My adopted sister, Louise Hayes, and I married into the same family—the Donovans—wedding the brothers Alvin and Anker, heirs to a New York real estate empire.

I married the eldest son, Alvin, the cool-headed rationalist at the helm of the Donovan's primary operations. Louise married Anker, who managed the family's diversified businesses.

We became pregnant in the same year. In just a few months, our children would be able to activate a multi-billion-dollar trust fund, a lifeline meant to save their family's business from the brink of bankruptcy.

Just two months before my due date, the gates of our Hamptons estate were kicked open.

The intruders pushed me down the stairs without a shred of mercy, then forcibly injected me with a drug to induce labor.

I screamed for my personal assistant, Maria, to run, to go get my husband, Alvin.

But all I got was a cold message from his assistant, relaying his fury through the phone.

"Didn't you claim you wanted a quiet pregnancy? Didn't you insist on staying in the Hamptons? Now you're pulling this cheap stunt just to get me to ditch a charity gala? I don't have time for this nonsense. Cassidy's company is in crisis and she's a wreck. I'm with her."

The drug was taking effect. I could feel my baby struggling violently inside me, as if trying to claw its way out. If Louise hadn't rushed back in time, the agonizing pain would have killed me. I'm sure of it.

She sent someone to find my husband, Alvin, demanding he seek justice for me.

However, she received the same callous reply.

"Who would dare touch you at the estate? You're perfectly safe. I'm busy helping Cassidy with her company's debt restructuring and have no time for this drama!"

Louise, also pregnant, was knocked to the ground by an attacker while trying to protect me in the chaos. She, too, lost her child.

We lay in a pool of blood, clinging to each other.

"I'm done saving their family," I whispered through my tears. "I'm divorcing Alvin."

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1

When I woke up, I ignored the stinging pain radiating through my body and immediately had my lawyer draft a divorce agreement and send it to Alvin Donovan.

More than two weeks later, the man who had been so consumed with Cassidy Sinclair's debt crisis finally appeared at our secluded Hamptons estate.

He didn't even bother to see me, his rage echoing up from downstairs.

"The Donovans are old money! I won't let you disgrace our name with this impulsiveness! You claim the baby is gone? This is just another one of your jealous ploys to compete with Cassidy."

"The heir to the Donovan family, being served divorce papers by his own wife? Unacceptable. I've tolerated your whims because that child could activate the trust fund and save this family. But you've gone too far!"

"Cassidy just got another call from her creditors. The lawyers say her company could be forced into liquidation at any moment. I just got her to stop crying. Are you trying to start her up again? If you want to leave, fine. Wait until the baby is born, and I'll personally hand you the divorce papers. Until then, you'll stay here and keep quiet!"

So that was it. He wasn't here for me. He was just terrified a divorce would tarnish his precious reputation as the family heir.

I’d long known his affection for me was a phantom. I struggled to get out of bed, determined to make him see my now-flat stomach with his own eyes.

I wanted him to know, unequivocally, that our child was gone.

But the miscarriage had ravaged my body. A wave of grief and weakness washed over me, and my legs gave out, sending me crashing to the floor.

The door flew open, and my personal assistant, Maria Flores, rushed in.

With red-rimmed eyes, she helped me back onto the bed, her voice choked with sobs. "Miss Hayes, don't go after him. He's already left."

I lay there, limp, as silent tears streamed down my cheeks.

In that moment, the last of my delusions shattered. All he had ever cared about was whether the child in my womb could activate the trust fund to save his family's business.

Whether the baby and I lived or died had never mattered to him at all.

Maria pulled a cufflink from her pocket. "I found this on the stairs after those people left."

A roaring lion emblem dominated the center, with a small 'SC' engraved in the corner. The Sinclair Group.

And there was only one person from the Sinclair Group whom my sister Louise and I knew had any dealings with the Donovan family: Cassidy Sinclair.

It was Cassidy.

This was all her doing.

To protect us and our babies, the Donovan brothers had sequestered us at this private Hamptons estate, far from the chaos of New York.

Some time ago, my father's company held its annual gala, which Louise and I attended.

On our way out, we ran into Cassidy. She greeted us with her usual disarming warmth. Since she was Alvin's childhood sweetheart, we didn't think much of it.

She mentioned that her nutritionist had recommended some supplements beneficial for pregnant women and offered to send some over. Louise, ever trusting, even sketched her a map of our estate's security routes.

Louise told Cassidy she could bring the supplements herself later. We thought it would be nice to have a friend to talk to, to break the monotony of our gilded cage.

But we never imagined her true intentions.

We waited for a whole month.

What arrived wasn't a concerned friend, but thugs who smashed through our gate, pushed me, and delivered the fatal blows.

My baby was almost full-term. Even born prematurely, he could have survived.

I heard his cries. I know I did.

I begged them to give him to me. I could still save him. I had to save him; his birth was the key to unlocking the trust fund.

I owed Alvin. He'd saved Louise and me once, and I'd made him a promise.

He had pinned all his hopes on this child. I couldn't let him down. Even if it killed me, I had to save my baby.

But my pleas were met with more blows, with the searing pain of being shoved down the stairs again.

I watched, helpless, as my son's faint breaths faded under their brutal assault, his eyes closing forever.

I was paralyzed with terror.

When Maria finally returned after a frantic, fruitless search for Alvin, I thought help had finally arrived.

Instead, Alvin was busy comforting a distraught Cassidy.

