Chapter 1

On the day of my prenatal checkup, a strange woman burst into my private VIP clinic. Before anyone could react, she unscrewed a bottle of sulfuric acid and splashed it directly onto my pregnant belly.

"Carrying another man's bastard? Aren't you afraid of burning in hell, you cheap whore?"

She sneered, throwing the empty bottle hard against my chest, her laugh dripping with pure madness.

An agonizing, white-hot burn consumed my flesh instantly. I screamed, collapsing onto the cold floor.

But she didn't stop. She crouched down, grabbing my hair with brutal force.

"A side chick trying to use a baby to climb the social ladder?"

"Do you honestly think you're worthy of being Mrs. Vance?"

My skin was melting, fusing with the fabric of my dress. Blood mixed with amniotic fluid began to pool beneath me.

In that horrific moment, the ugly truth finally hit me.

The husband I had loved for seven years, the man I had been married to for three, actually had a mistress on the side.

And the psycho standing over me was her.

"What? Not happy?"

She stomped her heel onto my hand, her smug smile widening.

"Let me tell you something. Even if you die here today, Ethan won't do a damn thing to me!"

Trembling, I managed to slide my phone out and dialed my brother's number.

"Christian, come to Central Hospital. Now."

Looking up at her arrogant face, my voice was terrifyingly calm.

"The Vance family has no reason to exist anymore."

A second of heavy silence stretched over the line.

"Okay."

My brother's cold voice replied, "Then we make them vanish."

I watched my unborn baby die inside me.

Just minutes ago, that strong, steady heartbeat was still thumping on the monitor.

"The fetal heartbeat... it's gone," the doctor's voice shook.

The rapid blood loss made my vision blur.

But the excruciating pain in my lower abdomen kept dragging me back to agonizing consciousness.

An icy rage made my entire body shiver.

I bit my lip hard, staring at Hailey Miller.

I had heard rumors about Ethan keeping a woman on the side, but I wanted to trust him. I wanted to give him a chance.

But his mistress didn't give me one. She didn't even spare my baby.

Ethan was practically sterile. He of all people should have known what this miracle baby meant.

But now, my baby was dead.

And the killer was standing right in front of me.

"Hailey Miller, right? Does Ethan know you did this?"

I stared at her, my eyes bloodshot and hollow.

"Didn't he tell you that if you lay a hand on me, the Sterling family will take it back in blood?"

The VIP room fell dead silent.

Then, a piercing laugh erupted from her.

"Since when do side chicks act so tough?"

"You didn't seriously think that just because Ethan wanted a baby and you got pregnant, you could secure your place, did you?"

Her sharp mockery pounded against my brain over and over.

Hailey sneered, raising her eyebrows as she looked down at me like I was dirt.

"The Sterling family? In Chicago, the only name that matters is Vance."

"Ethan could barely have kids. Who knows whose bastard is in your stomach!"

"As the real Mrs. Vance, it's my duty to clean up his trash!"

Mrs. Vance. She kept calling herself Mrs. Vance.

If she was Mrs. Vance, then who the hell was I?

I looked down at my stomach.

Where the acid had hit, my clothes were fused to my skin. The burning pain came in waves, sharper each time.

When I fell earlier, I hit my belly, and the cramps were getting worse.

Blood was pooling beneath me.

The nurse turned pale and shouted, "Ms. Sterling, you can't move!"

Suppressing the pain, I looked at the medical staff for help.

But before they could take a step, the bodyguards behind Hailey blocked them.

"Ms. Miller said no one is allowed near her."

The nurse's face went white with anger. "This is a hospital! The patient's life is in danger. You can't block medical treatment!"

Hailey completely ignored her.

I stared at Hailey. "I'll say this one last time. I am the heir of the Sterling family. While I still have some mercy left, run..."

"What fucking Sterling family!"

Hailey snapped instantly. She raised her foot and kicked my stomach hard with the sharp tip of her stiletto.

"Chicago belongs to the Vances! I am Mrs. Vance. What the hell are you to raise your voice at me?"

A blunt, agonizing pain tore through me. Blood mixed with amniotic fluid began to leak out.

If this dragged on, I was going to die here.

I let out a bitter laugh. Ethan had catered to my every whim for eight months just for this baby.

And yet, because of his baby and his mistress, I was on the verge of death.

"Get Ethan here. Right. Now."

Too exhausted to argue with Hailey, my voice turned cold.

"Otherwise, if anything happens to me today, he'll be the first one to kill you."

"And then, he'll burn with you!"

Hailey burst into hysterical, mocking laughter.

After a moment, she wiped a tear of laughter from her eye. "Who do you think you are? Ordering my husband to crawl to the hospital?"

The moment she finished speaking, she stomped her heel onto my hand.

She ground her heel down with vicious force.

The excruciating pain felt like it was ripping my heart apart.

My screams and Hailey's crazed laughter echoed throughout the room.

Just then, chaotic footsteps rushed down the hallway.

A familiar figure sprinted in.

Suddenly, a sense of relief washed over me. I held my wound, staring into Hailey's eyes, and whispered word by word:

"Remember this. Chicago belongs to the Sterlings."

"My brother is here. Are you ready to die?"