Chapter 1 - SINK OR SWIM
My lavish, champagne-gold baby shower turned into a waking nightmare when my husband, Liam, snatched the twenty-three-thousand-dollar emergency fund left by my late father to bail out his mother Valerie’s seaside condo. Backed by his venomous sister Brittany, Liam insisted my high-risk delivery was an exaggeration and that family money belonged to them. When I demanded the cash back, Liam grabbed me in a blind rage, sending me tumbling into the deep end of the pool while eight months pregnant. As my waterlogged silk dress dragged me toward the bottom, Liam and Valerie stood stone-faced at the edge, clutching the envelope and watching me drown. I was saved in the nick of time by Mateo, our catering manager. Rushed to emergency surgery, I gave birth to a fragile but healthy boy. Armed with neighbor surveillance footage capturing their callous indifference and grand larceny, my late father’s relentless law partner, Uncle Arthur, threw Liam into an orange jumpsuit without bail for attempted manslaughter, leaving Valerie broke, disgraced, and utterly abandoned.
