Chapter 4The Grave of the Son You Traded for Her

But as I prepared the papers, Jamie was diagnosed with acute leukemia.

The doctors said the best option was a bone marrow transplant. I tested immediately, but I wasn't a match.

In my darkest hour, Grant was a match. He became my last, desperate hope.

For Jamie’s life, I swallowed my pride and put the divorce on hold.

He donated marrow twice. Both surgeries were successful.

Just as Jamie’s health stabilized, Tess became pregnant.

She brought in a spiritual consultant who declared the child was the Montgomery family’s “lucky star,” destined to usher in a golden age. The entire household treated her pregnancy like a sacred event.

Tess decided the primary bedroom I lived in had bad energy and demanded I move. Grant indulged her, moving me into a dark, tiny utility room.

Next, she claimed Jamie’s nursery had the best light and needed to be converted into her baby’s room.

I watched the house staff begin throwing Jamie’s favorite toys and books into garbage bags. I charged forward, blocking them.

“You can’t touch my son’s things!”

The private security were all Grant’s hires, now explicitly protecting Tess. She ordered them to restrain me. They held me down on the floor.

Tess sat on the sofa, a smirk playing on her lips. “Fine, Maddie. You want to save his little room?”

“Wipe the mud off my boots with your sleeve. Then I’ll call them off.”

“Go to hell!” I screamed, glaring up at her. “You pathetic whore! You’ll rot for this!”

The words were barely out of my mouth when my hair was seized, and a sickening crack echoed through the room. Grant’s hand slammed into my face. My cheek instantly swelled.

Grant stood over me, his eyes cold and empty.

“Are you insane, Maddie? You dare curse her? She’s carrying the Montgomery heir!”

Once, if I’d gotten a paper cut, he would have fussed over me. Now, he hit me for another woman.

After that day, life for Jamie and me in that house became a continuous nightmare. At Tess’s instruction, the house staff fed us spoiled leftovers. Our utility room was tiny, freezing, and without heat in the winter.

One night, freezing, Jamie cried and shook me awake. “Mommy, I’m hungry.”

I tried to sneak to the kitchen for food. Tess caught me, screaming that I was stealing from the pantry.

That night, in the twenty-degree cold, Grant locked me outside in the garden for the entire night.

Shivering violently, I repeated my mantra in my head: Just hold on. One more surgery. Then everything will be fine.

The doctors had confirmed it: one final bone marrow transplant, and Jamie would be cured. I endured the humiliation, focusing only on that goal.

But I never imagined Grant would deliver the final, lethal blow.

The day before the surgery, I noticed the staff was packing up suitcases. A terrible premonition hit me. I rushed to find Grant.

He was discussing the plans with the same casual air he’d use to talk about the weather.

“Tess wants to give birth in London, and the company needs to expand overseas. We’re moving tomorrow.”

A cold dread washed over me. “What about Jamie’s surgery tomorrow?”

Grant waved it off. “I’ve already found a suitable new donor for Jamie. The surgery will proceed as scheduled.”

“Don’t worry. Once I settle the overseas business, I’ll be back for you both.”

I immediately called Jamie’s doctor. The doctor confirmed the surgery had been canceled. And there was no new donor.

I charged back to Grant, hysterical. “Why did you cancel the surgery? Are you trying to kill Jamie?”

He was instantly annoyed. “Maddie, can you stop being dramatic? You’re just looking for a reason to stop us from leaving!”

To ensure he wasn't delayed from flying out with Tess, he ordered his security to lock me and Jamie in the downstairs wine cellar.

A sudden, sharp ring of my phone snatched me out of the memory. I thought it was my daughter, Stella, calling for a bedtime story, and snatched it up.

Instead, I heard Grant Montgomery’s frantic, tortured voice on the line.

“Maddie, they’re saying… they’re saying Jamie is gone…”