I was eight months pregnant, bleeding on the floor of my own baby shower after my husband shoved me through a table full of gifts. His mistress was standing at his side. His billionaire parents were applauding. What none of them knew was that I had already set their downfall in motion—and the FBI was seconds away from walking through the door.

Three days later, I was back in my private room at Dallas General Hospital. The continuous fetal monitor showed that Hunter’s vitals were completely stable, and the placental abruption had begun to heal nicely under Dr. Reed’s careful monitoring.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

I expected Agent Vance or Lily, but when the door opened slowly, Savannah Pierce stepped into the room.

She looked entirely different from the girl in the gold dress at the baby shower. She wore plain jeans, a dark sweater, and no makeup. She held a small white paper bag in her trembling hands and looked nervously at the floor.

"Vanessa?" Savannah whispered, standing near the threshold. "Can I... can I talk to you for a second?"

I gestured to the chair beside my bed. "Sit down, Savannah."

She walked over nervously and sat on the very edge of the cushion, setting the paper bag on her lap.

"I brought you some herbal tea from the lobby," Savannah said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "I... I know that doesn't fix anything. I know you probably hate me."

"I don't hate you, Savannah," I said truthfully, watching her closely. "I feel sorry for you. Ryan uses people until they aren't useful anymore. You were just his newest toy."

Tears welling in her eyes, Savannah wiped them quickly with the back of her hand. "He lied to me about everything, Vanessa. He told me you were insane. He told me you were sleeping with other men and trying to steal his money. He said you were holding the baby over his head to force him to stay in the marriage."

"And you believed him?"

"He gave me a job, an apartment, and expensive jewelry," Savannah sobbed, her shoulders shaking. "I was twenty-two and stupid. But when he pushed you... when I saw you lying on the floor in all that glass, bleeding... I realized he was a monster. He didn't care about you, he didn't care about the baby, and he didn't care about me."

She reached into her purse and pulled out a small, silver USB flash drive, setting it on the tray beside my bed.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It’s a recording from Ryan’s car three weeks ago," Savannah explained, her voice hardening. "He didn't know my phone was connected to his Bluetooth and recording audio notes. He was talking to his father about your pregnancy. He was planning to pay a medical technician to alter your lab results so it looked like Hunter had a fatal genetic anomaly, forcing you into an early termination."

My heart stopped. A cold, terrible fury surged through my veins.

I had known Ryan was cruel. I had known he was a thief and a fraud. But hearing the extent of his calculated evil made me realize just how close Hunter and I had come to total destruction.

"Why are you giving this to me?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Because I gave a copy to Agent Vance an hour ago," Savannah said, looking me directly in the eyes. "I’m testifying against him, Vanessa. I'm going to make sure he never gets out of prison."

I looked at the young woman sitting beside me. The naivety was gone, replaced by a sharp, burning desire for survival.