Focus on Revenge A Photographer’s Killer Shot novel Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Snow kept falling on the peaks, but my heart had finally thawed.

Two years since that nightmare on Denali.

Cassian and Lyra were both doing hard time, and daddy Drake-who thought money could fix anything-was rotting in federal prison for obstruction and fraud.

Thaddeus delivered on his promises, giving me all the resources and creative freedom I could ask for.

My lens took me everywhere-the Himalayas, the Andes, the Alps… each summit became another step toward finding myself again.

The studio blew up from a tiny team into one of the hottest photography agencies around. We were landing everything from National Geographic covers to million-dollar luxury campaigns.

Success came with baggage I didn’t expect: My suitors.

Wall Street sharks, tech billionaires, Hollywood big shots… they all wanted the same thing-to marry the hot photographer and turn me into their beautiful, talented trophy wife.

“Come on, Isolde, you gotta settle down eventually?” The fifth oil executive to propose this month said after I shot him down.

“I am settled,” I replied coolly.

That mountain taught me the most important lesson of my life-never hand your fate to someone else.

Then Ethan showed up.

Not that piece-of-shit Cassian-this Ethan Johnson was different. Classy, wealthy but low-key about it, never tried to change me or

fence me in.

While other guys fed me bullshit about how “women should focus on family first,” Ethan quietly supported every project I took on.

When I’d drag myself home from shoots all beaten up, he wouldn’t lecture me about being reckless. He’d just sit with me at the ER until I was patched up.

‘Doesn’t it scare you that I’m always out there risking my ass?” I asked him once.

‘Hell yes, it freaks me out,” he said straight up. “But that’s who you are. I’m not gonna try to cage a bird just because I’m scared of

watching it fly.”

Slowly, I found myself looking forward to his calls, those quiet nights we’d spend just being together.

Karina noticed the change in me.

“Girl, you look exhausted,” she said during a checkup. “All this intense work and high-altitude shooting is destroying your body. Maybe you should think about having a baby. The hormone shifts from pregnancy and breastfeeding can actually reset your whole

system.”

A baby? That was never on my radar.

But watching Ethan flip through my contact sheets, completely absorbed in my work, I could suddenly picture a mini version of us.

We’d been together for almost a year when things got serious. Really serious.

Ethan started leaving clothes at my place. I gave him a key. We fell into this comfortable rhythm-he’d make coffee in the mornings while I edited photos, I’d cook dinner while he worked on his laptop.

“Move in with me,” he said one night, completely out of nowhere.

We were lying on my couch, my feet in his lap, some old movie playing in the background.

“What?” I laughed.

“I’m serious. We’re practically living together anyway. And my place has way better lighting for your studio setup,”

I studied his face. He wasn’t joking.

“Okay,” I said, surprising myself. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

The smile that spread across his face made something flutter in my chest.

Six months of living together turned into the best year of my life. Ethan got along with my crazy work schedule, never complained when I’d disappear for weeks on assignment. He’d pick me up from the airport with takeout from my favorite Thai place and listen to me ramble about whatever mountain I’d just conquered.

I was editing photos from a Patagonia shoot when he walked into my studio looking nervous as hell.

“Hey, you got a minute?” he asked, fidgeting with something in his pocket.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I want to show

you something.”

He led me outside to his car. “Get in.”

“Ethan, where are we going? I’m in my pajamas.”

“Trust me.”

The drive took two hours. I fell asleep halfway through and woke up to the sound of gravel under tires.

We were at the base of Denali.

“Why are we here?” I asked, suddenly wide awake.

He got out and came around to open my door, that nervous energy radiating off him.

“Because this place made you who you are,” he said, taking my hand. “And I need to ask you something where it all began.”

That’s when he dropped to one knee.

“I wanted to do this here,” he continued, pulling out a ring box, “because this mountain almost took you from me before I even knew you existed. It made you the strongest, most fearless woman I’ve ever met. And that’s exactly who I fell in love with.”

The night before our wedding, we talked until sunrise in the hotel.

I told him everything-Cassian’s betrayal, Lyra’s sick games, those nights I almost froze to death.

“Look, I don’t trust easily,” I said, meeting his eyes. “That mountain taught me betrayal can literally kill. So if you ever screw me over, I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your life.”

Ethan didn’t even blink. “I swear I never will.”

Marriage was perfect at first. We both killed it at work while still making time for each other.

We started trying for a baby right after the honeymoon. Month after month-nothing.

“Maybe I’m just stressed,” I told Ethan after the sixth negative test. “Got that big expedition coming up.”

But inside, I was freaking out.

Eight months passed. Still nothing.

That’s when Karina sat me down for the brutal truth.

“Isolde, we need to talk about what you’ve put your body through,” she said, pulling up test results on her tablet. “Years of extreme altitude, constant temperature stress, the physical demands… your reproductive system is totally screwed up.”

My heart sank. “Are you telling me I can’t have kids?”

“I’m saying your body needs serious help. All that high-altitude exposure messed with your hormone cycles, and years of extreme cold damaged your circulation in ways that make getting pregnant naturally almost impossible.”

Ethan grabbed my hand. “What can we do?”

“IVF is your best shot,” Karina explained. “But Isolde, you’d have to completely stop the extreme shoots during treatment. Your body

needs stability to respond to the medications.”

I felt ripped in two. My career meant everything, but looking at Ethan, seeing that hope in his face…

“Success rates are really high for someone your age,” Karina added. “But you have to be all-in.”

Ethan squeezed my hand. “Whatever you decide, I’m with you.”

I wanted this. Wanted us to be a family.

‘Let’s do it.”

IVF was hell. Daily hormone shots that made me feel insane. Endless appointments. I had to pass on three huge shoots because I couldn’t risk altitude changes.

But Ethan was amazing through all of it. Every injection, every appointment, every hormonal meltdown.

“I’m losing my mind,” I sobbed after screaming at him for breathing too loud.

“You’re growing our baby,” he said, holding me close. “A little crazy is part of the deal.”

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify