Chapter 4

Early the next morning, Damien was speeding toward the tower.

A dread he couldn’t explain was gnawing at him. Every Alpha instinct he had was screaming that something was wrong.

In the back seat, Chloe and his friends were relaxed and laughing, looking forward to watching me fall apart.

“Damien, why are you so tense?” one of his friends joked. “It’s not like she’s dead. You should be happy. Today you finally get to dump her.”

Chloe pressed her lips together with a shy smile. “Technically, today’s our first official day together.”

“I’ve got all ninety-nine videos edited and ready to send to Ethan,” another one sneered. “Hahaha, just picturing his face when he sees what we did to his precious little sister makes my whole year!”

They reached the site soon enough, but it wasn’t the silent, empty lot they had expected.

The building that had been standing the day before was now a mountain of rubble.

Paramedics and police were everywhere, and they were carrying out a bloody body.

A limp hand hung from beneath the white sheet. On one finger was a ring.

It was the matching ring Damien and I had bought together.

Damien’s chest seized. He threw his door open, ran to the stretcher, and tore back the sheet.

I had paid for that replica to be perfect. Even I couldn’t tell it apart from myself, let alone Damien. And with the stink of concrete dust and diesel hanging over the ruins, even an Alpha’s nose could pick up nothing but my clothes, my perfume, my scent.

His hands shaking, Damien touched my face. Then he turned on the medical team and roared.

“What happened?! Why is she like this?! What are you standing around for? Save her! SAVE HER!”

He was like a madman, screaming at doctors to save a corpse.

A man in a long coat stepped forward. Damien recognized him. It was the doctor who had treated my leg.

“Are you her family?” the doctor demanded, his voice shaking with anger. “She was in my ward until last night. Why in God’s name was she alone in a condemned building that could have come down at any moment? And do you even know she was three months pregnant? I told her she should never have given that much blood in her condition.”

Damien went still. All the color drained from his face, and he stumbled back two steps.

The group that had just climbed out of the car went completely silent.

“D-dead?” Chloe stammered. “That’s not... she can’t be.”

Damien dropped to his knees in front of the body with a heavy thud.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant? Why?” His voice broke. “You’re messing with me, right? You can’t be dead. Aria, get up. Get up!”

But the only answer he got was a cold, motionless body.