Pregnant For The Alpha I Never Met

Revenge plan

MARTHA'S POV

The bruises had faded to ugly yellow-green splotches across my ribs and arms. The split lip had healed, though I could still feel the phantom ache when I touched it. But the rage? The rage had only grown stronger, festering like an infected wound.

The photos were everywhere… paparazzi shots of her walking through the city with that insufferable confidence, entertainment news coverage of her leaving the mall, candid images of her at some outing with Callie.

And in almost every recent photo, there he was. Braham Gothan. And sometimes, if the paparazzi got lucky, that boy. Lionel.

My chest tightened every time I saw them together. The perfect little family. The happy ending she didn't deserve.

The happy ending I unknowingly created for her.

I clicked on another article. "Millie-Rose Harvey Visits Father in Prison… Exclusive Photos!" The headline screamed at me. I forced myself to read it, even though every word felt like broken glass in my throat.

Sources say the meeting was brief and tense. Harvey emerged looking composed but emotional, declining to comment to the waiting press. Legal experts suggest her legal team has been quietly building cases against multiple family members, including her stepmother Sabrina Norman and stepsister Martha Harvey, for fraud and embezzlement…

My hand trembled on the mouse. They'd used an old photo of me… from back when I thought I had everything. When I thought Silas loved me. When I thought my father's attention meant something.

I slammed the laptop shut.

The apartment was silent except for the dripping faucet in the kitchen that Silas still hadn't fixed. He'd been gone for hours. Probably at some bar, drinking away whatever pathetic feelings he had left. Or maybe he was out there somewhere, watching Millie like the obsessed fool he was.

I stood up, wincing as my ribs protested. The doctor at the clinic had said nothing was broken, but it sure as hell didn't feel that way. Every breath reminded me of what Silas had done. Of how he'd blamed me for everything while Millie sailed off into her perfect new life.

I walked to the window and stared out at the street below. A mother walked past with her young son, holding his hand as they crossed the street. The boy looked about three or four. Around Lionel's age.

My phone buzzed on the table. I picked it up and saw a text from an unknown number.

Got the information you wanted. When do you want to meet?

I reached out to him three days ago… Daniel Chen, a private investigator who'd done some work for my father before everything fell apart. He wasn't exactly reputable, but that's exactly why I needed him. Someone who wouldn't ask too many questions. Someone who'd take cash and keep his mouth shut.

I typed back quickly: Tomorrow. Same place.

His response came immediately: Bring payment.

I set down the phone and returned to my laptop, opening it again despite knowing it would only make me angrier. But I couldn't help myself. I needed to see. Needed to confirm what I already knew.

There was a new photo… posted just an hour ago by some celebrity gossip site. Millie at a park, sitting on a bench. And next to her, partially obscured by her arm as she tried to block the camera, was Lionel. You could barely see his face, just his small hand in hers and the edge of his profile.

"Millie-Rose Harvey protective of son amid family legal drama," the caption read.

Protective. As if she had any idea what real danger looked like.

I zoomed in on the photo, studying the background. There was a distinctive playground structure… red and yellow, with a curved slide. And behind it, I could see part of a street sign. It was blurry, but I could make out enough.

Riverside Park. The one on the east side.

I took a screenshot.

My hands were shaking now, but not from fear. From anticipation. From the sick satisfaction of having something… anything… that felt like power.

I didn't want to hurt the boy. Not really. He was innocent in all of this…just a child caught up in the mess his mother had created. But Millie needed to understand.

She needed to feel what I felt. The helplessness. The fear. The knowledge that everything you love could be taken away in an instant.

Maybe I'd just scare her. Get close enough to Lionel that she'd know I could reach him anytime I wanted. Maybe that would be enough. Maybe then she'd back off, drop the charges, leave me and what was left of my family alone.

Or maybe... maybe I'd take him. Just for a little while. Just long enough for Millie to know what it felt like to lose everything.

I closed my eyes, and for just a moment, I saw my father's face. Not the broken man rotting in prison, but the father from my childhood. The one who'd smile when I brought him my report cards. The one who'd promised me I'd inherit everything someday.

"She took him from us," I whispered to the empty room. "She took everything."

It wasn't true. Not entirely. I knew, in some distant part of my mind, that my father had made his own choices. That he'd committed crimes. That Millie was just trying to get back what was rightfully hers.

But the truth didn't matter anymore. The truth was too painful. It was easier to blame Millie. Easier to paint her as the villain in this story.

My phone buzzed again. Another text from Daniel:

I have eyes on the location. They're creatures of habit. Same park, three times this week. Usually between 2-4pm.

My heart raced. Creatures of habit. That was good. That was useful.

I typed back: Keep watching. I'll be in touch.

Then I opened a new browser window and searched for Riverside Park. The layout appeared on my screen… walking paths, playground areas, parking lots. I studied it carefully, planning.

Tomorrow I'd meet with Daniel. Get all the information he'd gathered. Pay him for his silence.

And then…

And then I'd make my move.

I stood up and walked to the bathroom, flipping on the harsh fluorescent light. My reflection stared back at me; pale skin, dark circles under my eyes, a fading bruise along my jawline.

I barely recognized myself.

When did I become this person? This woman who was planning to terrorize a child just to hurt his mother?

Yeah, I knew I wasn’t exactly nice to Millie from the beginning but she deserved it, she stole everything from me every time; the spotlight, the love from everybody except my parents… and… everything I ever wanted always went to her on a platter.

I thought of Millie's face in those photos. Confidence. Composed. Happy. She got to be happy while I was falling apart. She got to have her perfect family while mine was destroyed.

It wasn't fair.

None of this was fair.

"She deserves this," I said to my reflection. "She brought this on herself."

The woman in the mirror didn't look convinced, but I turned away before I could think too hard about it.

I had work to do.

Plans to make.

And just when Millie thinks she'd have her happy ending. Her perfect family. Her fresh start…

Then I’d strike, I would make sure she understood something first: people like her didn't get happy endings. Not while people like me were still suffering because of them.

I pulled out my phone and looked at the screenshot again. The park. The playground. The boy's small hand in his mother's.

So easy to reach. So vulnerable.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, though I wasn't sure if I was apologizing to Lionel or to the woman I used to be. "But she left me no choice."

And I almost believed it.