Taking Back My Life After My Fiancé And Best Friend Destroyed Me Chapter 08
The Graveyard Gambit
Liam brought me to a cemetery.
Not what I expected. But then he points to a hillside plot—green grass, quiet trees, a view of the valley below.
“I had someone pick it out,” he says, hands in his pockets, that lazy grin on his face. “Your mom would’ve liked the view. Peaceful. Beautiful. The kind of place where you just… rest.”
My throat closes. These past two days—Mom’s death, the chaos, no money, no time—I hadn’t even figured out where to bury her. Ethan controls all my money. I couldn’t afford a plot if I tried.
And Liam just… handled it. All of it.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
He waves it off. “Don’t get emotional on me. This is just standard employee benefits.”
I almost smile. Almost.
Then I hear Ethan call my name.
“Chloe!”
I turn. Ethan. Walking toward us across the grass with his head high.
My stomach drops. “What are you doing here?”
He doesn’t look angry. He looks excited. Pleased with himself.
“I know how your mother died!”
My hands go cold. I nearly lunge at him—but something holds me back. Instinct. Caution. The voice in my head that says *don’t give him what he wants.*
“How?” I say. Cold. Steady.
My thumb presses the record button on my phone inside my pocket.
Ethan grins, proud of himself. “Maya tried to stop me from visiting your mom. So I played along. Got her talking. Got her to confess.”
He holds up his phone. “She called your mother. Told her everything—about us, about the pregnancy. Your mom couldn’t take it. She jumped.”
He pauses, letting it land.
“I have the recording, Chloe. Maya’s voice. Her confession. Everything.”
“Marry me. Transfer the patents back. And I’ll hand this over to you. You can send Maya to prison yourself. Justice for your mother. All you have to do is come back to me.”
I stare at him.
This man recorded his pregnant mistress confessing to driving my mother to suicide—and his first thought was how to use it as a bargaining chip.
“Play it,” I say. “I need to hear it. How do I know you’re not lying?”
Ethan doesn’t hesitate. He hits play.
Maya’s voice comes from his phone. Every word. Every excuse. Every sick little reason she gives.
*”I didn’t think she’d react like that…”*
My nails dig into my palms so hard I feel skin break. I am so angry I can barely stand still.
But I hold.
The recording ends. Ethan looks at me with bright, eager eyes. “So? We have a deal?”
Liam glances at me, worried. I squeeze his hand once. *Trust me.*
I pull out my phone and hold it up.
“Ethan. Do you know what it means to cover up a crime?”
His smile falters.
“You just played me a recording that proves Maya killed my mother. You’ve had this evidence. And instead of going to the police, you came here to trade it for business deals.”
“I recorded everything you just said. Every word. If you don’t tell the police what you know, you go down with her. Cover-up. Helping a criminal. Either one works.”
The color drains from his face. Liam lets out a low whistle. “Damn. That’s smart.”
Ethan’s face changes. He stops pretending. Now he just looks desperate.
“You think I won’t hurt you?” His voice turns rough. “Fine. If I’m going down—you’re coming with me.”
He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a knife.
Everything happens in two seconds.
Ethan lunges. Liam grabs my arm and yanks me sideways. I hit the ground hard—hip first, then stomach, then everything goes dark.
Ethan trips over a headstone and crashes face-first into the dirt. Liam’s bodyguards are on him instantly, pinning him down, twisting the knife out of his grip.
Liam drops to his knees beside me. “Chloe—are you okay? Talk to me.”
I open my mouth. But something warm spreads low across my belly. I look down.
Blood. Soaking through my dress. Pooling on the grass beneath me.
No.
*No, no, no—*
Liam’s face goes white. He’s already dialing 911.
“Stay with me,” he says. His voice is steady but his hands are shaking. “Stay with me, Chloe. I’m right here.”
I grab his hand and hold on as tight as I can.
The ambulance siren gets louder in the distance.
But I already know.
I can already feel the baby slipping away.
—