She flicks her eyes toward my stomach meaningfully.
The blood in my veins turns to ice.
“I don’t know what he sees in you,” she says, her voice thick with venom. “Pathetic. Weak. Acting like some wide-eyed, little martyr. You tricked him, didn’t you? Got yourself pregnant so he’d stay with you.”
My eyes narrow. “That’s not true. Ethan loves me.”
Saying it aloud steadies me.
It’s real.
He loves me. And he’s not going to stop looking for me.
Rose laughs again, the sound high and shrill. “We’ll see how much he loves you when that little parasite inside you is gone.”
The implication slams into me like a fist.
‘Gone.’
She’s not just threatening me. She’s threatening my baby.
Terror claws at my throat, but underneath it, something hotter sparks to life. Rage. I won’t let her hurt my baby.
“You won’t get away with this,” I say, forcing my voice to stay level. “Ethan will find me.”
“He might,” she says carelessly. “Eventually. But by then, it’ll be too late.”
The car jerks down a narrow alley, tires squealing. She pulls up to a nondescript lot next to a grimy building that looks abandoned. My stomach lurches.
“Where are we?” I whisper.
Rose cuts the engine and turns to me, all fake sweetness now. “This is the next part of the plan.”
She gets out of the car, and I quickly try to open the door with my hands tied, only to realize she’s put a child lock on it. Only she can open it. Panic surges through me as I tug frantically at the handle.
The door opens, and I hear another familiar voice, one that has chills running down my spine.
My mother.
Her face is twisted into something cold and cruel, her lips curled with disgust as her gaze sweeps over me—the zip-tie cutting into my wrists, the raw terror in my eyes.
“Figures you’d end up like this,” she says mockingly.
The breath leaves my lungs in a sharp, stunned rush.
No. No.
This can’t be real.
Behind her, Rose laughs, the sound sharp and triumphant.
“You should thank me,” Rose purrs. “After all, I’ve reunited you with Mommy Dearest.”
My mother steps aside just enough for Rose to pull me out of the car and throw me at my mother’s feet. “She’s all yours.”
“You’ve been helping her?” I whisper, my voice hoarse, as I stare at my mother.
Rose beams. “Oh, honey. She didn’t need much convincing. Seems your own mother’s had it out for you longer than I have.”
