Chapter 2

Through the reflection in the vanity mirror, my eyes locked onto the sealed envelope dangling from his hand, the genetic lab's logo stamped starkly across the paper.

Just the sight of it made my stomach churn violently. As long as Julian never saw what was inside, the agonizing, despair-soaked death of my past life wouldn't repeat itself.

Forcing a bright smile, I gently twisted out of his embrace. With feigned playfulness, I snatched the envelope right out of his grip.

"I'll take that," I said, keeping my tone perfectly light. "You're a pediatrician. Don't you get sick of staring at lab results all day at the hospital?"

Julian chuckled, his eyes swimming with that familiar, doting warmth. "I'm the father. Isn't it perfectly normal to want a first look at our little genius's health vitals?"

"Dr. Genevieve already assured us that both the baby and I are in perfect health," I countered smoothly. "She's incredibly experienced. Don't you trust her?"

"Of course I do. I just want to review the raw data so I can tailor your next nutritional plan."

"Nice try, but not today. It's our baby shower. I don't want to get bogged down in boring medical stats. Today is about celebrating." I slipped the envelope into my clutch.

Chalking it up to hormonal mood swings, he easily yielded. "Alright, alright. Not today. You and the baby being happy is what matters most. Come on downstairs. Everyone's waiting for you."

As we descended the grand staircase arm in arm, the expansive living room of our luxury villa had been transformed into a festive wonderland. Pastel balloons drifted lazily against the vaulted ceilings, the crisp clink of champagne flutes echoed through the air, and a mountain of expensive gifts swallowed the coffee table.

The room was packed. Our closest friends mingled with a slew of Julian's highly respected fellow doctors from the hospital.

For the next hour or so, I was trapped in a vibrant, exhausting performance. Julian played the flawless host, exuding his effortless charm and commanding the room.

Seizing a moment when he was cornered by a group of colleagues over drinks, I shifted the strap of my clutch with a polite smile. "I'm going to run to the powder room to touch up. Don't let me interrupt."

With that, I gripped my bag and slipped away from the deafening chatter of the living room, ducking into the half-bath at the end of the hall.

My hands were trembling slightly. Leaning heavily against the locked door, I took a deep, shuddering breath. I'd forced the report out of my mind during the party, but now, finally, I had a chance to decipher the truth. I had to know exactly what horrifying reality lay within those pages—what could possibly turn everyone I loved into murderous monsters at a single glance.

But the moment the metal clasp of my purse snapped open, my stomach bottomed out.

It was empty. The envelope was gone.

A sheen of cold sweat instantly broke out across my back. Panic seizing my throat, I threw open the door and darted back out, my eyes frantically scanning the hallway.

Just outside the mahogany doors of the study, right around the corner, I froze.

There stood Julian. The torn remnants of the envelope lay discarded on the oriental rug, and gripped tightly in his hands was the thick stack of lab results.

His eyes snapped up, catching me dead to rights.

Pure instinct told me to run, to sprint backward into the safety of the crowd, but he lunged forward, his fingers snapping around my arm like a steel vice. The grip was suffocatingly tight, grinding fiercely against the bone.

"Eleanor, we can't keep this baby. We're terminating it. Now," he hissed, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper.

In my past life, I could never fathom how one piece of paper could mutate my tender, doting husband into a complete, monstrous stranger. The unadulterated ferocity and revulsion simmering in his eyes made my entire body shake uncontrollably.

But I had already died once. This time, I refused to let history repeat itself.

Mustering every ounce of adrenaline in my system, I violently shoved him away. I spun on my heel, sprinting straight toward the crowded living room, and screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Help! Somebody help me! Julian is trying to kill my baby!"

The smooth jazz and lively chatter in the living room died instantly.

Guests stared in stunned silence as I burst out of the hallway, the crowd instinctively parting before surging forward.

Julian never anticipated I would drag this out into the open. The moment he chased me out of the corridor, I had already cowered behind a protective cluster of female guests, sobbing in theatrical agony.

"Julian, Dr. Genevieve said the baby is perfectly fine! Why are you trying to force me into an abortion?!"

His jaw locked so hard I thought his teeth might shatter. The veins bulged against the skin of his neck. "Shut your mouth!" he barked, his voice sharp and low. "Get back here!"

He took a menacing step forward to drag me away, but the horrified onlookers weren't having it. They immediately swarmed, forming a solid human barricade in front of me.

Evans, a fellow pediatrician, shoved him back hard. "Julian, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

Another medical colleague shouted indignantly. "Jesus Christ, man! The baby is healthy! You're trying to force her to abort at Gender Reveal Party?"

"Forcing a pregnant woman to terminate... that's a violent felony! Back off, or we're calling the cops!"

Julian's chest heaved with rapid, ragged breaths. The muscles in his jaw ticked as his gaze cut right through the crowd, piercing me with a feral intensity I had never seen before.

But he was entirely surrounded by high-society witnesses, and his medical peers were standing practically shoulder-to-shoulder on high alert.

I thought I was safe. I thought I had broken his immediate trap.

Instead, Julian completely ignored them all.

Without offering a single syllable of explanation to his shocked colleagues, he reached into his slacks, pulled out his phone, and dialed my parents.

"Margaret," Julian said icily, turning his back to the murmuring crowd. "You and Richard need to get over here. Right now."