Chapter 5

"Bunny is young and can't take care of herself. You're staying to look after her."

Chloe twiddled her thumbs, batting her eyelashes at me.

"Big Sister, Bunny hates takeout, and Bunny’s clothes must be hand-washed."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not your mother. I don't cater to brats."

Seeing my refusal, Brandon threatened me coldly.

"If you don't agree, I'll dilute your equity in the company and transfer it to Bunny."

I gritted my teeth and agreed, telling myself I only needed to endure this for three days.

In three days, the emergency shareholder meeting would take place. We would see who ended up kicked to the curb!

In the middle of the night, Brandon quietly slipped out of bed. I asked into the dark,

"Where are you going this late?"

Brandon replied matter-of-factly,

"Bunny is afraid of the dark and can't sleep alone. I'm going to keep her company."

He shut the door behind him.

Darkness always sharpens the senses. Soon, intimate, muffled noises drifted through the wall from the next room.

Chloe seemed to make her moans deliberately louder, flaunting it.

I pressed my hands over my ears in disgust, but the sounds still found their way through my fingers.

Chloe’s breathless voice carried clearly: "Brandon... who turns you on more, me or Big Sister?"

Brandon let out a low grunt.

"She’s like a dead fish in bed. She doesn't have a fraction of your charm."

Chloe moaned even more theatrically. "Because Bunny has you tonight, today is an ecstatic bunny!"

Another wave of frantic rustling began.

I lay in the dark, listening to their betrayal, silent tears running cold until the sky began to turn gray.

Rubbing my swollen, exhausted eyes, I dragged myself out of bed to take a shower and clear my head.

The moment I stepped into the bathroom, my feet flew out from under me. I slammed violently onto the hard tile floor.

A warm, heavy flow gushed between my thighs. The stark splash of crimson terrified me.

Alerted by the crash, Brandon and Chloe rushed over.

Looking at the puddle of slick liquid beneath me, I shook with fury.

"Why is there shower gel all over the floor?!"

Chloe blinked her wide, innocent eyes, crying softly as she hid behind Brandon.

"Bunny just wanted to see if the new body wash was slippery..."

Trembling with rage, I choked out, "You test body wash on your skin! Why the hell would you pour it on the floor?!"

Chloe clutched Brandon’s arm tightly.

"Bunny thought the floor wanted a smooth, slippery bath too!"

"Did Bunny... did Bunny kill Big Sister’s baby? Bunny didn't mean to!"

Chloe wailed loudly, and Brandon immediately wrapped her in his arms, soothing her frantically.

"It’s okay, it’s okay! If the baby is gone, she can always get pregnant again! Don't cry, Bunny!"

Tear tracks stained Chloe's cheeks as she sniffled, "Today is a heartbroken bunny. Bunny wants strawberry cake to feel better..."

Brandon affectionately tapped her nose. "Alright, alright, whatever my little glutton wants."

Ignoring my desperate cries of pain, he led Chloe out the door to buy cake.

Clutching my excruciatingly cramping abdomen, I crawled inch by agonizing inch toward the bedroom, grabbed my phone, and dialed 911.

My vision blurred, and darkness swallowed me whole.

When I woke up, the doctor looked down at me with a heavy sigh.

"We did everything we could, but the fetus couldn't be saved. The trauma caused severe uterine damage. It is highly unlikely you will ever be able to carry a pregnancy again." He shook his head and quietly exited the room.

I lay motionless in the hospital bed, touching my empty stomach. Tears leaked silently from the corners of my eyes.

It was fine. I would make sure everything Brandon Hayes ever cared about burned to the ground as a sacrifice for my child.

The day of the shareholder meeting arrived. Standing before the board, I produced Brandon’s signed liability waiver and the voice recordings.

Brandon sneered arrogantly, "Natalie lost her own designs! What does that have to do with me?"

I smiled, slamming the detailed incident report directly into his face.

He still had no idea.

"Take a good, hard look. Whose design was actually leaked?"