Chapter 2

2

Early the next morning, I packed my bags and slipped out the door.

Only after leaving did I text Chase, claiming I had an emergency medical conference out of state for two weeks.

Once settled in a hotel, I opened the security app on my phone that I had never used before.

A few months ago, our building management upgraded the security system and installed cameras in every unit.

Chase had been out of town back then, and I had been too busy with work to mention it.

Within seconds, the live feed of our master bedroom loaded on my screen.

What I saw made my blood run cold.

I had been gone for less than half a day.

Chase had already brought Savannah into our home.

Right now, she was lounging in my silk robe at my vanity, twisting open my thousand-dollar night cream.

She didn't apply it to her face.

Instead, she scooped out a massive glob and casually rubbed it all over her feet.

Finding that too slow, she plunged her bare toes directly into the jar, swirling them around.

Chase was lying on the bed nearby, watching her antics with indulgent amusement.

"Chase, this skincare must be super expensive. Won't your wife be upset if she finds out?"

Her tone sounded sweet, but she didn't stop for a second.

Chase got up, wrapped his arms around her waist, and spoke with adoration.

"Her plain face is a waste of good cream anyway. It's better used pampering your feet."

As he spoke, his fingers untied the sash of Savannah's robe.

"It's the exact same robe, but on you, it looks so seductive. Unlike that frumpy woman, who makes everything look like a potato sack."

Savannah leaned into his chest, giggling coquettishly.

As they tumbled onto the sheets together, I immediately closed the app.

If I kept watching, I felt like the filth might infect me through the screen.

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

I took preventative medication, put on a mask, and gathered the courage to head home.

I thought since I had given Chase advance notice, he would at least have the decency to send Savannah away.

Yet the moment I unlocked the front door, she was still there.

She was reclined on the couch, eating the imported organic bird's nest soup I had bought for my recovery.

Suppressing my rage, I looked at Chase standing nearby.

"Chase, you brought an outsider into our home without even discussing it with me?"

Before he could answer, another sharp voice echoed from the kitchen.

"My son bought this penthouse! He can let whoever he wants live here. Who are you to tell him what to do?"

I froze.

That was when I noticed my mother-in-law had arrived as well.

She gave me a disdainful glare before stepping in front of Savannah protectively.

"Besides, Savannah isn't an outsider."

"She's carrying my son's baby. She's the most precious person in this family right now!"

Her words struck me like a bucket of ice water.

When I looked back at Chase, he deliberately avoided my eyes, muttering awkwardly.

"Valerie, you know Mom has always wanted a grandchild… but after all these years, you never gave us one."

Savannah piped up with a frail, tearful whimper.

"Valerie, please don't blame Chase. It's all my fault―I mixed up my birth control with my vitamins last time."

"If having this baby makes you uncomfortable, I'll go to the clinic right now and terminate the pregnancy…"

Her eyes welled with tears as she made a show of trying to stand up.

My mother-in-law panicked instantly.

Furious, she stormed over and slapped me hard across the face.

"Valerie, are you trying to end my family's bloodline? Let me tell you, if anything happens to Savannah's baby, I'll destroy you!"

The slap left my ears ringing.

I held my burning cheek, standing paralyzed in shock.

Glancing past them, I saw three sets of plates arranged neatly on the dining table.

Catching my gaze, my mother-in-law sneered without remorse.

"I had no idea you were coming back. I only cooked enough for the three of us!"

I understood her unspoken message loud and clear.

Biting my lower lip, I turned around and stepped out of the apartment.

With a violent slam, the front door locked behind me.

Yet through the heavy wood, I could still hear her raised voice bragging inside.

"Son, you're a multi-millionaire CEO. You should have divorced that barren woman long ago!"

"She's completely beneath you now, dragging you down all these years for nothing!"

Leaning against the cold corridor wall, I suddenly burst into silent laughter.

Years ago, when Chase was building his startup, I worked day shifts at the clinic and washed dishes at diners at night.

Every single cent I earned went straight into funding his business.

Yet as his mother tore me apart, he hadn't uttered a single word in my defense.

The sting on my cheek remained, but my heart had turned completely numb.

Just then, my phone vibrated in my coat pocket.

I pulled it out to see a text from a colleague at the disease control center.

"Valerie, I managed to pull Savannah's medical history from the regional database."

My breath caught as I tapped the file open.

Even though I had anticipated the worst, the long list of diagnostic codes left me speechless.

I had already suspected late-stage AIDS combined with tertiary syphilis.

What I didn't expect was that beyond those two, her body harbored over a dozen other transmissible pathogens.

While most spread through blood and intimate fluids, extreme viral shedding meant daily close contact, shared towels, and shared cutlery carried immense risk.

Even tiny skin abrasions could lead to severe transmission.

Fortunately, none of that was my concern anymore.

After all, the people walking straight into that biological minefield were already sealed inside.