Chapter 1

1.

It was our third wedding anniversary.

My husband, Lucas Sterling, a Commander in the Navy SEALs, told me he had an urgent deployment order.

I smiled and kissed him goodbye, watching his black Ford F-150 pull out of the driveway.

The moment he turned the corner, I walked back inside and activated the GPS tracker I’d planted in his wheel well.

The dot on the screen didn't head toward Norfolk Naval Base.

Instead, it stopped at the most expensive private maternity hospital in the city.

I sat in front of my server rack, fingers flying across the mechanical keyboard. Bypassing the hospital’s firewall was child’s play.

The security feed popped up.

There he was. The iron-willed soldier who barely cracked a smile at his own medal ceremony was currently gently supporting a fragile-looking blonde woman.

His eyes held a tenderness I had never seen directed at me.

The woman rubbed her belly, looking up at him sweetly. "Luke, have you thought of a name for the baby yet?"

Lucas smiled. "Let's call her Hope. To commemorate our love."

My heart turned to ice, colder than the forgotten iced Americano in my hand.

Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Base Command, asking why Lucas hadn't reported for duty yet.

I looked at the couple on my screen, so in love, so disgusting.

I hit the speaker button and answered with a voice as calm as the grave.

"Agent Miller, this is Savannah Sterling. I suspect my husband, Commander Lucas Sterling, may be in possession of top-secret documents and is attempting to flee."

...

That one sentence froze both the NCIS agent on the phone and, metaphorically, the man on my screen.

Agent Miller’s voice, usually professional, dropped an octave.

"Mrs. Sterling, do you realize what you are saying? That is a severe accusation."

On the monitor, Lucas’s phone started ringing.

He saw it was the emergency line from the base. His face went pale. He panicked, hung up, and immediately dialed my number.

I didn't answer.

I just spoke into my phone, using the same detached tone I used when briefing generals at the Pentagon.

"Sir, Lucas left home claiming an emergency mission but is currently at an unauthorized medical facility. His movements are erratic, and he is refusing Command's calls. Given his Top Secret security clearance, I suspect treason."

My voice wasn't loud, but it hit like a precision-guided missile.

Agent Miller was silent for five seconds.

"Savannah, stay where you are. Lock the doors. A tactical team is en route."

Concise. Decisive.

I hung up and watched the monitor.

Lucas was unraveling.

He abandoned the woman―Bella―and sprinted toward the hospital exit while frantically redialing my number.

Bella cried out behind him, "Luke, where are you going? Our baby..."

He didn't look back.

The tenderness was gone, replaced by pure terror and rage.

But it was too late.

In less than ten minutes, black government SUVs screeched to a halt, blocking every exit.

Agents in tactical gear with "NCIS" emblazoned on their vests swarmed the lobby.

"Commander Sterling! Hands in the air! Now!"

Glocks were pointed at his chest.

Lucas raised his hands, his face as white as a sheet. As a spec-ops operator, he knew exactly what it meant when your own side pointed guns at you.

He was slammed against the wall and handcuffed.

As they frog-marched him out, he saw me.

I was standing outside the glass doors of the café across the street, sipping my coffee, watching him.

His pupils dilated in shock.

"Savannah!"

He roared, his face twisting.

"Are you crazy?! What are you doing?! I’m innocent!"

I just offered a cold smirk.

Yeah, I know you're innocent of treason.

You weren't selling state secrets.

You were just violating Article 134 of the UCMJ―Adultery―by naming your bastard child while I was home cooking your anniversary dinner.

But why should I explain that for you?

When you wore that uniform and lied to God, the flag, and me, did you really think there wouldn't be a reckoning?

The agents didn't let him scream anymore. They shoved him into the back of the SUV.

Bella was also taken into "protective custody."

She was trembling like a leaf. As she passed me, she suddenly lunged.

"You! You did this to Luke! You bitch!"

Two female agents restrained her immediately.

I looked at her tear-stained face and her slight baby bump.

"Hope."

I whispered the word.

Bella’s face drained of color.

"To commemorate your love, right?"

I laughed. I laughed until tears threatened to spill.

"What a beautiful name."

The sirens wailed around me, but the world felt grey.

Lucas, the game has started.

You destroyed my marriage. Now, I’m going to incinerate your career.