Audra crouched on the wet concrete, her body shaking violently in the freezing wind. It took several long minutes before she could gather enough strength to push herself up. She grabbed the rusted iron railing, her knuckles white, and forced herself to stand.

Before she could take a single step, a blinding beam of high-beam headlights hit her directly in the face. She threw her arm up to shield her eyes.

The black Lincoln hadn't left. It had reversed aggressively, the tires screeching as it slammed to a halt just two meters away from her.

Eben threw his door open. His handmade leather shoes splashed into a puddle of dirty water. He marched toward her, his body radiating a dark, volatile energy.

Audra instinctively shrank back against the railing.

Eben reached her in three strides. He grabbed her thin wrists, yanking her forward. Her chest slammed hard against his solid torso.

He ducked his head and crushed his mouth against hers.

It wasn't a kiss. It was an act of violence, a brutal punishment. His teeth clashed against hers, biting down on her lower lip until the sharp, metallic taste of fresh blood flooded both their mouths.

Audra whimpered in pain. She pushed her hands frantically against his broad chest, trying to wedge some space between them.

Eben ignored her struggles. His large, rough hand slid down the curve of her waist. In his aggressive haste, his fingers caught the fabric belt of her trench coat and ripped it open.

The wind instantly caught the edges of the coat, blowing it back. The thin silk dress she wore underneath plastered itself tightly against her stomach.

Eben's hand moved lower. His fingertips brushed against her lower abdomen.

He felt a thick, raised line of scarred flesh through the thin silk.

His hand froze instantly.

He shoved her away so hard she stumbled back against the railing. The impact caused the hem of her silk dress to ride up sharply, catching in the wind. His eyes dropped to her lower abdomen, locking onto the ugly, horizontal C-section scar suddenly laid bare beneath the harsh lights.

The air in the alley seemed to solidify. Eben's chest heaved. His breathing turned ragged. The edges of his eyes turned a furious, bloodshot red as extreme jealousy and rage consumed him.

"You actually..." he gritted his teeth, his voice sounding like it was being dragged over broken glass. "You had a child for him?"

Audra clutched her stomach, her face draining of all color until she looked like a corpse. A phantom pain ripped through her womb. She opened her mouth to explain, but the terrifying weight of Anderson's non-disclosure agreement and the threat to her mother's life clamped her throat shut.

"That was..." she rasped, her voice dry and broken.

Eben didn't give her a chance to finish. He lunged forward, his large hand wrapping tightly around her throat. He slammed her back against the freezing iron railing.

"You disgust me! Your body is filthy!" he roared, his fingers automatically tightening around her windpipe.

A severe lack of oxygen hit Audra's brain. Dark spots danced in her vision. She couldn't breathe. Tears of pure agony leaked from the corners of her eyes, sliding down her cheeks and dropping onto the back of Eben's hand.

The moment the scalding hot tears hit his skin, Eben flinched as if he had been burned by fire. He released her neck instantly, taking a sharp step back.

Audra slid down the railing, collapsing onto the ground. She clutched her bruised throat, coughing violently as she sucked in greedy mouthfuls of cold air.

Eben stared down at her. The pain of betrayal in his eyes hardened into absolute, impenetrable ice.

"Anderson Hopper's bastard," he sneered, every word a calculated strike to her heart. "Was that the price you demanded to sell me out?"

Audra's heart was ripped to shreds. That baby was his. It was their flesh and blood, and he was standing here cursing it with the most vicious words imaginable.

While Eben was blinded by his own rage, Audra pushed herself off the ground. Driven by pure survival instinct, she turned and sprinted toward the dark, empty road leading away from the bridge.

She ran like a hunted animal. One of her heels snapped, the shoe falling off, but she didn't stop. She ran barefoot on the freezing asphalt, desperate to escape the monster he had become.

Eben stood perfectly still. He didn't chase her. He watched her limping, pathetic figure disappear into the shadows, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles popped.

He pulled his phone from his pocket. He dialed his assistant's number. His voice was absolute zero.

"Initiate the full short-selling protocol against the Hopper Group. I want Anderson bankrupt in three days."

He paused, his eyes fixed on the empty darkness where Audra had vanished.

"And dig up everything on that woman. I want her ruined in this city. I want her begging for death."

At three in the morning, Audra dragged her feet toward the massive wrought-iron gates of the Hopper estate. She was missing a shoe. Her bare foot was cut and bleeding. Her trench coat was caked in mud, and her hair hung in wet, tangled clumps around her pale face.

