The dining room shone with soft candlelight, casting a golden hue over the table set for two. Arianna stood back with a smile on her lips as she surveyed the scene. Everything was perfect just as she'd envisioned.
Andrew is going to love this!
She'd spent hours cooking his favorite meals, planning every detail for their six-month anniversary. This was supposed to be a special night.
But as Arianna glanced at the clock, her smile vanished. It was past eight, and Andrew was never this late.
Frowning, she grabbed her phone from the couch. The baby monitor beside it showed her son fast asleep upstairs. So she dialed Andrew but it went straight to voicemail.
"What's keeping him so late today?" she murmured, the anxiety beginning to creep in.
He hadn't mentioned working late at the bank. This was unlike him.
By the time the third call went unanswered, she was no longer comfortable. And with that, came the negative thoughts.
What if….
"No, he can't be here. Not now. It's been a year…" she whispered, pacing across the living room.
Arianna tried to shake off the unease, attributing it to paranoia. But the thought of Antonio Blackheart sent a chill down her spine. The man who'd haunted her past. That devil in human form.
A year had passed since she'd escaped his grasp, building a new life with Andrew and Liam. But the fear was still there and right now, it was threatening to overwhelm her.
In her panic, Arianna stumbled, and grabbed the armrest for support. She ran to the drawer, pulling out her pills. The trauma of the past four years had left scars that wouldn't be healing anytime soon.
The pills calmed her nerves and she reached for the phone again intending to call Andrew again only to freeze. A shadow just walked past her window.
"Andrew?"
"You're just being paranoid," she whispered, trying to convince herself. But the lights went out, plunging the room into darkness.
Oh God, no.
"Andrew?" She called, forcing a shaky laugh,
"If this is a prank, it's not funny."
Then she opened the front door, expecting to see him. Instead, she found a severed finger on the doorstep, a wedding ring glinting on it.
Arianna screamed, collapsing back in horror. Her worst nightmare had come true.
Antonio was here. He found her.
Liam's cries pierced the air, jolting her into action and she raced upstairs, her heart pounding in her chest. She had to get out of here, now!
But Arianna entered the nursery, a cold metal pressed against her temple and her breath caught in her throat.
Moonlight illuminated the room, revealing Liam was no longer lying in his cribs. Antonio was holding her son in his arms.
"Please..." she began, but Antonio's glare silenced her. If there was anything the man hated, it was begging.
The figure who had the gun pressed against her temple, shoved her forward so she stood in the middle of the room.
Arianna looked at Antonio closely now. The man still looked the same as the last time she saw him. If anything changed, it was the fact his expression looked more hardened now. As if he wasn't cruel enough.
So many thoughts ran through Arianna's head that moment. She imagined snatching her son from his arms and taking off. But then if she had no doubt Antonio would murder her son in cold blood if she took a step forward.
Antonio examined Liam, his expression unreadable. "He doesn't have your eyes or that of your stupid husband," he muttered.
So he was the reason Andrew wasn't home. God knew what he did to him.
Tears welled in her eyes. "Antonio, he has nothing to do with this. Please, don't hurt him," Arianna pleaded.
Antonio scoffed, not even looking at her. "But it doesn't matter. He's just going to end up like him." He cocked his gun, pointing it at Liam.
He was going to kill her son! Arianna had no choice but to let the cat out of the bag!
"No!" she screamed. "He's your son!"
Antonio froze. For the first time, he showed emotion and it was confusion. Then it dawned on him.
That's why she ran. She was carrying his child.