Chapter 1 - Thirty Steps
Vanessa Kensington shoved an eight-month-pregnant woman down thirty marble steps.
What she didn’t know was that the woman screaming at the bottom was Harrison Cole’s only sister.
And Harrison had seen everything.
Khloe Harrington hit the first step shoulder-first.
Then the second.
Then the third.
By the time people understood what was happening, her body was already tumbling down the wide courthouse staircase.
Someone screamed.
A lawyer dropped his briefcase.
A deputy shouted, “Call 911!”
Khloe finally stopped near the bottom, twisted on her side, one arm trapped beneath her.
Blood spread across her navy maternity dress.
“No!”
Harrison Cole ran.
He had been ten yards away, talking to a court clerk.
Now he dropped beside his sister so hard his knees slammed into the marble.
“Khloe. Look at me.”
Her eyes fluttered.
“Harry…”
“I’m here.”
His voice was steady.
His hands weren’t.
Khloe grabbed his jacket.
“The baby.”
“Don’t talk.”
“Save her.”
“Khloe—”
“Promise me.”
Harrison swallowed.
“I promise.”
Her fingers slipped away.
“Khloe!”
At the top of the staircase, Vanessa stood frozen.
Both hands were still lifted.
Beside her stood Richard Harrington.
Khloe’s husband.
He stared down at his bleeding wife.
He did not run to her.
He did not call her name.
He didn’t even move.
Harrison slowly looked up.
Their eyes met.
Richard’s face went pale.
Harrison said nothing.
That frightened Richard more than any threat could have.
Paramedics stormed through the crowd.
A deputy grabbed Vanessa’s arm.
“What happened?”
“She fell,” Vanessa blurted.
Three witnesses turned toward her.
One woman shouted, “You pushed her!”
“No, I didn’t!”
“I saw you!”
Vanessa pulled away.
“She attacked me first!”
Richard finally moved.
But not toward Khloe.
Toward Vanessa.
“Stop talking,” he whispered.
Harrison heard him.
His expression changed.
Not rage.
Something colder.
One of the paramedics cut open the side of Khloe’s dress.
“Blood pressure dropping.”
“Fetal heart rate?”
“I’m not getting a clean reading.”
Harrison leaned close.
“What does that mean?”
The paramedic avoided his eyes.
“We need to move now.”
They lifted Khloe onto the stretcher.
Her head rolled toward Harrison.
For one second, her eyes opened.
“Harry…”
“I’m right here.”
She whispered three words.
“Check his phone.”
Then she lost consciousness.
Harrison froze.
Richard froze too.
And in that single second, Harrison understood something terrifying.
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The shove might not have been the beginning of this story.
It might have been the end of a plan that had started months ago.
