Chapter 4 — The Nursery
Chapter 4 — The Nursery
Emma stood frozen in the nursery doorway.
For months, she had chosen every detail herself—the pale green walls, the white oak crib, the small moon-shaped lamp beside the rocking chair.
Now the room looked violated.
The crib had been dismantled.
Boxes of baby clothes had been emptied.
The ultrasound photograph had been torn down the middle.
Samuel found Emma kneeling on the floor.
He picked up the photograph carefully.
“Who had access to this room?”
“Everyone.”
“Security cameras?”
“Not inside the bedrooms.”
Samuel examined the red writing.
“Don’t touch anything else.”
Ryan appeared behind him.
His face changed when he saw the room.
“What happened?”
Emma turned toward him.
“You tell me.”
“I didn’t do this.”
“You stood downstairs while your mother threw me out.”
“That doesn’t mean I destroyed our daughter’s nursery.”
“Our daughter?”
Ryan flinched.
Emma rose slowly.
“You let Claire tell me my baby wouldn’t save our marriage. You let your mother say this child was a trap. You gave Claire your keys.”
“I made a mistake.”
“No. You made a series of choices.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“I was angry.”
“At what?”
He looked away.
Emma’s voice sharpened.
“At me being pregnant? At me refusing to hand your mother our savings? Or at me discovering you were sleeping with your assistant?”
Ryan’s eyes snapped back to hers.
“You knew?”
“I knew enough.”
The door opened again.
Victoria entered.
She looked around the ruined nursery and sighed.
“This room needed to be cleared anyway.”
Ryan turned.
“Did you do this?”
Victoria’s expression remained calm.
“I asked the staff to remove unnecessary furniture.”
“Unnecessary?”
“There won’t be a baby living here.”
Emma felt her daughter move beneath her hand.
A small, strong kick.
Victoria noticed.
For a second, something unreadable crossed her face.
Then it hardened.
“You should be grateful,” she said. “Ryan is willing to provide financial support after the divorce.”
Ryan stared at her.
“I never said that.”
“You don’t need to. I’m protecting you.”
“By destroying my child’s room?”
Victoria’s mouth tightened.
“That child may not even be yours.”
The air went still.
Emma slowly looked at Ryan.
He did not appear shocked.
He looked guilty.
“You told her that?” Emma asked.
Ryan ran a hand through his hair.
“I said I had questions.”
“You had questions?”
“You were traveling for work when you became pregnant.”
“I was gone for four days.”
“You came back acting distant.”
“My father had just been diagnosed with cancer.”
Ryan lowered his voice.
“Claire said the timeline didn’t make sense.”
Emma stared at him.
Claire.
Of course.
Claire had not merely taken Ryan.
She had poisoned every memory between them.
Samuel stepped forward.
“That accusation changes the legal situation.”
Victoria scoffed.
“How?”
“Because if you spread a false claim regarding paternity, Mrs. Carter may pursue defamation damages.”
Victoria rolled her eyes.
Then Samuel held up the ruined ultrasound photo.
“And if this damage was intended to intimidate a pregnant woman during a property dispute, it may also support a harassment order.”
Victoria’s expression finally cracked.
That night, police photographed the nursery.
At 2:13 a.m., Emma received a message from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of her sleeping in the guest bedroom.
May you like
Beneath it were six words:
LEAVE THE HOUSE OR LOSE THE BABY.
