Three weeks after my baby shower, I gave birth to a beautiful little girl. That same night, my mother-in-law told my husband, “A woman who cannot give this family a son is not the right woman for you.” He listened. He pulled away. And before our daughter ever learned to walk, he was gone.

The two brothers violently wrestled on the expensive hotel rug.

Daniel threw a desperate punch, striking Julian in the jaw.

Julian retaliated with a heavy blow to Daniel's ribs.

I quickly backed away, shielding Lily in the corner of the room.

I spotted the gun resting on the floor near the coffee table.

I set Lily down gently behind an armchair.

I dove for the weapon just as Daniel reached for it.

My fingers wrapped around the cold metal grip.

I rolled onto my back and aimed the gun directly at Daniel's head.

I screamed at him to stop moving.

Daniel froze, panting heavily.

Julian wiped blood from his mouth and stood up.

He kicked Daniel hard in the stomach.

Daniel groaned and curled into a ball on the floor.

Julian walked over to a safe hidden behind a painting on the wall.

He opened it and pulled out a thick stack of medical files.

He threw them down onto Daniel's chest.

Julian told him to read the files.

Daniel sat up slowly, his hands shaking as he opened the folder.

Inside were bank transfers from Evelyn to a fake surrogacy clinic.

There were also photographs of Mia drinking alcohol and smoking just three days ago.

Daniel stared at the photos in sheer horror.

Tears finally spilled from his eyes.

He realized his entire new life was an orchestrated illusion.

He looked up at me, his expression breaking into genuine remorse.

He sobbed, begging for my forgiveness.

He said he never wanted to leave us.

He claimed Evelyn threatened to frame me for embezzlement if he didn't walk away.

I kept the gun aimed steadily at him.

I told him his apologies meant absolutely nothing to me now.

I instructed Julian to get the laptop so we could leak everything.

Julian booted up the computer on the desk.

I pulled the real flash drive from my shoe and handed it to him.

Julian inserted the drive.

A loading screen appeared, preparing to send the files to every major news outlet.

Suddenly, Daniel started laughing.

It was a dark, hysterical sound that sent shivers down my spine.

“Which daughter is yours?” should have been a harmless question

The first wineglass shattered at 8:07 p.m

The moment the mafia boss’s wife called me “an illiterate servant,”

He looked at me with a twisted smile.

He said we were all going to die tonight.

Chapter 8 - The Truth Hurts