Part 3The Childfree Wife's Secret Baby

I didn't sleep. I sat in a 24-hour diner, drafting the divorce agreement on a napkin before taking it to a lawyer at dawn.

By noon, I had the papers. I handed them to Lee and walked away.

But my feet betrayed me. I found myself walking back toward the St. James mansion. I needed... I don't know what I needed. Closure? To see it one last time?

I stood on the sidewalk, looking up at the second-floor window. Through the sheer curtains, I saw them. Margot and Felix.

They weren't fighting. They were entangled.

I turned to leave, stomach churning, but Felix saw me. He locked eyes with me through the glass and deliberately pulled her closer, his movements aggressive, performative. Margot let out a sound that carried through the open window.

I looked down. The boy, Leo, was standing at the gate, pointing a toy gun at me.

"Go away, beggar!" the kid shouted. "My daddy said you're a beggar!"

The window slid open. Felix leaned out, shirtless, looking like a king addressing a peasant. "Back for more, Officer? Ready to apologize?"

Margot appeared behind him, wrapping a silk robe around herself. "Roman? Jesus, look at you. You look like a homeless person. You’re scaring my son."

Scaring her son.

I had scars on my face from windburn and shrapnel, earned keeping people like them safe. To her, I was just ugly.

"Did you sign the papers?" I asked, my voice flat.

"What papers?" Margot frowned.

Leo started crying, loud and fake. Margot’s attention snapped to the boy. "We’ll talk later. Just go."

Felix smirked. Once Margot moved away to comfort the kid, he disappeared from the window. A minute later, the front door cracked open. Felix tossed a manila envelope onto the wet pavement.

"She signed it ages ago," he laughed. "Just needed a reason to give it to you. Good riddance."

I picked up the muddy envelope. I didn't check it. I just wanted out.

I called my old commanding officer, requested a transfer back to the unit, and headed straight for Logan Airport.

I thought I was free.

I was wrong.

I was at the gate, ticket in hand, when a heavy purse slammed into the back of my head.

"Roman! You sick bastard!"

I spun around. Margot was there, eyes wild, chest heaving.

"Where is he?" she screamed, clawing at my jacket. "Where is my son? What did you do with Leo?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb! The kidnapping happened an hour after you left! The security feed shows a man who looks exactly like you taking him!"

Two of her bodyguards grabbed my arms.

"I didn't touch your kid," I said, struggling.

Felix came running up, panting, and threw himself at my feet. "Roman, please! Take anything! Take the money, take the house! Just give me back my boy!"

Margot pulled Felix up, glaring at me with pure hatred. "You’re a monster. I never thought you’d stoop this low."

She slapped me. Hard.

"I am a soldier," I roared, the anger finally breaking through. "I have never dishonored my uniform! I didn't take your son. If someone who looks like me took him, ask your boyfriend why he owns a wig!"

Margot didn't listen. She nodded to the guards. "Bring him."

They dragged me to a waiting SUV.

They took me to a warehouse near the docks—one of the St. James shipping properties. They didn't call the police. They tied my hands to a ceiling beam.

One of the guards stepped forward with a heavy rubber hose.

"Tell us where the boy is," Margot said, her voice trembling.

The first strike hit my ribs like a sledgehammer.

"I don't know!" I gasped.

They beat me for what felt like hours. Ribs cracked. Skin split. I hung there, a piece of meat, barely conscious.

"Ninety-nine," the guard counted, breathless.

I couldn't feel my legs anymore.

Just as the darkness was about to swallow me completely, the warehouse doors exploded inward.

"FBI! DOWN! GET ON THE GROUND!"

Through the haze, I saw a familiar figure. Broad shoulders. Tactical gear.

Gunner. My sniper.

He saw me hanging there, dripping blood, and let out a roar that shook the walls.

"Margot St. James!" Gunner screamed, leveling his rifle at her. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"