The security guard in the booth saw her miserable state. He immediately grabbed his radio to report in, pressing the button to swing the heavy gates open. He escorted her quickly toward the main house.

The grand foyer was blazing with light. Anderson sat in the center of the room on a tufted leather sofa. A thick cigar burned between his fingers. His face was a mask of dark, brewing violence.

Hearing her heavy, dragging footsteps, Anderson snapped his head up. His eyes instantly zeroed in on the dark, purple bruises forming in the shape of a handprint on her pale neck, and her torn, disheveled clothing.

He threw the cigar onto the marble floor and closed the distance between them in three long strides. His hands clamped down on her frail shoulders like vices.

"Where the hell did you go? Who put these marks on your neck?" he demanded, his voice sharp with panic and the furious jealousy of a man who thought his property had been touched.

Audra didn't flinch. She slowly raised her hands and pushed his arms away. Her eyes were as empty as a dried-up well. "I went to see if a dead man was still breathing."

Anderson's face hardened. A flicker of guilt and anxiety crossed his eyes before he masked it with rage. "You... you saw Eben Gill."

He spun around, grabbed a heavy crystal ashtray off the coffee table, and hurled it violently at the wall. The crystal shattered into a thousand glittering pieces, raining down on the floor.

"Go find out!" Anderson roared over his shoulder to a trembling assistant by the door. "I want to know exactly whose mysterious funds are aggressively shorting my company on Wall Street! What? Preliminary reports are pointing to that new tech billionaire, Eben Gill? !" He turned back to Audra, his chest heaving.

Hearing this, a tiny, almost imperceptible ripple crossed Audra's dead eyes. Eben's revenge was already moving with terrifying speed.

"He doesn't just have his face. He is Kendall," Audra said. She stared directly into Anderson's bloodshot eyes, her voice flat and absolute.

Anderson froze for a second. Then, a cruel, mocking laugh erupted from his chest. He reached out and pinched her dirty, tear-stained cheek.

"Even if he is, so what? Do you really think he wants a woman who lied to him and crawled into my bed?" he sneered, twisting the knife into her deepest wound.

The words hit their mark. Audra's body trembled slightly, the rims of her eyes turning a raw, painful red.

Anderson stepped closer. His voice dropped to a soft, lethal whisper. "You are mine. You are going to die in this house."

Something inside Audra snapped. A sudden, violent burst of energy flooded her exhausted muscles. She shoved both her hands hard against Anderson's chest.

"I am done!" she screamed, her voice echoing hysterically off the high ceilings. "I am leaving this place! I cannot look at your disgusting, hypocritical face for one more second!"

Anderson stumbled back a step. His eyes darkened, turning incredibly dangerous. He looked like a predator that had just been challenged by its prey.

He lunged forward. He threw his arms around her waist, hoisted her over his shoulder like a sack of flour, and ignored her frantic kicking and punching. He marched over to the sofa and threw her down hard against the leather cushions.

His massive body pinned her down. His hands locked around her wrists, pressing them deeply into the upholstery.

"Leave?" he laughed, a dark, ugly sound. "You signed the NDA. I hold the evidence of your father's crimes in my safe. Where exactly do you think you can go?" He laid out his trump cards, expecting her to cower.

Audra stopped fighting. The fight drained out of her completely. Hot tears slid from the corners of her eyes, disappearing into her hairline. "Is threatening me the only thing you know how to do?"

Anderson stared at the tears tracking down her pale skin. A sudden, inexplicable irritation tightened his chest. Without realizing it, his grip on her wrists loosened slightly.

"Just stay here and be good," he tried to coax her, his tone shifting to a sick kind of reasoning. "I will handle Eben Gill. We can go back to the way things were..."

"The way things were?" Audra interrupted, a cold, bitter smile forming on her lips. "You mean watching you destroy my entire life with your lies?"

She took a deep breath. She turned her head, fixing her dead, empty gaze on the intricate molding of the ceiling.

"Anderson, let me go. Or kill me right now." Her voice held absolutely no desire to live.

Anderson looked at her lifeless face as if he had been struck by lightning. His hands slowly released her wrists, falling limply to his sides.

He stood up. He turned his back to her, his broad shoulders tense. His voice was hoarse as he barked an order to the guards standing by the door.

"Lock her in her room. No one goes in without my explicit permission." He then turned his lethal glare to the head of security. "Weld every single ventilation grate in this house shut. Install three-tier biometric locks and laser grids on every exterior door. If she manages to slip out again, I will personally see to it that you all end up at the bottom of the river."

