LOGINThe 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 gates opened slowly.Vanessa barely waited for them to part fully before driving through.Her father’s estate stood tall and imposing, a symbol of power, influence, and control—the very things she had always believed she understood… until now.The car came to a sudden stop in front of the house.Her hands were still gripping the steering wheel.Tightly.Too tightly.For a moment, she didn’t move.Didn’t breathe.Didn’t think.Because the moment she stepped out of that car—She would have to say it out loud.Everything.And once she did—There would be no taking it back.Her fingers loosened slowly.Then tightened again.Then finally—She let go.Vanessa stepped out of the car.The air outside felt different.Heavier.Like it already knew.She barely made it halfway to the front door before it opened.Her father stood there.Still.Composed.Commanding as always.But the moment his eyes landed on her—Everything changed.“Vanessa?” he called, his voice laced with concern.That was
Louis didn’t go home right away.After leaving the parking lot, he drove aimlessly through the city for nearly an hour, his mind racing in circles that refused to slow down. All he could hear was Ava’s voice.I’m pregnant.The words echoed again and again in his head like a cruel refrain.His grip
For several long seconds, no one moved.The night air seemed to freeze around them, heavy with the weight of Ava’s confession.I’m pregnant.The words hung there like something fragile and explosive at the same time.Louis stared at her.At first, his expression showed nothing but confusion, like h
It was a photo.Grainy.Zoomed in.But unmistakable.Her.And William.Stepping out of his car in front of the motel.Yesterday.Time-stamped.Her breath caught.William saw the color drain from her face.“What is it?” he demanded.She turned the screen toward him.He stared at it.And for the firs
Silence swallowed the corridor.Ava stood frozen in the doorway long after they were gone.Louis slowly released her waist.“Well,” he said after a beat, “that was dramatic.”She shut the door firmly and leaned against it, her legs suddenly weak.“You couldn’t stay hidden?” she snapped.He raised a







