Chapter 1 - THE NIGHT HE CHOSE TO HUMILIATE HIS WIFE|
The first thing Sarah Bennett noticed was that her husband had stopped pretending to love her.
Daniel Bennett stood beneath the crystal chandeliers of the Grand Sterling Hotel, one arm wrapped around Chloe Harrington, his glamorous mistress. He was laughing at something she whispered, completely unconcerned that his pregnant wife sat alone at the most visible table in the ballroom.
Sarah was seven months pregnant. Her back ached, her ankles were swollen, and her wedding ring felt unusually heavy on her finger.
Still, she had dressed carefully for the evening. Her pale blue maternity gown had been altered by a seamstress who worked out of a tiny apartment, and she had pinned her late mother's pearl brooch above her heart.
Daniel had invited her personally.
It's important that you attend, he'd said that morning. People need to see us together.
She had foolishly believed him.
Across the room, Chloe leaned close to Daniel and whispered something that made him smile.
Then she looked directly at Sarah.
The smile became a smirk.
Sarah lowered her eyes.
She had endured months of public neglect, unexplained absences, and whispered rumors about her marriage. She had learned that humiliation was often delivered in small doses before someone finally decided to make it a spectacle.
Tonight, apparently, Daniel had decided to stop being subtle.
Chloe approached Sarah's table with a champagne glass in one hand.
"Well, look at you," she said. "Sitting here all alone. Doesn't your husband ever get tired of pretending you're still his wife?"
Sarah looked up.
"Please go back to your table, Chloe."
"Your table?" Chloe laughed. "Daniel paid for this entire event. Technically, everything here belongs to him."
"Then perhaps he should spend less time showing off and more time learning basic manners."
A few nearby guests turned toward them.
Chloe's expression tightened.
She stepped behind Sarah's chair and nudged it with her heel.
"Maybe you should learn your place."
Then she kicked one of the chair legs.
The chair lurched backward.
Sarah gasped, instinctively wrapping both arms around her belly. Her fingers caught the table's edge just before she lost her balance. A wineglass fell and shattered across the marble floor.
The orchestra stopped.
For several seconds, the ballroom was silent.
Sarah's heart hammered against her ribs. She could feel the baby moving beneath her hands.
Chloe stepped back, looking pleased with herself.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic. You're perfectly fine."
Daniel finally approached.
Sarah looked at him, waiting for the anger, the concern, or even the smallest indication that he understood what had just happened.
Instead, he laughed.
"Chloe, sweetheart, you can't keep frightening people like that."
His tone made it sound like a private joke.
Sarah stared at him.
"She kicked my chair."
Daniel glanced around at the watching guests.
"You're making a scene."
Something inside Sarah went very still.
She slowly straightened her dress, checked that her chair was stable, and placed one hand over her unborn child.
Then she looked at her husband.
"You're right, Daniel."
He seemed surprised.
"About what?"
"Everyone is watching."
Sarah reached into her handbag and took out her phone.
She pressed one button.
And smiled.
Daniel's amusement disappeared.
Because he recognized the screen.
May you like
It was the emergency contact application connected to his company's security system—and the button she'd just pressed had alerted the hotel's security director, her obstetrician, and the attorney who had been waiting for her call.
The evening was about to become something neither Daniel nor Chloe could control.
