CASSANDRA’S POV
Alex’s voice is still echoing in my ears when the call ends, not shouting, not pleading, threatening. That alone should have amused me.
Instead, it infuriates me. I lower the phone slowly, deliberately, until it rests against the polished surface of my desk. For a moment, I simply sit there, my posture perfect, my expression composed, my pulse hammering beneath the calm like a caged animal.
He said my child, not the baby, not Lavender’s pregnancy.
My child, that is new. And that more than the threat, more than the accusation, is what makes my fingers tremble. The plan was precise, measured. A whisper, not a scream. Enough stress to weaken her, enough fear to remind her she does not belong in his world. I never intended....
No, that’s a lie. I intended exactly what happ
