Chapter 26

**Audrey's POV**

I didn't bother answering but studied Laurel's face, partially hidden behind the bandages. The placement seemed deliberate, strategic even -covering just enough to suggest injury while still allowing her to display her delicate, fragile face. A Hollywood star indeed.

"Please..." Laurel's voice trembled with practiced vulnerability as she pressed one manicured hand to her chest. "If Mrs. Parker says she didn't do it, then... let's not pursue this further. I don't want to cause any more trouble..."

I almost admired her performance, as her words and every deliberate action were implying that I was the one who slapped her last night.

"The security footage will show exactly what happened," I said, my voice steady despite theburning pain in my stomach. "Why don't we review it?"

Elizabeth cleared her throat delicately. "Actually, the surveillance system in the ballroom was turned off during the celebration. Many of New York's elite attended-they value their privacy highly."

*How convenient*, I thought,watching Thalia's momentary flash of relief.

"She's obviously lying!" Thalia's voice rose sharply, perhaps a bit too quickly. "Who else would have hit Laurel? A Hollywood star with a spotless reputation - why would anyone else attack her?"

I turned my gaze slowly from Rebecca to Laurel, my voice carrying a hint of cold amusement. "Do you really think you can freely accuse me just because there's no security footage to prove what actually happened?"

"Accuse? Look at her face!" Rebecca gestured dramatically toward Laurel."Anyway. You haveto apologize to Laurel, and we can put this unfortunate incident behind us."

I watched as Blake sighed, his brow furrowing with what looked like concern. "Laurel's health has always been delicate," he said, his voice softening in a way it never did for me anymore. "That slap was hard. Just apologize,Audrey. Why make things more difficult?"

I raised an eyebrow, meeting his dark gaze as a sardonic smile played at my lips. "Are you really going to twist the truth just to protect your precious Miss Rose?"

If Blake had actually witnessed me strike Laurel, he would have confronted me instantly - he'd never have waited for his mother and sister to play defenders of Laurel's honor. His silence now spoke volumes. He knew exactly who had struck her, but acknowledging that truth would mean disappointing his mother, sister, and most importantly, his beloved Laurel. Far easier to make me the villain of this little drama.

Perhaps I had grown too accustomed to his betrayals, because his words didn't pierce my heart the way they once would have. After years of collecting disappointments, my heart had developed quite the tolerance.

"You want an apology?" I walked deliberately toward Laurel, who shrank back against Blake's chest. "Fine. Let's examine the evidence first."

Before anyone could react, I reached out and yanked the gauze from her face. The placed bandages came away easily, revealing... a handprint.

"Interesting," I said, letting the gauze flutter to the floor. "I've lost quite a bit of weight recently. My fingers are quite thin now." I held up my palm for comparison, then gestured toward Thalia's larger hands. "This mark

clearly wasn't made by my hand. How could I possibly have made it?"

Laurel let out a theatrical gasp, burying her face in Blake's chest. "Blake,darling... she's being so cruel..."

I watched as Blake's arms came around her protectively, saw Thalia's face pale slightly as others in the room began to notice the size discrepancy.Even Elizabeth and Olivia leaned forward, their expressions shifting from disdain to uncertainty.

The familiar taste of metal filled my mouth, but I forced it back. I wasn't done yet.

"Miss Rose," I said, my voice carrying clearly across the room. "Since you seem so eager for an apology..."

Before anyone could react, I raised my hand and, channeling every ounce of strength I had left, brought it down across her face with a resounding slap. This time, there would be no question about whose handprint it was.

I could see her made-up cheek swelling visibly.

"There," I said, meeting her shocked gaze steadily. "That one was definitely from me. I'm so sorry, Miss Rose. Is that the apology you wanted?"

"Audrey!" Blake's voice thundered through the room as he pulled Laurel closer. "It was just an apology! Did you have to take it this far?"

"Blake, darling..." Laurel's voice wavered, showing her vulnerability. "It hurts so much..."

I turned away from their little tableau, the burning in my stomach intensifying. "I believe we're done here."

Parker Mansion sat in an exclusive area of the Hamptons, far from the usual taxi routes.I crouched by the roadside, staring at the rain puddles dotting the driveway. After the third failed attempt to get an Uber,I scrolled to Astrid's number.

"Can you come get me?" I asked when she answered. "I'm outside Parker Mansion."

"What?" Her voice rose with concern. "James said you were at Mayo Clinic."I was heading to the hospital to see you after work," Astrid's voice crackled with concern through the phone. "Why are you there instead?"

"Well. it's a long story. I - " The words of explanation died on my lips as the roar of an engine interrupted. My head turned instinctively toward the sound, though I already knew what I would see.

Blake's black car approached like an advancing storm. I barely had time to register his expression through the tinted windows before the vehicle tore past me, deliberately hitting the deeper puddles. The spray of muddy water completely ruined my new outfit.

I stared down at my now-soaked clothes, a wry smile tugging at my lips. *Of course.* Trust Blake Parker to take revenge for his precious Laurel in the most childishly dramatic way possible. So much for his grand speech about apologies making everything right.

*What a petty man*, I thought, brushing ineffectually at the mud stains.

**Blake's POV**

Sitting in the back seat, I was reviewing some documents when I noticed Laurel's silence. Following her gaze out the window, I saw what had caught her attention.

Audrey was crouching by the roadside, phone in one hand while the other absently pulled at some grass growing near the flower bed. She looked impossibly small there,hunched in on herself-too thin and fragile.

My chest tightened with an emotion I refused to name. The changes in her were impossible to ignore now. This wasn't the gradual weight loss of someone watching their figure. This was something else entirely.

The miscarriage, a voice whispered in my mind. But even as I thought it,it felt wrong. There was something else going on, something I was missing.

"Blake." Laurel's breathy whisper cut through my thoughts. Her lower lip trembled before she collapsed against me, one manicured hand fluttering to her throat. "Everything hurts so much..."

The familiar routine snapped me back to the present. I caught her automatically. "That bad?"

"They say about the stomach being tied to emotions. What if I never recover?"

"Hey." I gathered her closer. "Modern medicine works miracles. You'll be fine."

As I said, my fingers moved across my phone screen: [Michael- Send a car to the Parker mansion for Audrey. Get her back to home.]