Chapter 1
"My husband’s mistress shoved me down the stairs while I was eight months pregnant. When he came running, she cried, “She slipped”—but I whispered four words that drained the color from her face.
I hit the first step before I understood what Vanessa had done.
My body rolled sideways, and I wrapped both arms around my stomach.
Pain shot through my back as I landed at the bottom.
“Help,” I gasped. “My baby…”
Vanessa stood at the top of the staircase, staring down at me.
Seconds earlier, I had caught her kissing my husband in our Chicago home.
“You weren’t supposed to come back today,” she had whispered.
Then she placed both hands against my shoulders and pushed.
Now she hurried downstairs and crouched beside me.
“You slipped,” she said quietly. “That’s what happened.”
I tried to reach for my phone, but she kicked it away.
“Daniel will believe me,” she added.
The front door suddenly opened.
“Rachel?” my husband called.
Daniel rushed into the hallway and froze when he saw me on the floor.
Vanessa immediately began sobbing.
“She fell!” she cried. “I tried to catch her!”
Daniel dropped beside me.
“What happened? Where does it hurt?”
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“She lost her balance at the top.”
I looked at the woman who had just tried to hurt my unborn child.
Her tears stopped the moment our eyes met.
“Call an ambulance,” Daniel shouted.
Vanessa reached for his phone.
“I’ll do it,” she said. “You stay with her.”
My fingers closed weakly around Daniel’s sleeve.
He leaned closer to hear me.
“She pushed me,” I whispered.
Vanessa shook her head violently.
“She’s confused from the fall!”
Daniel looked between us, his face tightening.
“Rachel, are you sure?”
I struggled to keep my eyes open.
Then I remembered the security system he had installed after a break-in.
“Watch the camera,” I breathed.
Vanessa’s hand froze above his phone.
Daniel slowly turned toward the small camera facing the staircase.
May you like
Vanessa backed toward the front door.
Then Daniel’s phone played a recording—and a man’s voice came from the speaker that neither of us recognized.
