MY BILLIONAIRE EX THREW $30 AT ME WHEN I WAS PREGNANT AND SAID: "TAKE IT AND DISAPPEAR!" 10 YEARS LATER, I SAW HIM ON TV TELLING MILLIONS: "MY GREATEST REGRET IS THAT I NEVER HAD CHILDREN." I LOOKED AT THE 10-YEAR-OLD TWINS SLEEPING BESIDE ME—BOTH CARRYING HIS UNMISTAKABLE FACE—AND LAUGHED. THEN I TEXTED MY LAWYER: "GET THE INVITATIONS READY. WE'RE ATTENDING HIS COMPANY GALA."

Victoria screamed as her nose shattered, the gun slipping from her fingers and firing a harmless round into the hardwood floorboards.

In that same split second, Ethan lunged forward, tackling Julian Vance over the heavy glass coffee table. The table exploded into a thousand glittering shards as the two brothers slammed onto the rug, trading violent, heavy blows.

I dropped to my knees beside Noah, pulling a tactical knife from Ethan’s belt and slicing through the plastic zip-ties around his wrists.

"Noah! Are you okay?!" I sobbed, pulling his face into my hands, kissing his forehead violently. "Are you hurt, baby?!"

"Mom!" Noah threw his arms around my neck, sobbing into my shoulder, his tough exterior instantly melting away. "I thought... I thought you didn't want me anymore!"

"Never!" I wept, holding him close. "You are my heart, Noah! Nothing changes that! Never!"

Across the room, a deafening gun blast echoed off the high ceilings.

I whipped my head around. Julian Vance was lying on his back near the shattered fireplace, his shoulder bleeding heavily, his gun knocked away into the dying embers of the fire.