Chapter 2

A ripple of murmurs went through the crowd. Heads turned. The news cameras swiveled in our direction.

The elites of Washington D.C. stared at me, their faces a mixture of confusion and contempt. They saw my simple polo shirt and jeans, a stark contrast to their designer attire.

"Who is that guy?" someone whispered loudly.

"Looks like some stalker," another voice sneered. "Trying to get his fifteen minutes of fame."

Ava's brief flicker of panic vanished, replaced by a mask of cold fury. She looked down at me as if I were a piece of dirt on her shoe.

"Security!" she called out, her voice sharp. "This man is a disturbed constituent. He's been harassing my family for weeks. Mark is my husband. Please remove him."

Mark put a protective arm around Ava, playing the part of the devoted husband perfectly. He looked at me with a patronizing smirk. "Sir, you need to leave. You're upsetting my wife and son."

The crowd joined in, a chorus of ridicule.

"Get a life, you nobody!"

"How dare he try to ruin the reputation of a great Congresswoman!"

"Look at him, he probably lives in a basement."

Their words were like stones, each one a painful blow. But the deepest cut came from Ava, the woman I had built an empire for, the woman I had given up everything to support.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. A text from Ava.

"It's for the campaign, Ethan. They're major donors. Liam's mother isn't in the picture, it's just for show. I'll use one of our 'Veto Cards' for this. Please don't make a scene."

The Veto Cards. Ten custom-made cards I' d given her on our wedding night. A promise to forgive any one argument, no questions asked. A symbol of our love and trust.

She was trying to use that, our most sacred promise, to cover this grotesque betrayal.

Disgust washed over me, so potent it was nauseating. This wasn't about the campaign. This was about her, and Mark, and a future she was building without me and our daughter.