“Where is my baby?” Clara’s voice cracked, desperate.Vivian exchanged a glance with Tasha but didn’t answer fast enough.“Vivian!” Clara shouted. “Where is Amara?!”“She’s with Liam,” Vivian said quietly. “He’s the one taking care of her. He signed guardianship papers at the hospital.”“What?” Clara blinked, chest heaving. “You let him take her?”“You think you’re in any position to decide who gets her?” Tasha snapped.“I gave birth to her!” Clara yelled. “That’s my daughter!”“You also killed your parents and tried to make it disappear!” Tasha shot back. “Liam’s the only stable one left in this mess.”“I didn’t—” Clara started, then stopped. “I didn’t want to kill them. It wasn’t planned.”“So you admit it?” Vivian said, stunned.Clara closed her eyes. “I didn’t know the gas would catch so quickly. I just… I just wanted to scare them. Make them panic a little.”“Oh my God,” Vivian whispered. “You really lost your mind.”“You don’t understand what it was like,” Clara said, trembling.
The Weight of Names and KarmaThe lawyer said something. Julian nodded and hung up.Liam didn’t look at either of them. “She didn’t even cry when they cuffed her.”“She’s exhausted,” Jasper said flatly.“She’s guilty,” Liam corrected.Jasper exhaled. “Both can be true.”Behind them, Vivian burst into the room, followed by Tasha.“What the hell just happened?!” Vivian demanded. “Tell me they made a mistake.”Julian turned to her slowly, his expression unreadable. “They didn’t.”Tasha swallowed. “So… it’s true?”Liam nodded once.“She set the fire,” Jasper said. “The night their house burned down. My parents died because of her.”Vivian stared at all three of them, horrified. “And you knew?”Liam’s jaw clenched. “Not at first. But once I found out because she called me, we tried to clean it up. Hide it. Because she was my sister.”“Jesus,” Tasha whispered. “And the baby.”“oh Amara She’s safe,” Liam said softly, gently cradling the baby against his chest. “And we’ll make sure she never
Clara sobbed harder, her shoulders convulsing. “I didn’t mean for it to go that far. They were screaming again, saying I was a waste. Dad said I was like… Damn Liam, I have discussed this with you before.”A knock on the door interrupted them.A nurse poked her head in. “Sorry to disturb you, but Liam's outside. Should I send him in?”Julian sighed. “Yeah.”When Liam entered, he didn’t say a word. His face was pale, his eyes hollow. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, “Liam,” Clara whispered.He looked at her. Just looked.“She’s being watched,” Julian said quietly, motioning toward the hallway. “Police have her under observation. Reeves is coming back tomorrow.”“I know,” Liam murmured. Then, to Clara, “You need to confess.”“No,” she said instantly. “Please. Don’t make me, Liam, I have a child now. She needs me.”“She won’t even remember you if you’re locked away for twenty years,” he said flatly. “She’ll grow up hearing about the ‘woman who lit a match and erased her own parent
The sterile hospital hallway buzzed faintly under the overhead lights. Liam hadn’t moved from his place by the NICU glass in nearly an hour, his eyes locked on the tiny form of Amaria. Wrapped in soft blankets, a breathing mask covering her nose, she lay still , fragile, but alive.Behind him, Julian and Jasper approached quietly, their steps soft against the linoleum.“She’s holding on,” Liam said without turning. “Strong little thing.”“She looks like Adrian,” Julian murmured.“She does,” Liam replied, voice low. “Clara noticed it too.”Jasper reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a flask and tucking it back. “It’s wild. One second we were just trying to figure out how to take down Malcolm now... we're here. A premature baby, Clara hospitalized, and a whole war waiting for us outside.”Just as he said that, the elevator at the end of the hallway dinged open.Three men in long coats stepped out, crisp suits, emotionless expressions, professional to the core. One flashed his badge
The wailing siren of the ambulance pierced the early morning silence, its flashing lights slicing through the sleepy suburban neighborhood. Liam sat inside, holding Clara’s trembling hand as she cried out in pain, her face pale and drenched in sweat.Behind them, Jasper’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “Step on it,” Julian said beside him, fastening his seatbelt.“I know,” Jasper muttered, already speeding off as they tailed the ambulance. “She’s bleeding. It didn’t look good.”Julian ran a hand through his hair. “Do you think she’ll–”“Don’t say it,” Jasper cut in. “Don’t you fucking dare say it.”Julian exhaled deeply, watching the red and white lights ahead. “What about the baby?”“I don’t know,” Jasper whispered.Inside the ambulance, Clara screamed again, arching her back. “Make it stop! Please!” she sobbed.“Almost there, ma’am,” the paramedic assured her, checking her vitals. “Just hold on, you’re doing great.”“I c-can’t,” she whimpered, squeezing Liam’s hand unt
Suddenly Clara felt her chest tighten. The betrayal, the filth of it all, the way they were looking at her like she was the one intruding, it all became too much.And then it struck, sharp and sudden.A cramp.Clara gasped, her arms wrapping around her stomach.Liam’s face flickered for a split second with concern, but Julian’s firm hand on his shoulder held him back.“Clara?” Liam said carefully. “Are you–?”“I said don’t touch me,” she croaked, staggering back.Clara’s hands kept roaming her stomach, Her breathing became shallow, and a sharp pain shot through her side.She winced.Liam looked more worried “Clara?”She backed away from him. “I said don’t fucking touch me.”“Clara, your stomach–”Stay the fuck away from me!” she snapped, then cried out softly as another pang hit her.Julian rushed to her side. “You’re pregnant, Jesus, you shouldn’t be this worked up.”Clara brushed him off violently. “You lost the right to care the moment you laid a finger on my brother.”“You fucking