Chapter 1

My life took a turn after I got pregnant. I became the most envied woman in Harbor City.

My brother, Julian Hayes, was the richest man in Harbor City. My husband, Derek Thorne, was the second richest.

Throughout my entire pregnancy, they cancelled all their plans to be with me for prenatal check-ups. They spoiled me beyond belief.

Everyone said I was a princess, cherished in the palms of my brother and husband.

But on the day I went into labor, I suddenly developed an amniotic fluid embolism. My condition became critical.

The doctor, covered in sweat, held the consent form, but he couldn't reach my brother or my husband.

In despair, I received a video. It showed them on a beach, having a barbecue, full of laughter and cheerful chatter.

My brother, Julian Hayes, was diligently holding an umbrella for my stepmother, Eleanor Pierce.

And my husband, Derek Thorne, was intimately embracing my stepmother’s daughter, Valerie Pierce.

In the video, my brother chuckled, “His phone’s off. Just waiting for the good news that she and the baby would be gone.”

Derek Thorne stroked Valerie’s pregnant belly, his eyes full of doting affection. “Aurora Hayes, that idiot, still thinks the baby is mine.”

“She has no idea that the man sleeping next to her every night is just some guy I hired from a club.”

I lay on the delivery bed, my mind fading, my hatred blazing.

Just as I was about to give up, the nurse suddenly slipped my phone into my hand.

It was an anonymous text message—

A paternity test report between me and Caleb Vance.

Below it, there was a line of text:

“Aurora, hold on. I’m outside the operating room. I’ll sign for you. I want both you and the baby!”