CHAPTER 1: The Suitcase in the Rain

Rain hammered the stone steps of the Halston mansion so hard that the driveway looked like black glass.
Emily stood outside in a soaked white maternity dress, one hand under her belly, the other gripping her phone. Her beige cardigan clung to her shoulders. Her wedding ring flashed whenever the lightning caught it.
Then the suitcase came flying out of the open front door.
It hit the wet driveway beside her feet once and stayed there, wheels crooked, handle half open.
Mark stood in the doorway in his tuxedo jacket and open white shirt, breathing hard as if he had just won something. Behind him, Ashley lingered in a black cocktail dress, pale but unwilling to leave his side.
Emily looked from the suitcase to her husband. She did not scream. She did not beg.
She lifted the phone to her ear and spoke through the rain.
“Dad… come get me. Bring the legal team.”
For the first time that night, Mark’s smile shifted.
He had expected tears.
He had not expected a phone call.