'd been reclaimed by his birth family and returned to the Ginsbergs, one of the most powerful dynasties in Winthrop City.

The Peytons were the biggest name in Calizzy, but next to the Ginsbergs of Winthrop, they didn't even register.

The Ginsbergs were old money on an entirely different scale, their reach stretching across the world. If the Peytons were a big fish in a small pond, the Ginsbergs were leviathans that ruled every sea.

As the eldest grandson of the Ginsberg family, Tommy's identity carried enormous weight. His return to that world had sent shockwaves through it almost immediately.

Word had it he was ruthless, merciless even with his own blood relatives when it came down to it, and utterly without mercy in business, leaving rival companies scrambling in fear. In barely two years, he'd secured his place at the head of Ginsberg Group.

Rose had only met Tommy once before, on her wedding day to Zach.

He had striking features, the kind of face that made people stop and stare without meaning to. But his whole presence radiated a cold, forbidding edge, a depth that made people afraid to look at him for too long.