Chapter 2

Several staff members witnessed Hailey's tearful exit from the boss's office, but she disregarded their stares and the burgeoning gossip. Reaching her own office, she gathered her handbag and left the building.

The tears flowed freely once she was in her car. She buried her face in her hands, weeping until she was spent. Unsure what else to do, she started the engine and drove home, clinging to the hope this was a nightmare. Cole was angry now, but she believed he would calm down. They would reconcile; then she would tell him about the baby.

Pulling up to the mansion gates, her heart splintered. Familiar luggage sat outside. She exited the car and approached the gate.

"What's going on here?" she asked Enoch, the head of security, who emerged at the sight of her car.

"They were put there on the boss's orders. You're not allowed in."

"Cole said so?"

"Yes."

"You heard him. Take your things and leave."

Hailey froze at that familiar voice. Turning, she saw Vanessa emerging from the mansion in a short red dress and matching shoes. Hailey blinked, closed her eyes, and opened them again, the vision unchanged.

"What are you doing in my house?" Hailey challenged, striving for strength.

"I think I should be asking that, since this house is mine now," Vanessa retorted, stopping before Hailey and folding her arms confidently.

"You're wrong if you think you can bully me out of my husband's home."

"Your soon-to-be ex-husband?" Vanessa mocked, a wide smile spreading across her lips. "You know how much I enjoy seeing you miserable." She reached for Hailey's hair, but Hailey shrugged her hand away. "I can't bear to see you as the wife of the richest man in the country. It would be so unfair. You're the stepdaughter, and just like your dead mother—that slut—you don't deserve a good life."

"Keep my mother's name out of your mouth!" Hailey retorted, fiercely controlling her pain.

"Of course. It's no fun talking about poor, ridiculous people. I'm here to put you in your place, so leave now."

Suddenly, impulsively, Hailey struck Vanessa hard across the cheek. The smirk vanished from Vanessa's face as she touched her stinging cheek.

"How dare you?" Vanessa glared.

"All my life you've cheated me, made me look like a loser. But I won't let this continue. If not for Cole, then I'll do this for our baby. You and your evil mother deprived me of my father's love, and I won't let you deprive my baby of his."

"What? What baby?" Vanessa asked, bewildered.

"I'm pregnant with Cole's child, and I won't let you deprive this child of its father's love."

"Pregnant? How is that even possible?" Vanessa muttered, her hand leaving her cheek. The thought of Hailey's child threatened everything she craved—an heir for the richest man in the country.

Vanessa glared at Hailey, then at her belly, and back at her face.

"I don't believe you," she said with disgust.

"And what makes you think I care about you or your opinion?" Hailey challenged.

A resounding slap landed on Hailey's cheek, sending her spinning to the ground.

"Just a pathetic bastard," Vanessa sneered. "You got knocked up by some poor ex, and you're trying to foist this baby on Cole."

"Stop talking about my child! Why don't we wait until the baby is born and do a DNA test?" Hailey gritted her teeth, protectively placing a hand on her belly. "Admit it, you're afraid."

"You bitch!!!" Vanessa lunged at Hailey, kicking her repeatedly. Hailey struck her head on a rock trying to protect herself.

"You ruin my life! I want you to disappear forever!" Vanessa screamed, continuing her assault.

Hailey groaned, shielding her stomach. Tears streamed down her face, not just for herself, but for her unborn child suffering this humiliation.

Vanessa crouched over her sobbing stepsister, ignoring the blood pouring from Hailey's head. "I hope you know I don't joke about what's mine, and Cole is mine. Stay away."

"If you are carrying a child, I expect it to be a bastard, just like you. And if it's Cole's, get rid of it and never come back into our lives."

"Cole is mine. He's going to marry me, and I'll give him as many babies as he wants," Vanessa declared confidently.

Glaring at the injured Hailey, Vanessa rose and started towards the mansion.

"Ma'am, she's bleeding!" Enoch called, pointing at the groaning Hailey. Blood flowed from her head and leg.

Vanessa paused, a smile playing on her lips as she saw the blood.

"Anyone who helps her is fired," she commanded before entering the mansion.