Chapter 4
They stood frozen, eyes wide, staring at the police in stunned silence.
Amber Thompson shrank into Liam Harrison’s arms, her face crumpling in fake hurt. “Liam, I didn’t do anything. Why are the cops here? Do you think Jessica did this?”
“She’s still in the hospital,” Liam replied, his voice cool and distant. “And what exactly would she report?”
That’s when I stood up.
The video on the screen froze on one particularly revealing maternity boudoir photo of me. This wasn’t the angle Amber had initially taken, no, this was a sneaky shot, snapped while I was changing, totally unaware of the camera. And yet, she had submitted it for the photography contest. I knew exactly what she was up to.
She wanted to humiliate me. To show the world that someone with stretch marks and an imperfect postpartum body couldn’t possibly deserve a brilliant doctor like Liam. No, she was the one who belonged by his side.
And every single person in their circle had shared that photo.
It was clear they all got the message Amber was sending, and they all supported her. Liam had to have given them the green light, assuming I’d just keep quiet. After all, I had his child. What could I possibly do?
So they mocked me. They spread my private photos all over the place, some even posted them on social media, inviting waves of cruel comments. My video channel was flooded with screenshots of the abuse.
All of it was evidence.
And the moment I got that notification, I knew exactly what needed to be done.
I locked eyes with Liam. “What could I report? This photo alone is enough. But if you want, I can give you a full list.”
Liam’s expression faltered when he saw me. I’d lost weight, my face gaunt compared to just after giving birth.
“You, why are you here?” He stepped forward, but Amber clung to his arm. He didn’t push her off, just kept asking, “What happened? Why do you look like this?”
“Where’s the baby? Are they okay?”
I let out a cold, bitter laugh. “Oh, now you remember you have a kid? Funny, considering you were holed up in a hotel with Amber when I was hemorrhaging after delivery!”
The moment those words left my mouth, every media camera in the room snapped to attention. This was way juicier than any award show.
Given how much traction my recent videos had gotten, the press wasn’t about to miss this moment.
Liam and his tight-knit crew of five immediately turned on me.
“Stop spreading lies!” one of them snapped. “We’ll sue you for slander!”
“Liam was just celebrating Amber’s birthday,” another chimed in. “He’s done that every year. Why should being married stop him? Amber even buys you gifts! How can you be so petty?”
“Yeah!” the others echoed.
Liam sighed and turned to the officers, trying to smooth things over. “I apologize for this. My wife just gave birth, she might be struggling with postpartum depression. This is a private matter. No need to bring the police into it.”
But the officers remained firm.
“Your wife has provided substantial evidence,” one of the officers stated. “We have reason to believe that both you and Miss Thompson have been illegally recording and profiting from unauthorized images.”
