MasukA few days later, Ava sat upright in her hospital bed, her back resting lightly against the pillows.Her body still felt weak.Her head still ached faintly.But none of that compared to the dull, persistent ache in her chest.It hadn’t gone away.It wouldn’t.Not anytime soon.Her fingers absentmindedly traced the edge of the blanket, her thoughts drifting in slow, heavy circles.The baby.William.Vanessa.Everything.It all felt like something that had happened to someone else.Someone distant.Someone she used to be.She still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that William had just left. Left town her without even a goodbye.He abandoned her, even after knowing what she went through at the hands of his wife.A knock sounded at the door.Soft.Gentle.Ava blinked, her thoughts breaking.“Come in,” she said quietly.The door opened slowly.And when she saw who stepped in her breath caught slightly.“Jason…?”He stood there, a little unsure, a little hesitant.But unmistakably th
The first thing Ava felt was the weight.Not physical.Not something she could touch.But something heavy pressing down on her chest… on her lungs… on her very existence.Then came the sound.A steady, rhythmic beeping.Soft.Consistent.Too clean.Too controlled.Her eyelids fluttered.Light flooded in—too bright, too sharp—and she winced immediately, her head throbbing faintly as consciousness pulled her back, piece by piece.For a moment, she didn’t remember.Where she was.What had happened.Why her body felt so weak.So drained.Then, it hit her.The room.The ropes.The fear.Vanessa Reid.Her breath caught sharply as her eyes snapped open fully.White ceiling.Hospital.Her heart began to race.“No…” she whispered hoarsely, her voice barely more than air.Her hand moved instinctively.To her stomach.Flat.Still.A cold wave of dread washed over her.“No…”The door opened softly.A nurse stepped in, her expression calm but attentive.“Oh, you’re awake,” she said gently, walking
The police station buzzed with its usual rhythm.Phones ringing.Officers moving in and out.Voices overlapping in fragments of urgency and routine.But to Camille...Everything felt sharpened.Focused.Because she had arrived just in time.The metal door to the holding area creaked open.And then...Louis stepped out.For a brief moment, he just stood there.Like a man adjusting to air after being underwater for too long.Free.Finally free.Camille’s breath caught.Relief hit her in waves.“Louis—”He turned at the sound of her voice.And the moment their eyes met, everything else in the room faded.He looked tired.Exhausted.There were faint shadows under his eyes, tension still lingering in his posture.But he was standing.He was out.And that was enough.“Camille…” he said, his voice rough but steady.She didn’t think.Didn’t hesitate.She closed the distance between them quickly.“You’re okay,” she said, almost like she needed to confirm it out loud.Louis let out a breath tha
The knock came softly.Too softly for the storm Camille carried inside her.She didn’t wait for permission.The door swung open as she stepped in, two uniformed officers right behind her, their presence filling the already tense room with something official. Final.Camille’s eyes went straight to William.She expected something different.Something resolute.Something… ready.Ready to fix this.Ready to undo the damage.Ready to tell the truth.That was what they had agreed on.That was why she made the call.“Dr. Reid,” one of the officers said, stepping forward slightly. “We were informed you wanted to give an updated statement.”William didn’t look at them immediately.His gaze remained fixed ahead.Distant.Unreachable.Something in Camille’s chest tightened.“Dr. Reid?” she called softly.He turned his head slowly.Looked at her.And in that moment—Something felt off.Not fear.Not hesitation.Something colder.Something… resigned.Her brows furrowed slightly.“What’s going on?”
The room felt too quiet.Too still.Too… expectant.William sat upright in the hospital bed, his back supported by stiff white pillows, his eyes fixed on the door as if willing it to open.The police were supposed to be here by now.Every second that passed stretched his nerves thinner.His mind replayed everything...Vanessa’s threat.Ava’s condition.The doctor’s words.She lost the baby.His jaw tightened.Two children.Gone.And for what?For lies.For control.For pride.His fingers curled slightly against the bedsheet.No.Not anymore.This time, he was going to tell the truth.Everything.No matter the consequences.No matter who it hurt.The truth would finally come out.The door clicked.William’s head snapped up immediately.But instead of uniforms...Instead of badges...It was him.The Dean.His father-in-law.Standing tall in the doorway, his presence filling the room without effort.Authority.Power.Control.Everything William had once relied on.And now...Everything t
The wheels of the chair squeaked softly against the polished hospital floor.It was the only sound that seemed real to William.Everything else—The passing nurses.The distant voices.The muted beeping of machines—Felt like background noise to something much louder inside his head.Camille pushed him carefully, her grip firm on the handles, her eyes scanning ahead as they moved through the corridor. She had argued with the staff, insisted, pushed boundaries she normally wouldn’t—but somehow, through urgency and sheer determination, she had gotten them this far.Closer to Ava.Closer to the truth.“You shouldn’t be doing this,” she muttered under her breath, though there was no real resistance left in her voice.William didn’t respond.Because there was nothing left to say.Everything that mattered—Everything that could still be saved—Was ahead.They turned the final corner.And there—A door.Half-open.A doctor stepped out at the exact moment they approached.William’s breath hit
The room felt smaller suddenly.Dr. Reid's eyes stayed glued to Camille's bosom.The air thickened, pressing in on William Reid’s chest until breathing felt like effort. The hum of the motel’s old air conditioner filled the silence, uneven and loud, as though even the walls were aware of what was u
The motel parking lot was almost empty.A single streetlamp flickered near the entrance, casting long shadows across the cracked pavement as Camille stepped out of the cab. The night air was cool, sharp against her skin, but it did nothing to calm the heat burning in her chest.Suncrest Motel.The
The knock came again—firmer this time, impatient—dragging Ava out of her spiraling thoughts.She wiped her palms on her jeans, her heart climbing into her throat. Only one person knocked like that.“Ava?”Louis’s voice drifted through the door, warm and familiar. “Open up. We need to leave.”Her st
For a moment, the silence in the room sharpened like glass. Dr. Reid didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe. His eyes—dark, piercing, unreadable—searched her face as if he could pull the truth straight out of her bloodstream.Ava regretted it instantly.She had let too much truth escape.William stepped clos







