Chapter 2

Julian let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Are you and Natalie seriously pulling this crap on me?"

"She's scheduled for release tomorrow. Is she trying to rattle me? Trying to get revenge?"

The guard was clearly caught off guard. "Sir, I think there might be a misunderstanding here..."

Julian hung up before the officer could finish.

Mom, having heard the whole exchange, looked uneasy.

"Maybe... maybe we should drive down to the prison and check?"

Julian waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't waste your time."

"Back when she suspected me and you faked your death, didn't Natalie still eat, sleep, and function just fine? When news of your 'death' broke, I didn't even have to stay by her side. I just gave her a few half-assed words of comfort and spent my days taking care of Chloe during her early pregnancy. How could someone like that die of depression after just three years?"

Chloe pressed her lips together and stayed quiet.

In reality, she knew Natalie hadn't been fine at all back then.

She had once asked Natalie why she never blew up at Julian if she suspected him of cheating.

Natalie had forced a tired smile and said, "I don't have hard proof yet, and I don't want to destroy our marriage before I know the absolute truth. Mom just died, and I don't want to burden Julian with more stress, so I'm pretending everything is okay."

Natalie had worried about everyone else, swallowing all the pain alone.

And in doing so, Julian had completely lost any desire to protect her.

But Chloe would never, ever tell Julian that.

Seeing Mom still wavering, Chloe called out softly, "Mom, the baby food is ready. Bring the baby over."

As Chloe fastened the bib around the little girl's neck, a silver cross necklace slipped into view.

Mom noticed it and immediately warned her.

"The cross necklace the baby is wearing—Julian and Natalie bought that together years ago. Natalie bought it thinking she'd give it to an adopted child one day."

"She treated it like a priceless treasure, polishing it every single day. Make sure you take it off before we go pick her up tomorrow. I'm afraid it'll push her over the edge."

Chloe pouted slightly, looking hurt, but she nodded anyway.

Julian saw the look on Chloe's face and instantly frowned.

"The baby's already wearing it, so leave it on. It's just a necklace. Worst case, I'll just take Natalie shopping and buy her another one later."

Seeing that Chloe was struggling to hold the baby while holding the spoon, Julian stepped in.

He took the bowl and began feeding the baby himself.

He looked like the picture-perfect, doting father.

Taking advantage of the mood, Chloe voiced another nagging fear.

"Once she gets out and learns the truth, she won't start digging into the past, will she?"

"What if she finds out that during those two years when she was desperately trying to get pregnant, every 'vitamin' you gave her was actually birth control?"

Julian answered flatly, though a flicker of guilt crossed his face. "She won't. You said you didn't want her carrying my child, so to keep her in the dark, I had someone custom-make those pills to look identical to her daily vitamins. With her resources, she'll never trace it back."

"I just... I never expected that later on, she'd lose the ability to have kids permanently just to save my life in that snowstorm."

Standing right beside them, hearing every single word, my soul shattered into pieces.

No wonder.

No wonder my body never conceived, no matter how many fertility treatments I endured, no matter how many health supplements I took.

I had spent years blaming myself, believing my broken body was the problem.

Turns out, my own husband had poisoned my chances from day one.

I collapsed into breathless, silent sobs.

Before I could scream my accusations, the doorbell rang.

Julian pulled the door open and frowned when he saw a FedEx courier standing there. He asked almost instinctively,

"We haven't ordered anything lately. Did you get the wrong address?"

The courier checked the scanner. "No mistake, sir. It's for Julian Foster, shipped directly from the state correctional facility."

Remembering the weird call from earlier, Julian scowled, but he scribbled his signature anyway.

He walked back inside and ripped the envelope open.

The words stamped across the top hit him immediately: Official Notice of Inmate Death.