Audra was dragged up the stairs by Marla, her feet stumbling over the thick carpet. She was shoved into her bedroom. From the outside, the heavy thud of a metal chain being wrapped around the handles and locked into place echoed through the wood.

The room was pitch black. Audra collapsed onto the cold hardwood floor, pulling her knees to her chest.

Her mind was a torture chamber. Eben's voice played on a continuous, agonizing loop in her head. Anderson Hopper's bastard.

The words chewed at her heart like venomous snakes. The physical pain in her chest was so sharp she had to press her fist against her sternum just to breathe.

The next evening, the heavy chain rattled. The door creaked open.

Anderson walked in. He carried a silver tray holding a steaming plate of French cuisine. He set the tray down on the mahogany table and looked down at Audra, who was still curled weakly on the floor. He tried to project an aura of benevolent mercy.

"Eat something. You haven't had a bite in twenty-four hours," he said, his tone stiff but coaxing.

Audra slowly lifted her head. Her tangled hair hid half her face, but her eyes were sharp, cutting through the dim light like razor blades.

"You murdered my child with your own hands, and now you want to play the caring host?" she rasped. Her voice was destroyed, but the anger beneath it was volcanic.

Anderson's face stiffened. The hand holding a glass of water twitched, spilling a few drops. His eyes darted away from hers. "That was a medical complication. The doctors did everything they could..."

"A complication?" Audra found a sudden, terrifying strength. She scrambled to her feet, grabbed the edge of the silver tray, and violently flipped it over.

The expensive bone china shattered against the floor with a deafening crash. Hot soup splattered across Anderson's immaculate leather shoes.

"I heard it!" Audra screamed, stepping right into his personal space, forcing him to back up. "I heard my baby cry! A weak little cry! It was only after you walked into that operating room that it went completely dead silent!"

Anderson's mask of calm completely shattered. He sucked in a sharp breath. The fake guilt in his eyes vanished, replaced by a cold, ruthless darkness.

"I merely ensured that the operating room followed standard protocols," he sneered, his voice a chilling, ambiguous whisper that twisted the knife deeper. "Perhaps that bastard simply wasn't lucky enough to survive. After all, it carried the tainted blood of a criminal. It never deserved to breathe the same air as me!"

The confession hit Audra like a physical bullet. All the strength vanished from her legs. She collapsed backward, her knees hitting the edge of the mattress as she slid to the floor.

She covered her face with her bleeding hands. A raw, gut-wrenching wail tore from her throat. It was the sound of a soul being ripped in half. That baby was her and Kendall's only connection, and it had been systematically murdered.

Anderson watched her sob over another man's child. A twisted, ugly jealousy twisted his gut.

He crouched down. He grabbed her wrists and forcefully ripped her hands away from her face, making her look at him.

"Once you have nothing left of him, you will finally belong to me," he whispered, his eyes wide with manic obsession.

Audra stopped crying instantly. The tears dried on her cheeks. A new, freezing cold hatred ignited in the depths of her eyes.

She gathered the saliva in her mouth and spat directly into Anderson's face.

"You make me sick," she said, emphasizing every single syllable.

Anderson's face turned purple with fury. He raised his hand high, ready to strike her across the face. But his hand froze in mid-air. Even in his rage, his twisted love for her stopped him from causing her physical harm.

He slowly lowered his hand. He pulled a silk handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the spit from his cheek. He let out a dark, humorless chuckle.

He reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a glossy photograph. He tossed it onto her lap.

It was a picture of Eleanor, Kendall's mother and the woman who had raised Audra. She was lying in a sterile nursing home bed, looking incredibly frail, tubes running into her arms.

"You want to leave me? Fine," Anderson smiled, a chilling, demonic expression. "But I guarantee you, the second you step foot outside this estate, Eleanor will suffer a fatal 'medication error' by tomorrow morning."

A violent shudder ran through Audra's body. She snatched the photo off her lap, her fingers gripping the edges so tightly her knuckles turned stark white.

"You animal! She is my mother too!" she screamed, grabbing a pillow from the bed and hurling it at his head.

Anderson easily dodged it. He stood up, calmly adjusting the lapels of his suit, reclaiming his position of absolute power.

"So, play your role as Mrs. Hopper. I will have a car ready for you tomorrow so you can go visit her."

He walked out. The door slammed. The chains locked. Audra pressed the photograph tightly against her chest. The despair in her eyes was gone, replaced by a burning, desperate fire. She had to break the NDA. She had to get Eleanor out.