Her smirk widened as she stepped back, placing a hand on her stomach. “I had a plan, Zoey,” she said. “James was supposed to think this baby was his.”
I froze. Then, to my horror, Kate lifted her shirt and peeled off a fake belly. My stomach twisted in confusion. If she wasn’t really pregnant… then how did she plan to convince James he had a child?
Kate’s eyes burned with a cold fury as she glared down at me. “Listen, Zoey,” she hissed, her voice low and dangerous, “if you ever let James know what really happened, I’ll kill you. So leave us. Understand?”
I could only nod, my throat tight with disbelief and betrayal. Somehow, despite everything, she let me live—with one very strict condition: I was to disappear from their lives forever and never meddle again in anything involving James.
I couldn’t let the moment pass without asking the questions that had been clawing at my mind. “Kate, why… why would you do this? How did you end up with him?” I demanded, my voice trembling between anger and sorrow.