Chapter 2 - The Shattered Silence
The iron golf club struck the mahogany with a force that sent shards of splintered varnish raining down into the darkness. Elena pressed her trembling hand over her mouth, tasting salt and dust, praying that the violent thumping of her heart wouldn't give away her position. Above her, Vivian let out a low, breathless laugh that chilled the room.
"You really thought you could hide the truth from Julian, didn't you, sweetie?" Vivian’s voice dripped with mock sympathy, her velvet gown rustling as she paced around the perimeter of the table. "Did you honestly believe a girl from the typing pool could carry the heir to the Pinnacle empire without someone noticing the timeline?"
Elena closed her eyes, tears cutting clean tracks through the grime on her cheeks. The baby kicked violently against her ribs, sensing her spiking adrenaline. Julian wasn't just her husband; he was Vivian's younger brother—the golden boy who had defied his family's ruthless legacy to marry for love. Or so Elena had believed until tonight, when she found Julian’s private calendar marked with tonight's date and a single word: Resolution.
"He's not coming for you, Elena," Vivian taunted, dragging the heavy iron head of the club slowly across the tabletop, creating a screeching, metallic shriek that set Elena’s teeth on edge. "He’s on a red-eye flight to Zurich to finalize the merger. You were just an inconvenient liability that needed... handling."
Suddenly, the heavy leather chair at the end of the table was kicked aside. A beam of light from Vivian’s smartphone pierced the shadows beneath the desk, catching the edge of Elena’s white silk dress.
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"There you are," Vivian whispered, her dark lips curling into a triumphant smile.
Desperation fueled Elena's weary muscles. As Vivian reached down to grab her ankle, Elena lunged forward, slamming the heel of her shoe into Vivian’s shin. The older woman shrieked, dropping the club with a deafening clatter. Scrambling out from beneath the desk, Elena didn't look back. She pushed her heavy frame toward the heavy frosted glass doors of the boardroom, knowing that if she didn't reach the elevators in the next thirty seconds, neither she nor her unborn child would survive the night.
