Chapter 3

Chloe joined our company right after college. Back then, we were just a startup, and I taught her everything I knew.

Finance, management, HR, sales... I held nothing back.

I saw a younger version of myself in her―a girl from a middle-class family in the Midwest, with no connections, who had to fight for everything she had.

That's why I invested so much in her.

And she was smart, a hard worker.

Earlier in the year, when I was pregnant, I had a major hemorrhage due to placenta previa. Mark was away on a business trip. It was Chloe who saved me.

"I'll remember what you did for me for the rest of my life," I had told her.

I truly treated her like family, buying her gifts, clothes, giving her bonuses.

The apartment she was living in was mine.

When I started my bed rest, I recommended her to the board to take over my position as executive assistant to the president. She earned their approval with her competence and was given the authority that came with the job.

She had offered to keep an eye on Mark for me, because men with money can change.

I just never imagined she would be watching him from his bed.

I looked at the two people I had once trusted most in the world, and a wave of nausea and betrayal washed over me.

Chloe smiled and handed me the flowers, then pulled a small, blue Tiffany box from her purse. "This is a little something for baby Mason. I hope you like it."

Seeing that I was still sullen, Chloe added, "Sarah, don't be so suspicious. I know postpartum hormones can make you emotional. It must be that, right?"

"You know I would never betray you. Other people might, but not me."

Chloe swore her loyalty, but my eyes were fixed on that little blue box.

I had seen the receipt for that gift in Mark's coat pocket.

I thought it was a surprise he had bought for the baby.

Now I knew it was a gift he'd prepared for Chloe to give.

"That's enough. I've been putting up with you for days."

"I've canceled so many meetings for you and the baby, spent all my time here with you, and this is the thanks I get? How long are you going to keep this up?"

"So you had a baby, big deal! Do you have to be so dramatic?"

Mark's brow furrowed, his expression laced with impatience.

"Mark, don't be like that," Chloe said, trying to mediate.

"Sarah is in a vulnerable place right now. She needs understanding..."

Mark didn't even let her finish. He grabbed Chloe's arm and pulled her toward the door.

"Understanding? Who's going to understand me?"

"Don't look at me like that! Chloe, we're going back to the office!"

The door slammed shut with a loud bang.

My body flinched, and my eyes darted to the bassinet where my son slept.

In that instant, tears fell like broken pearls.

"Hello?"

"I need you to list the one-bedroom apartment downtown. I need to sell it fast."