Our Marriage License Was A Lie Chapter 04

Our Marriage License Was A Lie Chapter 04

My parents hauled me out of bed the next morning.

My mother wore her concerned face — the one she put on right before saying something monstrous.

“We know things haven’t been fair to you. We’ve talked it over with Chloe.”

“You’re going to stay and help raise the twins. Officially, you’ll be their godmother. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

My father’s voice came from behind me, flat and sharp.

“Chloe’s the one who agreed to this. She didn’t have to. So don’t throw it back in her face.”

Before I could answer, Chloe shoved both children into my arms.

They were warm and small against my chest. And the pain that ripped through me had nothing to do with them — and everything to do with the children I’d lost.

My babies would’ve been this size by now. The same tiny hands. The same weight in my arms.

The tears came before I could stop them.

Chloe leaned in, her lips almost brushing my ear.

“Just shut up and be my free nanny like a good girl. Julian and I have a honeymoon to plan.”

“Oh, and one more thing. Julian actually wanted to keep your babies.”

“I told him if you had those kids, he’d never have me. So he stood there and let it happen.”

Every muscle in my body was shaking. I could feel something past grief — something that burned.

I locked eyes with her.

“I’ll make you pay for this, Chloe. Every last bit of it.”

Surprise flickered across her face — and then something cold replaced it.

She reached over and pinched the baby in my arms, hard. The scream was instant.

Her whole body language shifted — wide eyes, trembling lip, the performance of a lifetime.

“Elena, I know you’re upset, but you can’t take it out on a baby!”

“If you don’t want them, just say so. You don’t have to be cruel about it.”

My father didn’t wait for an explanation. His hand cracked across my face.

“Chloe hands you the one thing you’ve always wanted, and this is how you repay her? By hurting my grandson?”

“Someone get her out of here. Call the hospital. I want this psycho committed — now.”

They must have been waiting outside. Men in scrubs — private fixers hired to look the part — stormed in and seized me by the arms.

My parents didn’t move. Julian didn’t move.

They stood there and watched me get dragged out the door.

Julian’s gaze dropped for a fraction of a second. If there was guilt there, he buried it fast.

“You’re not yourself right now. The kids aren’t safe around you like this.”

“We’ll come get you, Elena. Once you’re better.”

I’d heard that voice before — the same rehearsed tenderness he’d fed me after each miscarriage.

This time, not a single word reached me.

The second the car door shut, the act dropped.

The men closed in around me, leering, laughing like they’d been handed a gift.

“Chloe said we could rough you up a bit before we lock you away.”

“No one’s coming for you, sweetheart. Mommy and Daddy don’t care. Your husband sure as hell doesn’t.”

Hands grabbed at my clothes, pulling, tearing.

My hand found the paring knife I’d swiped from my breakfast tray and hidden under my clothes. I drove it into the nearest body without thinking.

Blood sprayed across the seat.

They scrambled back, hands up, suddenly terrified.

“We were just following orders! Please — put it down!”

A smile pulled at my mouth — thin, hollow, barely there.

“The second they put me in this car, I stopped planning on going home.”

“Five years. Everyone around me — every single one of them — was performing.”

“I’m done being the only one who didn’t know it was a show.”

I unbuckled the seatbelt. My hand found the door handle before anyone could stop me.

Wind tore through the car. Behind me, someone was screaming.

“No — don’t! Please, don’t—”

…

Back at the estate, Julian couldn’t shake the look in my eyes as they’d dragged me out.

Something sat wrong in his chest — a low, nagging dread he couldn’t name.

He pulled out his phone and opened our message thread.

He typed a message. Deleted it. Typed another. Deleted that one too.

Forget it. I’ll make it right when she gets back.

He set the phone down.

His phone buzzed. A hospital alert.

[ALERT — Mr. Pierce, severe impact and abnormal vitals detected on Elena’s smartwatch. Please confirm her status immediately.]

The blood drained from his face.

At that same moment, my father’s phone rang. The police.

“Mr. Vance, your daughter was involved in a serious accident en route to the facility. She was pronounced dead at the scene.”