Danae marched down the thick carpet of the hotel corridor, her pace aggressive as she headed straight for the elevator banks. She needed to get out of this building.

"Danae! Wait!"

Jordyn's voice echoed down the hall, artificially pitched up into a desperate, trembling whine.

Danae ignored her. She reached the elevators and slammed her palm against the call button.

Footsteps rushed up behind her. Jordyn's hand clamped down hard around Danae's left wrist.

Danae stopped. She turned her head, her eyes narrowing with pure irritation. "Let go of me."

Jordyn's acrylic nails dug painfully into Danae's skin, leaving crescent-shaped indentations. But Jordyn wasn't looking at Danae. Her eyes were fixed on the far end of the hallway.

Danae followed her gaze.

Coming around the corner was Adrian, flanked by his executive assistant.

The moment Adrian was in clear view, Jordyn turned back to Danae. A sickening, triumphant smile stretched across Jordyn's face.

Then, Jordyn let go of Danae's wrist.

Jordyn threw her own body backward. She launched herself through the air like a ragdoll.

Her back slammed violently into a heavy wooden display pedestal against the wall. The impact echoed loudly down the corridor.

Jordyn slid to the floor. She curled into the fetal position, clutching her flat stomach, and let out a blood-curdling, agonizing scream.

Adrian's head snapped up.

He dropped the leather folder in his hands. The papers scattered across the floor.

"Jordyn!" Adrian roared.

He sprinted down the hallway, his heavy shoes pounding against the floorboards beneath the carpet.

Danae stood frozen in shock, staring down at the woman writhing on the floor.

Adrian reached them. He didn't slow down. He dropped his shoulder and rammed his body full-force into Danae.

The impact knocked the breath out of her lungs. Danae flew backward, her spine crashing brutally against the cold steel doors of the elevator. Pain radiated down her ribs.

Adrian dropped to his knees. His hands were shaking violently as he pulled Jordyn into his chest.

"She pushed me!" Jordyn sobbed, burying her face in Adrian's neck. "Adrian, my stomach! It hurts so much!"

Adrian's head whipped around. The look in his eyes wasn't just anger; it was pure, unadulterated murder. The muscle in his jaw ticked so hard it looked like the bone might snap.

"You vicious monster," Adrian snarled, his voice vibrating with rage.

Danae rubbed her bruised shoulder, standing up straight. "She threw herself backward. It's an act."

Jordyn let out another pathetic whimper, her fingers digging into Adrian's shirt.

Adrian's eyes went completely feral. He slid his arms under Jordyn's knees and back, lifting her effortlessly into his arms. He held her tight against his chest.

He turned his head to the two hotel security guards who had just run up to the scene.

"Detain her," Adrian ordered, pointing his chin at Danae. "Do not let her out of your sight."

The two massive guards stepped forward. They boxed Danae in, crossing their arms over their chests.

Danae watched Adrian carry Jordyn away, his face pale with panic.

A cold, heavy stone settled in Danae's stomach. When she was in labor, dying on a hospital bed, he hadn't even answered the phone. Now, he was ready to kill for a woman with a scraped elbow.

The betrayal froze the blood in her veins. She lowered her hands, her face turning to stone, and let the guards escort her toward the medical wing.

The guards marched Danae out into the quiet, brightly lit corridor.

Standing by the nurses' station, looking furious, was Professor Stratford-the head of Danae's medical research fellowship.

Stratford stomped over to her. He shoved a folded white doctor's coat into Danae's chest.

"Put it on," Stratford hissed, his face red. "You are going in there and examining Ms. Webster right now."

Danae pushed the coat back at him. "Absolutely not. I am not participating in this theatrical garbage."

Stratford grabbed her arm, pulling her close. "Adrian Rosario just threatened to pull the NIH federal grant from our lab. If you don't walk through that door, our entire research team is defunded by tomorrow morning. Put the damn coat on."

Danae's jaw clenched. The humiliation burned the back of her throat like battery acid. She thought of the three years of grueling work her team had put into their genetic research.

She snatched the coat from his hands. She shoved her arms into the sleeves.

She walked over to the sanitation station, scrubbing her hands aggressively before snapping a pair of blue latex gloves onto her wrists.

She pushed open the heavy, soundproof door to the VIP suite.

Adrian was sitting on the edge of the massive hospital bed, holding Jordyn's hand with both of his.

When Adrian heard the door, he looked up. His eyes sliced into Danae like shattered glass.

Jordyn was propped up on the pillows. She looked pale, but the corners of her mouth twitched with a smug, victorious satisfaction.

Danae kept her face entirely blank. She walked to the side of the bed and powered on the ultrasound machine.

She grabbed the bottle of clear coupling gel and squirted a generous amount directly onto Jordyn's exposed abdomen.

