Chapter 2

I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I was finally safe.

However, Chloe just sneered and walked over to open the door.

"This bitch is trying to seduce Mr. Sterling. I'm just teaching her a lesson."

The secretaries gathered at the door looked on with disdain.

"Mr. Sterling is a great man. That's why these tramps are always trying to throw themselves at him."

Chloe snorted. "Tell me about it."

She glared at me with pure hostility as I crawled pitifully across the floor. "Some people just have no shame," she sneered.

My hands trembled as I pulled out my phone, desperately trying to call my husband.

Chloe's eyes turned ice-cold the second she spotted it. She lunged forward and snatched the device right out of my hands.

Her gaze darkened as she stared at the back of the phone.

"It's so obvious what you're trying to do. You even bought a phone case to match Mr. Sterling's."

She hurled the phone to the floor, shattering it into pieces.

"You bitch!" Chloe grabbed me and started slapping me like a lunatic. "I was going to let you off easy this time, but I've changed my mind! Trash like you will never learn your lesson until it hurts."

She threw me back onto the floor like a piece of garbage.

"Girls, this woman actually thinks she can seduce Mr. Sterling. Why don't we strip her clothes off?"

The other secretaries nodded in agreement and moved in to grab me.

I used every ounce of strength I had left to crawl toward the door.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my left hand. Chloe had stomped her heel right onto it.

The agony was so excruciating that I screamed.

Before I could recover, the other secretaries swarmed over and pinned me down.

Chloe crouched down, her eyes dancing with cruel amusement. "You have a pretty face, but don't worry. I'm not going to scratch it up just yet. I'm planning to take naked photos of you and post them all over the internet. It would be a real shame if I ruined your face and people couldn't recognize you."

My entire body trembled. I desperately tried to curl up and protect my belly, but they held me down so tightly I couldn't move.

Chloe pulled out a pair of scissors from somewhere and started cutting through my dress.

I didn't dare struggle or scream, terrified that a sudden movement might cause her to accidentally stab the baby in my womb.

Within moments, my dress was shredded to pieces, leaving me exposed.

"You whore," Chloe sneered. "No wonder you had the nerve to go after Mr. Sterling. You really do have a good figure."

By now, a large crowd had gathered outside the door.

While most of the onlookers watched with cold indifference, a few people finally stepped forward to intervene.

"Chloe, that's enough. If you actually kill someone, it's going to be hard to explain to Mr. Sterling."

Chloe remained completely unfazed, jabbing my forehead with her long nails. "She's just a nobody trying to seduce Mr. Sterling. As his chief secretary, isn't it my job to take care of any pests buzzing around him?"

The employee tried to argue, but Chloe's expression hardened. "Are you sure you want to side with this bitch and cross me? I'm one of Mr. Sterling's most trusted employees."

Hearing the threat, the person hesitated and quickly backed down.

"Chloe, I think this woman is pregnant!" an observant secretary suddenly shouted, pointing at my stomach.

Chloe's gaze sharpened. She quickly stepped closer and stared down at my belly, as if trying to see right through it.

Then, she let out a sudden laugh. Her cruel expression didn't match the sound at all; she looked like she was ready to tear me apart.

"I spend all my time guarding against the shameless women in this company, and yet I still missed you," she hissed.

"You actually dare to carry Mr. Sterling's child? Let's see if you even get the chance to give birth to it."

She grabbed a fistful of my hair. This time, instead of slapping me, she slammed my head brutally against the wall.

"Go to hell!" she screamed. "Any woman who tries to take Mr. Sterling away from me is going to die!"

Finally exhausted from the beating, Chloe threw me back to the ground.

Before I could even catch my breath, a blinding, intense pain ripped through my abdomen.

I instinctively curled into a ball, but it was no use.

In the last second before the agony completely consumed me, I screamed, "I'm Arthur's wife!"