Eight Months Pregnant, I Found My Husband Holding Another Woman on Christmas Eve—By Morning, My Ring Was Under the Tree and His Empire Was Falling Apart

Marcus Hale had been Roman's head of security for six years. He was built like a retired linebacker and rarely showed emotion.

That night, he looked worried.

He held my hospital bag in one hand and raised the other before I could speak.

"Mrs. Carter, I need you to listen before you decide whether to scream."

"Where did you get my bag?"

"Mr. Carter told me to move it to the west car."

"Why?"

Marcus glanced at Margaret, then at the camera above the door.

"Not here."

He led us into the mudroom and reached up. With one practiced movement, he unplugged the camera cable.

"He told me you were upset," Marcus said. "He said you might try to leave and that no vehicle was to take you off the property without his approval."

A cold wave rolled through me.

"He gave that order before I saw the photo?"

"At nine forty-two."

Margaret crossed her arms. "And you followed the order."

Marcus looked ashamed. "Until I heard why."

"You saw him with Claire?"

"I drove him there."

The room went silent.

I gripped the counter.

"So take me to a hotel. Anywhere."

"A hotel is the first place he'll look. So is your sister's house, your old apartment, your doctor's office, and every property tied to your maiden name."

"Then where?"

Marcus handed me a small brass key.

"Your father's office."

My breath caught.

Dad had died four years earlier. The office had been locked ever since.

"Why would I go there?"

"Because two weeks before he died, your father made me promise something."

"You knew my father?"

"Better than Roman realized."

Marcus opened my hospital bag. Inside, beneath the robe and baby clothes, lay a sealed envelope with my maiden name written across it in my father's handwriting.

SAVANNAH REED.

My knees nearly gave out.

"Where did you find that?"

"Inside the lining of the bag. I felt it when Mr. Carter told me to move your things."

The envelope had been there for years. My mother had given me the bag after Dad died, telling me he had bought it when Roman and I first started trying for a baby.

My hands shook as I opened it.

There was only one sheet of paper.

Savannah,

If you are reading this because you are afraid to leave your husband, then I was right to worry.

Do not go to the police first.

Go to my office.

The safe code is your birthday.

Inside is the one thing Roman cannot afford for you to see.

I looked up at Marcus.