He was convinced I was lying, just to get his attention.

My baby was dead.

And Louise, who had thrown herself in front of me, had been knocked to the ground by the attackers.

She was only seven months pregnant. Just a few days ago, she had told me with a radiant smile that she could finally feel the baby move, her baby's way of saying hello.

In a flash, it was all gone.

Louise knew some self-defense, but the attackers had overwhelmed her. She was dragged into this nightmare because she was protecting me.

Even now, so weak from her own miscarriage that she could barely stand, she brought a bowl of warm chicken soup, prepared by the cook, to my room herself.

We sat side-by-side on the bed.

"I'm so sorry," I said softly. "If I hadn't been so completely fooled by Alvin, if I had been more careful, I would have seen that he and Cassidy were never just 'childhood friends.' I never would have let her into our lives. You wouldn't have lost your baby. I wouldn't have married Alvin, and you never would have met Anker."

Louise grabbed my hand, her hot tears falling onto my skin.

"It's not your fault. I was blind, too. I just found out today that Cassidy was involved with Anker as well. Don't worry, Willow. I'm with you. I'm leaving with you. I'm getting a divorce, too."

As we were plotting our escape from the two brothers, the estate's main gate was kicked open again.

It wasn't good news, and it certainly wasn't the Donovan brothers having a crisis of conscience.

They had come for Cassidy, and for their own fragile egos.

Sure enough, before anyone even set foot inside, the shouting echoed through the living room.

"Louise, you dare mention divorce to me! Have you learned nothing from that so-called sister of yours?" Anker sneered.

"She's the precious daughter of the Hayes family, the one everyone fawns over. And you? You’re just some stray they picked up to keep her company. Did you really start to believe you were some kind of socialite?"

"And now you want to leave me? Who do you think will have you after this? What man doesn't have a few women on the side? I only made you my legal wife because your child could activate the trust fund. You should have been grateful!"

"I helped Cassidy with her debt problems a few times, and now you throw a tantrum and demand a divorce? The audacity! Who the hell do you think you are?" Anker continued. "If you really want to leave, fine! I'll have the divorce papers sent over. But once they're signed, you can forget about getting a single dime from me."

Louise struggled to her feet, her eyes blazing with the intent to chase him down and slap that smirk off his face.

But the bastard didn't spare her another second.

By the time Louise staggered outside, all she caught were his retreating taillights. She ripped off her high heels and hurled one at the disappearing car.

"Anker! I told you the baby is gone! He died because of you! You won't save your family's company, and you will regret this!"

The night wind was cold, and she had just miscarried. I quickly had a maid help her back inside.

Louise and I grew up as sisters in every way that mattered, and my father treated her as his own. Everyone in the Hayes family respected her as the second daughter of the house.

But from Anker's lips, she was twisted into a pathetic orphan my family adopted merely to keep me company. It was disgusting, the vile tactics he used to try and drive a wedge between us.

In that moment, whatever warmth was left in our hearts for those men froze and shattered. We were done.

We should have realized long ago that it was a setup from the very beginning.

Last year, at a charity auction, Louise and I were cornered by a drunken investor who was getting aggressive.

If Alvin hadn't happened to pass by and intervene, we would have been in serious trouble. He claimed he was there to seek an investment partnership with my father.

But Louise and I were in the back garden. Why would a businessman so eager to meet a potential investor take such a roundabout route?

Looking back, the whole 'hero saves the damsel in distress' routine was likely staged from the start.

He played the part of the elegant gentleman so perfectly that I fell for it completely. I begged my father to step in and invest in their "capital-starved" family business.

I grew up at my father's side; being his daughter gave my name a certain power.

But I was just one person. He needed to save an entire family enterprise.

Only a child born to me—the daughter of the Hayes family, a child who could legally inherit our fortune—could provide the conditions to activate the trust fund he so desperately needed.

I begged my father again, this time to let me marry Alvin. Through that connection, Louise met Anker and was similarly ensnared by his charming lies.

In retrospect, after the weddings, both men were perpetually busy. Even when they came home, it all felt like a performance.

The moment we got pregnant, they moved out completely.

Because I liked peace and quiet, Alvin sent me directly to this remote Hamptons estate.

To the outside world, he painted himself as a considerate husband, claiming it was all my idea. All I had ever asked for was to attend fewer pointless social events.

Now, it was all painfully clear. From the start, they wanted to park Louise and me out here, to make room for Cassidy.

On the day of my father's company gala, we had originally planned not to go because of our pregnancies.

But they insisted, claiming it was crucial to present a harmonious family image.

I was heavily pregnant, feeling bloated and unwieldy.

Alvin claimed New York traffic was too congested and unsafe for a car, so he made me spend the entire evening on my feet in high heels.

I stood for almost the whole night. On the way back, I nearly collapsed and had to rest for two full weeks.

As soon as we returned, they dragged Louise and me to see Cassidy, showing zero regard for our physical state or the babies we carried.

Now I understood. They wanted to provoke her.

They wanted to dangle us in front of her—living proof that they had wives and were about to have children. It was a sick game to stoke her insecurity, to make her cling to them even tighter.

And the tactic worked.

Cassidy showed up soon after. And our children paid the price.

She had cleared away the obstacles between herself and the Donovan brothers.

That evening, the estate was unusually lively.

Cassidy even came over around dusk. She didn't look like someone on the verge of bankruptcy; instead, her eyes glinted with a hint of triumph.