To help my wife, Mia Lowell, through labor, I blew a fortune on the latest paternity-linked pain transfer device.

Right before she went into the delivery room, Mia grabbed my hand. Tears streamed down her face.

"Honey, if it gets too painful, turn it off. I can't stand watching you suffer."

A nurse gave me one last reminder.

"Sir, the device automatically transfers the pain to the baby's biological father through DNA matching. Please be prepared."

The device switched on.

I felt nothing.

Not a twinge.

Just as I started wondering if I'd gotten scammed, a scream ripped through the hallway.

Ryan Duffy.

My best friend dropped to the floor, clutching his stomach.

"Aaaagh!"

A second later, my boss Andy Drake, who'd stopped by with a fruit basket, staggered out of the elevator with both hands between his legs.

Then came Luke Foley, a yoga coach seeing a doctor across the hall.

He was flat-out rolling on the floor, howling.

Inside the delivery room, Mia's weak voice drifted out.

"Honey, thank you for taking all this pain for me!"

I looked at the three guys writhing in agony.

Then I quietly turned the device all the way up.

Max load.

Holding my breath, I shouted toward the delivery room.

"I-I'm fine. I can still... take it."

The nurse went pale and reached for the power cord.

I caught her wrist. "Don't."

My eyes burned. My jaw locked tight. "My wife's scared of pain... I can handle it."

The nurse looked at me with nothing but sympathy.

Then she nodded and stepped back.

I let go of her wrist and slowly turned the load dial another half notch to the right.

Three screams ripped through the hallway.

Sharper.

Thirteen hours.

Andy was the first to break.

His body went slack. He passed out cold as a dark stain spread across his pants, the smell hitting a second later.

Ryan smashed the back of his head against the wall.

Crack.

His forehead split open, blood running down his nose.

Luke's arms and legs jerked uncontrollably.

His eyes rolled back. Foam bubbled from his mouth like he was having a seizure.

Three stretchers rushed in.

The men were wheeled away.

The hallway finally went quiet.

Then—

"Waaah—!"

A baby's cry rang out from the delivery room.

The door opened, and a nurse wheeled Mia out.

Her face was pale. Sweat covered her forehead.

The moment she saw me, tears filled her eyes.

"Honey... your clothes are soaked..." Her trembling hand found mine. "You almost died for me... You're the best man in the world..."

Beforehand, I'd dumped bottles of water over myself.

My clothes clung to my skin. Water dripped from my hair. I looked like I'd barely made it back from hell.

I squeezed her hand. "As long as you and the baby are okay... I'm fine..."

She cried even harder.

Beside us, the nurse quietly wiped her eyes.

The baby was placed in my arms, wrapped tight in a blanket. His tiny red face was scrunched up.

I looked down and fought back the nausea.

Not a drop of my blood ran through him.

"Honey, hold our son," Mia said weakly.

I forced a smile and gently rocked the bundle.

"He looks like you. Handsome guy."

A satisfied smile crossed her face.

Then she drifted off to sleep.

While cleaning up the hospital bag beside her bed, my hand brushed against something hard.

I pulled it out.

An opened box of XXXL condoms.

I stared at the bold XXXL on the package.

With that size, I'd need to turn sideways just to fit the width.

I took a slow breath, pulled out my phone, and snapped three photos.

On the hospital bed, Mia slept peacefully.

A faint smile still rested on her lips.

Three days after we got home from the hospital, Mia used her recovery as an excuse to kick me into the guest room.

"You snore and keep Noah awake. Sleep next door."

Yep. She named the baby Noah.

I didn't argue. I grabbed my pillow and left.

At two in the morning, I woke up needing the bathroom.

Still half asleep, I headed for the door and noticed a thin strip of light shining through the crack.

Just as I reached for the handle, I heard a voice inside.

Mia's voice.

Soft. Flirty. Intimate. Mixed with quiet breaths and low moans.

"...Did you miss me?... Mm... Look what I'm wearing today... Do you like it...?"

My hand froze on the knob. Heat shot from my feet straight to my head.

I slammed my palm against the door.

"Why are you still awake? What are you doing in there?"

The bathroom went dead silent.

Two seconds later, frantic rustling broke out inside.

Then the door swung open.

Mia stood there in a robe, her cheeks slightly flushed. Her phone was clutched in her hand, the screen turned facedown.

"I... I was watching a movie."

I looked at her.

"A movie?"

Her eyes flicked away, and she instinctively took a half step back.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep, so I was watching some funny videos. Go back to bed. You have work tomorrow."

She slipped past me, rushed into the bedroom, and locked the door behind her.

I stood in the hallway, slowly clenching my fists before forcing them open again.

The next morning, my phone rang.

The name flashed across the screen:

Andy Drake.

"Elroy, I need you to oversee the Kingston project for the next two weeks. You leave the day after tomorrow. The company's covering the flight."

It wasn't a discussion.

It was an order.

I was about to tell him Mia had just given birth and needed someone home with her when my eyes drifted to the living room.

Mia sat on the couch with Noah in her arms, watching me expectantly.