The gel was freezing. Jordyn gasped, her stomach muscles contracting as she flinched away, pressing closer to Adrian.

"Watch your damn hands," Adrian snapped, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.

Danae ignored him. She pressed the transducer wand into Jordyn's skin, sliding it across her lower abdomen.

She stared at the black-and-white static on the monitor.

Danae's eyes narrowed. As a top-tier medical professional, it took her exactly three seconds to read the screen.

The uterine lining was thick, but the gestational sac was highly irregular. The measurements didn't align with a standard second-trimester pregnancy. There was no clear fetal pole, no definitive heartbeat echoing on the doppler. It looked like a blighted ovum, or worse, a medically induced chemical facade.

Jordyn's pregnancy was highly suspicious. It was a setup.

Before Danae could speak, Jordyn let out a loud, dramatic sob, burying her face in her hands.

Danae pulled the wand away. She ripped three paper towels from the dispenser and threw them onto Jordyn's stomach.

"Vitals are stable," Danae said coldly, pulling the wand away and looking directly at Adrian. "But the scan is highly irregular. There is no definitive fetal heartbeat. I suggest a full blood panel before you jump to conclusions."

Adrian stood up. His massive frame blocked out the light from the window. He stepped into Danae's personal space, his chest almost touching hers.

He leaned down, his mouth inches from her ear. "If anything happens to my child," he whispered, his breath hot against her skin, "I will bury you."

Danae didn't flinch. She tilted her chin up, her eyes locking onto his.

"You always did like using your money to bully people," she mocked softly.

The air between them crackled, thick with a toxic mixture of absolute hatred and a dark, unresolved tension.

Danae pressed her hands against his chest and shoved him backward. She turned on her heel and walked to the sink to strip off her gloves.

Adrian's cell phone vibrated violently in his suit pocket.

He pulled it out, glanced at the caller ID, and scowled. He turned to Jordyn, his voice softening slightly. "I have to take this. I'll be right outside."

Adrian walked out of the room. The heavy door clicked shut, sealing the room in silence.

The second the latch caught, Jordyn's tears vanished.

She sat up straight. She grabbed the paper towels and aggressively wiped the sticky gel off her stomach.

Danae stood at the sink, washing her hands. She watched Jordyn's reflection in the mirror.

Jordyn reached over to the bedside table and unzipped her limited-edition Hermes Birkin bag. She dug her hand inside and pulled out a heavy, crystal glass perfume bottle.

Danae's hands stopped moving under the running water. Her pupils dilated.

It was a custom bottle. Three years ago, Adrian had flown a master perfumer from Grasse to New York just to create that exact scent for her.

Jordyn pulled the glass stopper off. She held the bottle up and sprayed it twice into the air.

A thick, overwhelmingly sweet scent of orange blossom and heavy musk flooded the enclosed hospital room.

The smell hit Danae's nose. Her stomach violently lurched.

A memory flashed behind her eyes: Adrian's lips pressing against her neck, inhaling deeply. This scent is only for you, he had whispered.

The memory felt like a physical knife twisting in her gut.

Jordyn laughed. It was a high, cruel sound.

Jordyn threw the blankets off and slid out of bed. Her bare feet padded silently across the linoleum until she was standing directly behind Danae.

Before Danae could turn, Jordyn raised the bottle and sprayed it three times directly onto the back of Danae's white doctor's coat.

"What the hell are you doing?" Danae snapped, spinning around and swatting Jordyn's hand away.

The heavy crystal bottle slipped, almost crashing to the floor before Jordyn caught it against her chest.

Jordyn stepped into Danae's space, her eyes gleaming with malice. "You couldn't even keep your own signature scent. You're nothing but a ghost."

Danae stepped back, her nose wrinkling at the suffocating smell radiating from her own clothes.

"That cheap synthetic garbage is only good for covering up the stench of your desperation," Danae fired back.

Jordyn's eyes darkened. Her lips pressed into a thin line.

Suddenly, Jordyn turned the bottle upside down. She squeezed the atomizer, dumping the remaining liquid all over the front of her own hospital gown and the white bedsheets.

Danae frowned. The sheer volume of the perfume was sickening. This wasn't just a petty insult; it was a setup.

The sound of Adrian's heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway outside.

Jordyn moved with terrifying speed. She shoved the empty crystal bottle deep into the bottom of her Hermes bag. She sprinted back to the bed, diving under the covers and pulling them up to her chin.

The door handle turned. Adrian walked in, sliding his phone into his pocket.

The moment he crossed the threshold, he stopped dead in his tracks.

The overwhelming scent of orange blossom hit him. His nostrils flared. He looked at Jordyn, then slowly turned his head to stare at Danae.

Danae stood frozen by the sink, her white coat reeking of the perfume, completely unable to explain what had just happened.