Chapter 4.

Elena’s POV.

My knuckles were raw from knocking.

Still, I kept hitting the door. "Uncle! Please, open the door!"

The heavy wood didn’t shake. Not even the handle moved. Each strike sent dull pain up my arms, but I hardly felt it anymore. My throat was already hoarse from shouting, from begging, and from trying to make someone in that room hear me.

"Please!"

Nothing. Only the faint, cruel ticking of the grandfather clock at the end of the hall. Each tick felt deliberate. It was counting down the last moments of my life as I knew it.

My arms finally dropped. Strength poured out of me like air from a cut balloon. I slid down the wall and folded onto the floor, pressing my back against the cold paneling.

Exhaustion and fear settled deep in my bones.

I buried my face in my hands and tried to silence my sobs.

I couldn’t stop replaying the sound of the study door slamming earlier when Uncle Richard stormed out to meet Adrian. I’d let myself hope, even then. I hoped that the man who once looked at me like I was worth noticing might listen, believe me, and help.

The door behind me clicked.

I jumped to my feet as it opened.

Uncle Richard stepped into the hall. His tie hung loose, his hair was rumpled, and his skin was the color of ash. He looked like someone who had lost a war.

But he didn’t glance at me. He walked past and into the living room.

I followed. "Uncle?"

He sank onto the leather sofa with his elbows on his knees and his face turned toward the dead fireplace. The silence stretched until my heartbeat drowned it out.

"It’s done," he said finally.

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"We settled it."

For one fragile second, hope fluttered again. "He understood? He’s going to help?"

Richard’s eyes met mine. They were flat and tired.

"He agreed to pay five million dollars."

The number hit like oxygen to drowning lungs. "Five million?"

That was enough to save everything. His business, our house, the child in my body.

"That’s enough," I said with my breath catching. "Enough for you to fix the merger. Enough for the baby."

His jaw tightened. "It’s not for the baby, Elena."

I froze. "What do you mean?"

He looked away, his voice low and brittle. "He paid for a termination."

The words didn’t make sense at first. They landed without sound and without meaning.

"What?" I whispered.

"The money cleared ten minutes ago. Everything is arranged. Your appointment is tomorrow at noon."

Cold spread through me.

"You go to the clinic," he added, his tone turning to iron. "This problem disappears."

"No."

The refusal burst out before I could think. I stumbled back and clutched my stomach. "You didn’t. You couldn’t. It’s my child! You have no right to sell my baby!"

"I didn’t sell anything," he roared as he surged to his feet. "I fixed a disaster! Adrian Voss was ready to destroy us. That money saves my company."

"By taking blood money?" I cried. Tears blurred the room. "Send it back! Please, send it back now!"

"We can’t."

The voice came from behind me.

Camille stepped into the doorway. Her arms were folded, and amusement slid across her face.

"Dad already authorized the wire transfers," she said smoothly. "The money’s gone, Elena. It covered the loans, the mortgage, and the penalty for killing the Cole merger. Return it, and the bank forecloses by morning. We lose everything."

Her gaze swept over me with open disgust. "You created this mess. The least you can do is fix it."

"Fix it?" My voice cracked. "By killing my child?"

"At least your mistake is finally useful." She tilted her head. "Be grateful he paid at all. Most men would’ve sued."

"I won’t."

The words came out shaking but solid. I straightened up and pressed my palms protectively over my stomach.

"I don’t care about your debts. I don’t care about this house. I am not going to that clinic."

Richard’s face darkened as a vein pulsed in his temple. He stepped closer with his voice low. "You don’t have a choice. I signed the agreement with Voss. You’re legally obligated."

"I never signed anything!"

"Enough!"

The roar cracked through the room and made the china cabinet behind me tremble.

"You’ve lived under my roof for ten years," he spat. "You ate my food, wore my name, and used my money. You don’t get to walk away after everything I’ve invested in you."

"You’ll go to that clinic tomorrow," he growled. "Or I swear I’ll drag you there myself!"

The fight drained out of me. I sank to my knees, shaking.

"Please, don’t do this." My voice was a whisper. "I’ll leave. I’ll disappear tonight. Adrian will never know. I swear."

For the first time, he hesitated. A flicker of thought crossed his face. It was cold calculation weighing gain and risk.

"If the procedure isn’t done," he said finally. "Adrian will want his money back. He paid for the problem to vanish. If he finds out it still exists, he won’t just ask for a refund."

My stomach churned.

"Elena," he warned. "You know what must be done. You can’t let this child shame our family. If you’re not careful, Voss will send someone to deal with it."

Ice ripped down my spine.

Adrian was ruthless enough that I almost believed him.

"He won’t know," I whispered. "I’ll disappear. Please."

A rustle came from the corner. My aunt finally looked up from her magazine.

"Richard," she said coolly. "If the girl leaves tonight, Adrian will assume the job’s finished. We keep the money, and she’s gone."

Her eyes settled on me with complete indifference. "And we finally get rid of her."

The words burned worse than any slap.

My uncle rubbed his temples, then sighed. "Fine."

He turned his gaze on me, hard and empty.

"You want the child? Keep it. But you leave tonight."

He crouched until we were eye-level. His next words came in a whisper that sliced the air.

"If you’re still here after midnight, I will take you to that clinic myself. And if Voss ever finds out you kept the baby." He paused, letting the threat settle. "He won’t just come for his money. He’ll come for you."

I nodded through my tears. "I understand."

"Good. You have one hour to pack. After that, you no longer exist to this family."

Two hours later, rain swallowed the city.

Water ran in muddy rivers along the curbs. I walked toward the bus station with nothing but a small suitcase and the few bills I had saved.

The downpour soaked straight through my jacket. The cold clung to my skin, but I barely noticed.

I sat on a cracked plastic bench and waited for the last bus north, back to the small apartment my parents had once called home.

My hand found its way to my stomach. Fear and determination tangled inside me until I couldn’t tell which was stronger.

"I’m sorry," I whispered to the tiny life beneath my palm. "I’m still trying to figure this out."

Rain hammered the metal roof above me.

Adrian Voss.

Even his name sent a painful twist through my chest. He hadn’t just rejected me. He’d erased me. He signed a check to make both me and our child disappear.

To him, we were just logistics. A liability purchased and deleted.

I tightened my grip on the suitcase handle. No amount of rain could wash away the truth anymore.

"I’ll protect you," I breathed. "I promise."

The approaching headlights cut through the storm as the bus pulled in with a hiss.

I rose slowly with water dripping down my face.

Adrian Voss thought he had buried a secret.

But secrets have a pulse. And sooner or later, they come back for you.