---- Chapter 15 "Shut up," Darius said, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. "You were a distraction. A toy. You are nothing compared to her." His eyes were cold, dangerous. "A baby is just a baby. | can have as many as | want." He turned to his bodyguards. "Take her to the hospital. Get it taken care of." Kaylee froze, a wave of pure terror washing over her. The baby was her last card, her only leverage. She couldn't lose it. She broke free from the guards' grasp and ran, scrambling toward the street where her fans had been just moments before. Someone will help me! she thought wildly. Darius watched her go, a cold, detached look on his face. He gestured for his men to wait. But Kaylee's hope was short-lived. The people on the street, who had been cleared away, were now watching from a distance. And they had recognized Darius Madden. Everyone knew the legendary love story of Darius and Joana. Their romance was the stuff of headlines, the gold standard of devotion. To see him here, with this pregnant influencer, was a shock. The narrative collapsed in an instant. The woman they had just been defending was nothing more than ---- a homewrecker. The crowd's sympathy curdled into disgust. No one moved to help her. They backed away, leaving her isolated and exposed. Worse, they realized she had manipulated them. She had twisted the story, used their compassion, and slandered Joana Scott, a woman they had all admired from afar. Their sense of betrayal was palpable. Their anger turned on her. "Homewrecker!" someone yelled. "Shame on you!" shouted another. The crowd surged forward, no longer her protectors but her accusers. They surrounded her, their faces contorted with rage. They pushed and shoved her, their words a torrent of insults. She stumbled and fell, curling into a ball on the pavement as kicks and fists rained down on her. Through it all, she wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach, trying desperately to protect her last hope. Darius watched from a distance, his face impassive. He let the chaos continue for a few long minutes before he finally signaled his bodyguards to intervene. They pulled the angry mob away, clearing a space around Kaylee's crumpled form. He walked toward her slowly, his presence silencing the remaining shouts. He nudged her bruised face with the toe of his expensive shoe. ---- "You will post a public apology on all your platforms," he commanded, his voice like steel. "You will confess everything you did to Joana. Then you will have the abortion, delete your accounts, and disappear. | never want to see your face again." There was no room for argument in his voice. She was a pawn he was now sweeping from the board. She lay on the ground, broken and humiliated, her hands still protectively covering her womb. Even now, a sliver of hope remained. If she could save the baby, maybe, just maybe, she could still find a way out of this.