Seven Years of Stolen Blood

Something was hidden in the false bottom of the cigar box.

It was a woman's bracelet.

I held my breath, picking up the delicate chain with trembling fingers.

Inside, an inscription was engraved in handwriting I recognized instantly.

[To Lori, my eternal anchor.]

The date inscribed was the day before our wedding.

The next morning, after dropping Caleb off at school, I didn't go to the office.

I drove to a high-end jewelry store downtown where Kierann maintained a VIP account.

I handed over my black card, keeping my voice level.

"Hello, I need to review our custom order history. Some pieces at home don't seem to match their certificates."

The clerk quickly pulled up the purchase records from the last six months.

My eyes scanned a long list of expensive items I had never seen.

Diamond necklaces, haute couture gowns, limited-edition handbags.

All of them were shipped to an address in California.

I scribbled down the address and strode out of the store.

That evening, while Kierann was in the shower, his personal laptop lay on the desk in the study.

It was password-protected.

I entered our wedding anniversary. Incorrect.

Then I tried his birthday, and the date the company went public. All wrong.

Finally, with a hollow laugh at my own foolishness, I typed in the date from the bracelet. The screen unlocked.

My heart sank.

The desktop appeared.

A map application icon was pinned right at the top.

When I opened it, it showed the exact address from the jewelry store's records, marked with a glaring red heart symbol.

Ice flooded my veins. He hadn't just saved the address; he had pinned it.

That address clearly meant the world to him.

I closed the laptop.

My hands were shaking, but my mind was clear and cold.

I put the laptop back exactly where I found it, then called my assistant, Cole.

"Find out who lives at this address. As fast as you can."

...

I hung up and tiptoed into Caleb's room.

He was sleeping soundly.

Kierann used to say he looked like me, but now… now I couldn't see a single trace of myself in his features.

The thorn in my heart dug deeper.

During a science fair at his school, I managed to get a lock of Caleb's hair, using the excuse of a new allergy screening.

That afternoon, I drove to the outskirts of the city and found an anonymous private DNA lab.

"I need a maternity test," I told the lab technician, sliding my sample across the counter. "Rush it. I need the results as fast as humanly possible."

During the week-long wait, Kierann started coming home late more frequently.

He used the excuse of handling the company's overseas business.

Before leaving, he would spend more time than usual in front of the mirror, preening.

One day, I followed him.

My car trailed his across the city, finally stopping outside a five-star hotel in Beverly Hills.

I watched Kierann get out of his car.

A woman in a vibrant red dress was already waiting for him.

It had to be her. Lori. The name on every receipt.

Kierann smoothly took her handbag as his other arm wrapped possessively around her waist.

He whispered something in her ear.

With just a few words, she blushed.

They spoke in low voices, their bodies pressed close as they strolled into the hotel lobby.