Divorced And Reborn: The Masked Doctor's Return

The chime of the private elevator cuts through the quiet of the Manhattan penthouse.

Katerina pushes herself off the plush sofa, her hand instinctively coming to rest on the heavy, eight-month swell of her stomach. A nervous energy shot through her. Maybe tonight. Maybe tonight he would finally listen. Cayden is home.

She walks toward the foyer, the cold marble seeping through her socks. "Cayden, you're back late. The baby was kicking so hard tonight, I think he-"

The heavy oak doors swing open. The smile dies on her lips.

Cayden strides into the apartment, bringing the freezing December draft with him. His eyes, usually the color of warm amber, are frozen over. He looks at her not like a husband looking at his pregnant wife, but like a man inspecting a rotting carcass on the side of the road.

Simon Hayes, his executive assistant, steps in right behind him. Simon's face is pale, his posture rigid.

"Cayden?" Katerina's voice falters. Her heart performs a painful stutter in her chest.

Cayden doesn't say a word. He stops three feet away from her, his jaw ticking-a hard, rhythmic pulse of pure fury. He snaps his fingers.

Simon steps forward and drops a sealed manila envelope onto the glass coffee table. The slap of the paper against the glass sounds like a gunshot in the silent room.

"Open it," Cayden orders. His voice is devoid of any human warmth. It is a blade pressing against her throat.

Katerina's hands start to shake. She waddles to the table, her fingertips numb as she tears the seal. She pulls out a crisp stack of papers. The logo of a premier genetics lab sits at the top. It's a prenatal DNA test.

She flips to the final page. Her eyes scan the bold black ink at the bottom.

Probability of Paternity: 0.00%.

All the air is violently sucked from the room. Katerina's lungs forget how to expand. The paper slips from her trembling fingers, fluttering to the floor.

"No," she gasps, her throat constricting. "No, Cayden, this is wrong. This is a mistake."

She reaches out, her fingers brushing the sleeve of his tailored wool coat.

Cayden violently jerks his arm away. The force of his rejection sends her stumbling backward. Her hip collides hard with the edge of the sofa. Pain shoots up her spine, but it is nothing compared to the agony ripping through her chest.

"Don't touch me," he snarls, his upper lip curling in disgust. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out? Did you think you could pass off another man's child as the heir to the Merritt family?"

"I have never been with anyone else!" Katerina screams, tears spilling over her lashes, burning her cold cheeks. "It's yours! He is yours! Someone is setting me up!"

"Shut up!" Cayden's voice booms, vibrating the glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows. "Carmella warned me about you. She said you would deny everything. You destroyed her life, and now you expect me to raise the product of your filthy affairs?"

Katerina shakes her head frantically, her wet hair sticking to her face. Carmella. It's Carmella. The woman who had been clinging to Cayden, playing the victim, orchestrating this entire nightmare.

"She lied to you," Katerina begs, her voice cracking. "Cayden, please, look at me. Look at your wife."

Cayden's eyes are dead. He snaps his fingers toward the open doorway again.

A man in a dark suit steps into the penthouse, carrying a sleek black medical case. A private doctor.

"This is a sedative," Cayden says, his voice eerily smooth as he addresses her panic. "You're hysterical. The doctor will help you calm down." He shoots a cold, commanding look at the man in the dark suit. The doctor hesitates for a fraction of a second, his hand trembling slightly as he walks to the kitchen island. He pours a glass of water, his eyes averted, and extracts a single, chalky white pill from a blister pack.

Katerina's stomach drops so fast she feels physically sick. Her hands fly to her belly, shielding her unborn child.

"What are you doing?" she whispers, her vocal cords paralyzed with terror. She backs away, her spine hitting the freezing glass of the window. There is nowhere left to run.

"The Merritt family does not raise bastards," Cayden says, his tone conversational, which makes it infinitely more terrifying. "Get rid of it."

"No!" Katerina shrieks. "I'll leave! I'll sign the divorce papers! I won't take a single cent! Just let me keep my baby!"

Cayden doesn't even blink. He nods to the two massive bodyguards waiting in the hall.

They step in, their heavy boots thudding against the floor. They grab Katerina by the shoulders, their massive hands bruising her skin.

Katerina thrashes wildly. Her foot kicks out, shattering a crystal vase on the side table. Water and roses spill across the floor. "Don't touch me! Cayden, please! He's yours!"

Cayden walks up to her. He reaches out and grips her jaw. His fingers dig into her cheeks, forcing her mouth open. The smell of his cedar cologne makes her gag.

"Swallow it," he commands.

The doctor steps up, placing the bitter white pill on her tongue, immediately following it with a splash of water.

Cayden clamps his hand over her mouth, pinching her nose shut.

Katerina thrashes, her lungs burning, her eyes wide with absolute, primal terror. She holds her breath until black spots dance in her vision. Her chest heaves. Her body demands oxygen.

She swallows.

Cayden releases her. She collapses onto the carpet, coughing and choking, her hands desperately clutching her stomach as the poison begins its work. Cayden stands over her, watching her break, his face an impenetrable mask of ice.