Page 22 of Say You're Mine

The rest of the appointment and the ride home passes in that same hollow haze, and I find myself on the same couch I used to cuddle June on so many months before. Dark eyes and sweet words and the heat of his skin filling my brain until my head lolls back and dreams of him overtake me.

The slam of the door and Song's urgent voice rip me from sleep, and I blink up at him through bleary eyes as he pants for breath. Excitement pours off of him in waves, and the first true stirrings of emotion bloom in my chest.

"I followed her!" Song gasps, chest heaving and eyes bright using his hands to speak.

"What? Who?" I ask, clearing my throat.

Song's eyes are wild with excitement as he paces in front of me, his phone clutched tightly in his hand. "Amethyst, Cara."

I sit up straighter, the fog of my despair receding slightly in the face of his enthusiasm. "What did you find, Song?"

He thrusts his phone towards me, a series of images flashing across the screen. "I pretended to be a delivery guy to get into her place. And once I was in, I started snooping. Look at these."

"Holy shit," I breathe, looking up at Song with wide eyes. "How did you get these?"

" I followed her from Deveaux Corp to her condo. And you won't believe what I found."

"Song!" I gasp, torn between shock and grudging admiration. "That's so illegal!"

He shrugs, unrepentant. "Worth it if it helps bring June home, right?"

I scroll through the pictures, my heart pounding faster with each swipe. Pregnancy pillows in various sizes, clearly meant to simulate different stages of pregnancy. Dozens of unopened pregnancy tests scattered across a marble countertop. And there, damning in black and white, a sheaf of papers bearing the logo of a prominent fertility clinic.

"IVF papers," Song says, his voice tight with barely suppressed rage. "That bitch isn't pregnant at all. It's all a fucking lie."

Too many emotions crash over me - shock, disbelief, a searing fury that threatens to incinerate me from the inside out. My hands shake as I hand the phone back to Song, a red mist descending over my vision.

"That fucking bitch," I spit, pushing myself to my feet. "That lying, scheming, soulless harpy. I'll kill her. I'll rip that fake belly off and strangle her with it."

Song grabs my shoulders, his grip firm but gentle. "Whoa, easy there, mama bear. I get it, I want to go nuclear on her bleached ass too. But we have to be smart about this."

I inhale deeply, trying to calm the violent urges churning in my gut. He's right. As much as I want to go full scorched earth on Amethyst and everything she represents, I can't afford to be reckless. Not with June's life, and the life of our child, hanging in the balance.

"Okay," I say, my voice still shaky as I continue. "Okay. We need a plan. We need to confront her, get her to admit the truth. And then we use that truth to burn Elaine's house of cards to the fucking ground."

Song's grin is sharp and vicious, a mirror of the feral rage burning in my own heart. "Now you're talking. Let's go pay the wicked bitch a visit, shall we?"

The ride to Amethyst's condo passes in a blur, my mind whirring with all the things I want to say, all the ways I want to make her pay for her deceit. Song is a silent presence beside me, his hand resting on my knee in wordless support.

As we approach her door, I feel a flicker of apprehension beneath the anger. This is it. The moment of truth. The first step in the war I'm waging for my family, for the man I love more than my own life.

I raise my fist to knock, but the door swings open before I can make contact. Amethyst stands in the threshold, her perfectly made-up face a mask of confusion and irritation.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she snaps, her eyes flicking warily between me and Song.

I smile, a cold, brittle thing that doesn't reach my eyes. "Hello, Amethyst. I think it's time we had a little chat, don't you? About lies and deception and the consequences of fucking with my family."

Her face pales, a flicker of fear breaking through her haughty facade. "I don't know what you're talking about. Now get out of here before I call security."

She moves to slam the door, but I'm faster. My foot shoots out, wedging into the gap with bruising force. Amethyst stumbles back with a yelp as Song and I shoulder our way inside.

"Oh, I don't think you want to do that," I say, my voice deceptively pleasant. "See, we have proof. Proof of your little charade. And unless you want that proof plastered across every tabloid and gossip site from here to kingdom come, you're going to tell me everything."

I stalk towards her, backing her against the wall until we're nose to nose. "Starting with where the hell Elaine is keeping June. And what I need to do to bring him home."

Amethyst trembles, her eyes wide and glassy with terror. But beneath the fear, I see a glimmer of something else. Something calculating. Something that tells me she's not as dumb or submissive as she's played at being.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about," she stammers, her gaze darting between me and Song like a cornered animal.

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