Chapter 1: The Woman He Called His Wife
Christmas Eve was supposed to be the night I told my husband we were going to have a baby.
Instead, I watched him rush into my emergency department, terrified for another woman’s unborn child, and call her his wife.
My name is Dr. Claire Moretti.
I was thirty years old, five years into my marriage, and working the overnight shift at St. Catherine Medical Center in Chicago because I couldn't bear the thought of spending another lonely holiday at home.
Vincent had told me he was traveling to New York for business.
He kissed my forehead that morning, adjusted his expensive watch, and promised he would return after Christmas.
I almost told him then.
Two pink lines had appeared on a pregnancy test forty-eight hours earlier.
After losing our first baby the previous year, I had spent months convincing myself that perhaps motherhood wasn't meant for me.
Now I was pregnant again.
But I wanted to hear a heartbeat before telling Vincent.
And somewhere deep inside, I wanted to know whether the man I had married still loved me.
For months, he had been disappearing.
Late meetings.
Unexplained hotel charges.
Transfers from accounts I didn't recognize.
Then came the photographs.
My husband with a blonde woman outside a hotel, his hand resting intimately against her back.
Her name was Vanessa Reed.
I had already hired a divorce attorney, Rebecca Collins.
Vincent knew nothing about it.
At 10:47 p.m., the ambulance doors burst open.
“Thirty-year-old female, approximately eight weeks pregnant,” the paramedic announced.
“Severe abdominal pain, active bleeding, blood pressure eighty-eight over fifty-four.””
I moved toward the stretcher.
“What’s her name?””
“Vanessa Reed.””
Then I saw her face.
The woman from the photographs.
She grabbed my wrist with trembling fingers.
“Please save my baby.””
I swallowed the pain rising in my throat and began examining her.
Whatever Vanessa had done, she was my patient.
And her baby deserved a chance.
Minutes later, the emergency department doors flew open again.
Vincent rushed inside without a coat, snow melting in his dark hair.
“Where is she?”” he demanded.
“Where’s my wife?””
Then he saw me.
His face went white.
“Claire?””
Before he could explain why he was supposed to be in New York, Vanessa called from the treatment room.
“Vincent!””
He turned toward her instantly.
“Baby, I’m here!””
I stared at the man who had once held me while I cried over our lost child.
“So that’s your wife?””
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
I turned away before he could offer an excuse.
For two hours, I helped the obstetrics team stabilize Vanessa.
Her bleeding slowed, and her pregnancy continued, though the next forty-eight hours remained critical.
When I finally stepped into the hallway, Vincent was waiting.
“Is the baby okay?”” he asked desperately.
I looked at him and remembered the night I had lost ours.
“I called you seventeen times,” I whispered.
“I was bleeding in a hospital room, and you didn't come until the next afternoon.””
“Claire, I was working.””
“And tonight, nothing could keep you away from her.””
His jaw tightened.
“That isn't fair.””
“No,” I replied, fighting back tears.
“Fair would have been having my husband beside me when our baby died.””
He reached for my hand.
I stepped away.
“We're getting a divorce.””
His expression collapsed.
“What?””
“You heard me.””
“You're upset. You don't mean that.””
For the first time in months, I knew exactly what I meant.
I walked into the staff lounge, locked the door, and sank against the wall.
My hand covered my stomach.
The tiny life growing inside me was the reason I had almost stayed.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” I whispered.
“But Mommy can't keep pretending Daddy loves us.””
Then my phone vibrated.
Rebecca had texted me.
Everything is ready. I'll be there in thirty minutes.
I wiped my tears and stood.
Outside the lounge, I heard a familiar voice.
“Mr. Moretti? My name is Rebecca Collins.
I'm Dr. Claire Moretti's attorney.””
Silence followed.
Then Vincent asked, barely above a whisper, “Her attorney?””
Paper rustled.
“My client has instructed me to begin divorce proceedings.””
I pressed my palm against my stomach.
May you like
Because Vincent had no idea about the baby.
And when he finally discovered the truth, I suspected the woman he had called his wife wouldn't be the only secret threatening to destroy his life.
