[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-2603222E6F78-130":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},130,32,"Chapter 32: \"Make Sure You Target the Belly.\"","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Mr. Anderson, a package arrived at the front desk for you.\" Assistant Cook pushed the door open, his expression grim.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"A package?\" Maximus Anderson frowned. He took the padded envelope, tore it open, and dumped the contents onto his desk. A digital voice recorder slid out.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He toyed with the device, his brow furrowed. Who would send this? What was the endgame?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Mr. Anderson, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head out.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maximus nodded, lost in thought. He pressed play.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Five hundred thousand. Make sure she gets a taste of prison hospitality,\" a voice crackled through the speaker.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Delilah Kelly? It was undeniably her.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Five hundred thousand? Hospitality for whom?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maximus narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening on the recorder.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Understood, Miss Kelly. Rest assured, we’ll take great care of her,\" a second voice replied, raspy and cold.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Miss Kelly. It was definitely Delilah. What was she planning?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Prison? The gears in his head turned. Rose Harrison—he remembered, dimly, that she had been brutally beaten in prison, an assault that had led to her miscarriage.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Oh, and one more thing. Make sure you pay special attention to her belly. Do it right, and there’s another hundred thousand in it for you.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"The belly? She’s pregnant? Understood. It’ll be taken care of.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The recording cut to static.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maximus’s gaze deepened, a dark, suffocating rage clouding his vision. For a long time, he just sat there, the silence in the office becoming absolute. Finally, he snapped out of his trance, grabbed his keys from the desk, and stormed out. He needed answers.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">At the Anderson Estate, Delilah was lounging on a chaise, enjoying a sunbath.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">From a distance, she spotted Maximus’s tall, imposing figure approaching. Her face lit up. She jumped to her feet, beaming as she hurried toward him. \"Max! You’re home!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Delilah threw her arms around him, burying her face against his chest like a happy bird returning to its nest.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Maximus pulled her close, his voice unnervingly calm. \"How are you feeling today? Any better?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Much better! Martha has been fussing over me with bone broth and vitamins every single day. Look, I’ve even put on some weight.\" She pouted, patting her stomach playfully. \"I’m getting a little chubby right here.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You, though,\" Maximus murmured, reaching up to pinch her nose with a look of feigned doting.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I have a question for you.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Hm? Ask away.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Do you really hate Rose Harrison?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Delilah froze for a split second before forcing a laugh. \"Max, why would you ask that? I mean... I guess I do? She’s the one who stole you away from me, isn't she?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"So,\" Maximus’s voice dropped, turning into a blade of ice. \"Is that why you hired people to torment her in prison?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He stared at her, his eyes frozen over. Delilah’s face drained of color, her eyes darting frantically as she realized the trap she had walked into.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I... I didn't... I didn't do anything!\" She looked down, trembling, denying it with everything she had.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But her mind raced back to that day at the hospital—the moment she’d caught Rose walking out of the OB-GYN, clutching an ultrasound image with a pea-sized image of a fetus.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She felt a surge of pure venom. No. It couldn't happen.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She would never let Rose Harrison carry Maximus’s child. Not then, not ever. Mrs. Anderson was a title meant for her, and any heir to the Anderson fortune would only ever belong to Delilah Kelly.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272922303]