"Honey, it's okay. I can take care of Noah by myself. Go make some extra money so we can buy imported formula for him."

The last bit of hope inside me disappeared.

I lifted the phone. "Okay. I'll leave the day after tomorrow."

The second I hung up, Mia visibly relaxed.

"Don't worry. I've got everything under control at home!"

I nodded and headed into the study.

Then I pulled out my phone and ordered a set of hidden cameras.

While Mia was in the bedroom feeding Noah, I tucked the first camera into the gap behind the TV and hid the second inside the bedroom smoke detector.

The day I left, I stood by the front door with my luggage.

For once, Mia came over on her own.

She slipped her arms around my neck and kissed me.

"Honey, thank you for working so hard for this family."

The warm yellow light softened her features, making her look gentle and devoted.

I patted her back.

"Wait for me to come home."

***

The second my hotel room door clicked shut, I didn't even drop my bags.

I yanked open the monitoring app.

The living room feed filled the screen.

My front door swung open.

Andy walked in wearing a tailored suit and gleaming dress shoes. Like he owned the place, he strolled right inside and kicked off his shoes, swapping them for my slippers.

Then he flopped onto the couch, crossed a leg, and patted his thigh twice.

The bedroom door opened.

Mia stepped out.

My finger jerked.

She wasn't in pajamas.

She was wearing a black lace teddy I'd never seen before.

Swaying her hips, she crossed the room and dropped onto Andy's lap, her arms draped around his neck.

Andy wrapped one hand around her waist while the other wandered freely.

He let out a gross laugh.

"Can your pathetic husband even satisfy you with that tiny thing he's got?" He pinched her chin. "That sad little travel allowance I gave him? Think of it as my tab for tonight."

Mia snuggled against him.

"He's such a joke. Three seconds and he's done. And every dime he makes goes toward buying formula for our son anyway."

I stared at the screen, my temples throbbing. It felt like the blood vessels in my eyes were about to burst.

The video kept rolling.

Mia suddenly climbed off Andy's lap, pulled open the TV stand drawer, and took out a folder.

The folder with our marriage documents.

"Come here."

She opened it. Our marriage certificate was inside, with a wedding photo tucked behind it. She pulled out the photo, laid it on the coffee table, and turned it until my face was staring up at them.

Then she lifted her chin, eyes shining with excitement and pure malice.

"Do it on his face. Cover him completely."

Andy threw his head back laughing.

"You're mean."

Then he did it.

Without a second thought.

Right in front of the camera.

Right in front of me.

The disgusting mess was smeared all over my face in the photo.

Mia laughed so hard she nearly doubled over. "Now that's what you should look like! Hahaha!"

My phone creaked in my grip, almost cracking.

I wanted to book the first flight home and beat those two pieces of trash into the ground.

But I didn't.

I took a deep breath, opened the recording settings, cranked the resolution to the highest quality, and switched the recording time to unlimited.

***

Over the next three days, more guests showed up.

Ryan came first.

His leg was still wrapped in bandages. The pain-transfer device had left him with a fracture, and he hadn't fully recovered. Even so, he never missed a chance to mess around with my wife.

"Mia, do you really think his salary can support you? Be with me, and I'll take care of you for the rest of your life."

Next came Luke.

He lay on my bed with Mia while drinking from the mug on my nightstand that read, [I Love My Wife.]

"Your husband's built like a stick. He could train for a hundred years and still wouldn't be half the man I am."

Three men.

Three days.

One after another.

Each one was more arrogant than the last.

Each scene more disgusting than the one before.

I exported every video, compressed and encrypted them, then saved copies to three separate hard drives.

After that, I created a new folder.

Its name was simple.

Death Row.

***

When I got back from the business trip, Mia rushed over with her usual bright smile.

"Honey, you've lost weight! That trip must've been exhausting."

I patted her head.

"It was fine. Somebody has to make the money."

I pulled the wrinkled travel allowance from my pocket and set it on the coffee table.

Right beside the folder holding our marriage documents.

Mia's eyes flickered for a split second before returning to normal.

"Oh, right."

I sat down casually.

"Noah's almost a month old. How about we throw him a baby welcome party?"

Mia looked away.

"I mean, we could. But parties like that cost money..."

"Don't worry. I ran the numbers. If we invite everyone, the gifts should cover most of it."

"Everyone?"

Her eyes lit up.

"Friends, family, coworkers. A big party."

"Then we need to book somewhere nice!"

I smiled. "I'll take care of it."

Over the next few days, I used three different phone numbers to message Andy, Ryan, and Luke.

The wording changed slightly each time, but the meaning stayed the same.

[Come to Noah's welcome party. We need to talk about Noah.]

The message was vague, but the implication was obvious.

None of them refused.

They couldn't.

Because every one of them believed Noah was his son.

At the same time, I spent two thousand dollars and used a hospital contact to get biological samples from all three men.

Andy's blood sample from his hospital stay.

A cigarette butt Ryan had left in my living room.

A drinking glass Luke had used.

The three samples, along with Noah's hair, were sent to three separate testing labs.