Chapter 1
The Imperial Crown Hotel was known as the most luxurious hotel in the country.
Its Royal Suite occupied the entire top floor.
Politicians celebrated victories there.
Royal families stayed there during state visits.
International billionaires signed deals beneath its magnificent crystal chandeliers.
Tonight...
The suite had been reserved for a private charity gala hosted by Marcus Ashford, founder of the Ashford Global Group.
The evening was supposed to mark another joyful milestone.
Marcus and his wife, Sophia Ashford, were finally ready to announce that they were expecting their first child.
Only a handful of close friends had been invited upstairs before the official announcement downstairs.
Everything had been planned perfectly.
Until one person decided she refused to lose.
Isabella Hart had spent years hiding her obsession with Marcus.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
Confident.
She wore a crimson silk dress that turned heads wherever she walked.
To everyone else, she was simply one of Marcus's trusted executives.
No one knew she believed Sophia had stolen the life that should have belonged to her.
When she learned Sophia was pregnant...
Hatred replaced every trace of reason.
Sophia stood alone in the Royal Suite, smiling softly as she adjusted the white maternity gown she had carefully chosen for the evening.
One hand rested protectively over her growing baby bump.
She whispered,
"Tonight your daddy finally gets to tell everyone about you."
A gentle knock came at the suite door.
Sophia smiled.
"Marcus?"
She opened it.
Instead...
She found Isabella standing outside.
Holding a small velvet gift box.
"I brought something for the baby."
Sophia welcomed her inside without hesitation.
She never imagined she had just invited danger into the room.
At first...
Everything seemed normal.
They exchanged polite smiles.
Talked about the gala.
Complimented the decorations.
Then Isabella quietly locked the suite door.
The metallic click echoed across the room.
Sophia frowned.
"Why did you lock it?"
Isabella slowly placed the gift box onto the marble table.
Her smile disappeared.
"Because this conversation..."
"...is private."
Sophia suddenly felt uneasy.
"Isabella..."
"Is everything alright?"
Isabella laughed softly.
"No."
"It hasn't been alright since Marcus married you."
Sophia stared at her in disbelief.
"What are you talking about?"
"You took everything."
"The man I loved."
"The future I deserved."
"And now..."
She looked down at Sophia's stomach.
"You're giving him an heir."
Sophia instinctively stepped backward.
"Please..."
"Let's calm down."
Isabella walked closer.
"I've been calm for five years."
"Tonight..."
"I'm finished waiting."
Without warning...
She shoved Sophia violently.
The pregnant woman stumbled backward into a table filled with crystal champagne flutes.
The glasses crashed onto the polished floor.
Glass exploded across the suite.
Sophia screamed as she fell onto the marble floor.
One sharp piece sliced her arm.
She instinctively wrapped both hands around her stomach.
"My baby..."
She whispered through tears.
Isabella towered over her.
"There won't be a baby."
"There won't be an heir."
She raised her foot...
And kicked Sophia hard in the side.
Sophia cried out in unbearable pain.
Outside the suite...
Guests heard the scream.
At that exact moment...
The elevator doors opened.
Marcus Ashford stepped out, accompanied by his security chief after finishing a phone call downstairs.
His smile vanished instantly.
Another scream echoed from inside the suite.
Marcus broke into a run.
"Open that door!"
Security rammed the heavy doors.
BOOM!
The lock shattered.
The doors burst inward.
Marcus froze.
His pregnant wife lay curled on the floor beside broken crystal.
Blood stained the white fabric of her gown.
Her trembling hands desperately protected her unborn child.
Standing above her...
Was Isabella.
The woman in red.
For one terrifying second...
No one spoke.
Then Isabella pointed frantically at Sophia.
"Marcus!"
"She attacked me!"
"I was only defending myself!"
Marcus slowly looked from his injured wife...
To the shattered glass...
To Isabella's perfectly untouched dress.
Then he raised one trembling finger toward the ceiling.
His voice thundered through the Royal Suite.
"Shut your mouth, Isabella..."
"Look up at the camera."
Isabella slowly lifted her eyes.
Hidden among the crystal chandelier...
A tiny security camera blinked with a steady red light.
Every second had been recorded.
The color drained from her face.
May you like
She whispered only one word.
"...No."
