"My husband stabbed me twice over his mistress's tiny scratch and left me for dead—unaware my smartwatch recorded his confession and I was pregnant with his twins."

She wore my silk robe—the same ivory silk robe I had been wearing the afternoon Julian drove a knife into my stomach.

She sat at my vanity table, brushing her dark hair with my silver-backed brush, admiring a three-carat diamond ring Julian had bought her two days ago to "calm her nerves" after the incident.

The bedroom door swung open sharply.

Julian walked into the suite, his hair disheveled, his tie unbuttoned at his collar, his face pale, sweat beading along his hairline. He slammed the oak door shut behind him, pulling a crystal decanter from the side table, pouring himself a double shot of scotch with trembling hands.

Selena turned around on the vanity chair, a pout forming on her soft, painted lips.

"Julian, darling," Selena whimpered softly, getting up to wrap her arms around his waist. "Where have you been all morning? I made reservations for us at the club—"

Julian shoved her back so violently that her heels caught the edge of the plush rug. She stumbled against the foot of the bed, her hazel eyes widening in total, shocked disbelief.

"Julian!" Selena shrieked. "What is wrong with you?!"

"She's pregnant, Selena!" Julian bellowed, his voice echoing off the high plaster ceilings, his hand shaking so violently he dropped his scotch glass onto the rug, shattering it into a dozen glinting shards. "Nora is pregnant! Eleven weeks! Twins!"

Selena froze. The delicate, victimized mask she had worn for three weeks slipped away, revealing the cold, sociopathic malice beneath.

"Twins...?" Selena repeated, her tone dropping into a low, icy register. "So what? She's lying, Julian. She probably bought a fake ultrasound online to manipulate you into coming back."

"I saw the scan with my own eyes, Selena!" Julian screamed, grabbing his hair with both hands, pacing frantically across the room. "The doctor showed me! Two babies! I nearly killed my own children because of your stupid scratch!"

Selena’s eyes narrowed into dangerous, lethal slits. She stepped over the broken glass, her silk robe trailing behind her.

"My 'stupid scratch'?" Selena hissed, stepping right into his space, her chin raised, her eyes burning with a dark, unyielding fire. "You stood in this room three days ago, Julian, and you swore to me that you loved me! You told me Nora was an obstacle! You picked up that knife yourself, Julian! I didn't hold your hand while you drove it into her!"

Julian stopped pacing, staring at her as if seeing a monster standing in his bedroom.

"You told me she attacked you downtown..." Julian rasped out, his breath coming in shallow, terrified hitches. "You told me she threatened you with scissors..."

Selena let out a sharp, mocking laugh that sent an icy shiver straight down Julian's spine.

"And you believed me because you wanted an excuse to get rid of her, Julian," Selena sneered, tapping her manicured nail against his broad chest. "You wanted her fifty-one percent voting equity in Vance Enterprises so you could finalize the merger with the Swiss group! Don't pretend you're an innocent victim here!"

Julian stumbled back against the wall, his face drained of every last drop of blood.

His phone chimed sharply in his pocket.

He pulled it out with trembling fingers, looking at the display screen.

It was an emergency summons from the State's Attorney's Office of Cook County, accompanied by a formal freeze order on all primary executive accounts held by Vance Enterprises.

At the bottom of the notification was a single, devastating sentence: EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY COMPLAINANT NORA VANCE HAS BEEN VALIDATED BY FORENSIC ANALYSIS.

Julian’s phone slipped from his fingers, crashing flat onto the rug.

Selena looked down at the dark phone screen, then looked up at Julian's hollowed, horror-stricken face.

"What evidence...?" Selena whispered, her voice finally trembling with a sudden, horrifying realization.