Vanessa's POV
The phone screen went dark, and for a long moment, Vanessa didn’t move.
The faint hum of the city filled the silence, from the traffic far below, to the distant echo of sirens, life continuing as if nothing had just shifted. But everything had.
She sat by the wide window of the penthouse, wrapped in a champagne coloured silk robe, with one leg curled beneath her, the other stretched toward the light. The glass before her caught her reflection, perfect skin, tired eyes, lips parted in thought.
Her hand drifted absently across her stomach.
Two.
Two babies.
Her lips curved slowly, not into a smile but something darker.
The irony wasn’t lost on her.
The woman who had taken everything from her, Damian’s attention, the public’s sympathy, the image of purity Vanessa could
