Christopher yanked Emma from the water and dropped to one knee with her against his chest until she coughed, cried, and finally drew a full breath. Then he stood and placed her behind him, one arm still shielding her. Juliette’s expression changed so quickly it almost looked like she had become a different woman. Confidence vanished. Calculation rushed in. “Chris, she slipped,” she said. “I reached for her and—” He cut her off without raising his voice. “You tried to hurt my child for a house you will never own.” The staff heard every word. So did Juliette, and her fear sharpened because Christopher’s sentence revealed something crucial. He knew why she had done it.

Emma was not born a Pierce. Her mother, Rachel Monroe, had been Christopher’s partner before his brief first marriage to another woman, a marriage that ended quietly and with enough settlements to keep tabloids interested for a year. Rachel died in a freeway crash when Emma was two, but not before a DNA test privately confirmed Christopher was the girl’s father.