Chapter 1 – The Woman in Red Falls
The mansion had never been so quiet.
Even the grandfather clock in the foyer seemed to stop ticking.
The woman in the red dress stood frozen.
Her perfectly applied makeup could no longer hide the fear spreading across her face.
"Nathan..."
Her voice trembled.
"You have to believe me."
The man didn't even turn around.
He carried the pregnant woman toward the living room sofa as if she weighed nothing.
"Call an ambulance," he ordered.
His voice was low.
Controlled.
Yet every servant rushed to obey.
No one hesitated.
Because everyone knew exactly who Nathan Ashford was.
Not just the owner of the mansion.
Not just the CEO of a billion-dollar empire.
He was the man whose word ended careers...
And whose silence was even more terrifying.
The pregnant woman slowly opened her swollen eyes.
"I'm sorry..."
she whispered.
"I ruined your family."
Nathan gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
"You didn't ruin anything."
His jaw tightened.
"They did."
He looked toward the woman in red.
"Cassandra."
"For eight months..."
"I trusted you."
"I believed every lie you told."
"You said Emily stole from you."
"You said she trapped me with a pregnancy."
"You said she was after my money."
Emily closed her eyes.
Every accusation came rushing back.
Every humiliation.
Every lonely night.
Every meal she had eaten alone in the servants' quarters despite carrying Nathan's child.
Nathan's voice became colder.
"But today..."
"The cameras told me the truth."
One of the security guards walked into the room carrying a tablet.
He pressed play.
Nobody dared breathe.
The video showed everything.
Cassandra grabbing Emily by the hair.
Slapping her.
Calling the unborn baby "a mistake."
Stepping on her hand.
Laughing.
Then rehearsing fake tears before Nathan arrived.
When the recording ended...
No one defended Cassandra.
Not even her own parents.
She dropped to her knees.
"Nathan..."
"It was jealousy."
"I loved you."
"I couldn't let her take everything."
Nathan stared at her as if she were a stranger.
"You never loved me."
"You loved what belonged to me."
He nodded toward the security team.
"Escort Miss Cassandra Monroe off my property."
"And tomorrow morning..."
"My lawyers will begin criminal proceedings."
Her scream echoed through the mansion.
"You can't do this!"
"I'll lose everything!"
Nathan answered without emotion.
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"You should have thought about that..."
"...before you tried to hurt my child."
