Chapter 3

"You're the mistress!"

Diane's shrill voice cuts through the room.

My back slams into the wall.

Pain twists through my abdomen.

Before I can steady myself, Diane rips the baby from my arms and hands him back to Chloe.

Ethan's officers immediately start shouting.

"Everyone in the department knows Chief Cole and Chloe belong together."

"Chloe helped him crack some of his biggest cases."

"That's why he made chief so fast."

I stare at them.

Chloe helped him?

Those cases were mine.

Ethan used to come home with files he couldn't make sense of.

I stayed up night after night going through evidence, timelines, financial records and witness statements.

I gave him the leads and connected the dots.

And now he's giving Chloe credit for that too?

One of the officers sneers at me.

"You're just the crazy ex who kept dragging him down."

I look past all of them.

"Ethan."

My voice is weak, but the room quiets.

"Tell them."

"Tell everyone how you became chief."

"You told me fieldwork was too dangerous. You didn't want to risk your life, so you wanted a desk position. I helped you."

"After we got engaged, you said your rank wasn't high enough. You said you weren't good enough for me."

"I went to my father."

Ethan's jaw tightens.

"And every time a case was too complicated, who stayed up all night helping you find the break you needed?"

"Enough!"

Ethan storms toward me.

His hand closes around my throat. "You liar!" he snarls, tightening his grip.

Black spots explode across my vision.

"Everything I have, I earned myself!"

His face twists with rage.

"I don't owe you a damn thing!"

Ethan's reaction says more than I ever could.

Chloe notices it too.

She suddenly drops to her knees in front of me, still holding the baby.

"Sienna, please."

She starts sobbing.

"I've ignored your lies before because I know you've been struggling."

"But you can't say things like this here. You'll destroy Ethan's career."

She grabs my pant leg.

"I'm begging you. Stop."

Ethan immediately releases my throat and bends down to help her.

Before he can reach her, Chloe hooks an arm around my leg and throws herself backward.

She screams.

"Ah! Sienna, stop kicking me!"

I freeze.

I never touched her.

But Ethan doesn't hesitate.

His palm crashes across my face.

Pain explodes through my cheek.

"Sienna! I've had enough of your bullshit!"

I raise my hand to hit him back.

Before I can, Diane kicks me hard in the lower back.

I fly forward and crash into a display cabinet.

The second I hit the floor, a violent pain tears through my stomach.

Then something warm runs down my legs. When I look down, I see blood. A lot of it.

The room blurs.

"My baby..."

I reach toward Ethan.

"Ethan... my stomach..."

Diane steps on my hand.

"Stop pretending," she spits. "My son isn't falling for your tricks anymore."

Tears blur my vision.

"I'm not pretending."

I look at Ethan.

"Please... take me to the hospital."

He doesn't even turn around.

He's checking Chloe's arms, making sure she isn't hurt.

"Enough, Sienna."

"Apologize to Chloe."

"You always use pregnancy to manipulate me. I'm not falling for it again."

Then he finally looks back.

His eyes drop to the blood spreading beneath me.

For one second, the anger disappears from his face, replaced by fear.

He knows exactly who my family is.

He knows what will happen if he stands here and lets me bleed.

I grip the edge of the cabinet, fighting through another wave of pain.

"Ethan Cole."

He looks at me.

"If anything happens to this baby..."

I force every word through clenched teeth.

"...you killed your own child."

His face turns white.

I press one shaking hand against my stomach.

"And when my father and my brother find out what you did here today..."

I stare at Ethan, Diane, Chloe, and every officer who laid a hand on me.

"...every one of you is going to answer for it."

Another cramp tears through me.

I gasp.

"Now get me to a hospital!"