Chapter 2

I woke up in a hospital bed.

White sheets, beeping machines, the sterile smell of antiseptic.

Mark was beside me, holding my hand, his face a mask of concern.

"Sarah, thank God," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "You're awake."

My body ached everywhere.

A dull, throbbing pain centered in my abdomen.

"The baby," I managed, my throat dry. "Is the baby okay?"

Mark' s eyes welled up. He looked devastated.

"The doctors... they did everything they could, Sarah."

No.

The word lodged in my throat.

He didn't need to say more.

Tears streamed down my face, hot and unstoppable. Our baby. Gone.

A nurse came in, her expression somber.

She checked my vitals, then spoke softly.

"Mrs. Henderson, due to the severity of your internal injuries from the assault, the doctors had to perform an emergency hysterectomy."

Hysterectomy?

The word echoed in the sterile room.

"It means... you won't be able to carry another pregnancy."

Infertile.

The world tilted.

Mark squeezed my hand tighter, his face pale. "It's okay, Sarah. We'll get through this."

Later, I drifted in and out of a drugged sleep.

Through a haze, I heard voices outside my door.

Mark's voice. And David Young, his best friend and business associate.

"It's a nightmare, David. A complete nightmare," Mark was saying, his voice low but clear.

"I can't believe this happened," David replied, his tone sympathetic.

Then Mark's voice dropped even lower, a conspiratorial edge to it.

"Look, between us... I'm relieved in a way. You know I promised Jessica her baby would be my first."

My blood ran cold.

Jessica. His mistress. I knew about her, suspected for months, but never had proof.

"Mark, what are you saying?" David sounded shocked.

"The attackers... Jessica hired them. It was supposed to be a warning, to scare Sarah into a miscarriage. Not... this. Jessica just needs to get a plea deal for the 'misunderstanding.' It all went too far."

A plea deal. For murdering my child. For destroying my body.

The man feigning devastation by my bedside, my husband, was complicit.

He wanted Jessica' s child to be his firstborn.

He was relieved I lost our baby.

The pain in my heart was a thousand times worse than any physical injury.

Betrayal, cold and absolute, settled over me.