Chapter 51: To Bleed and To Bloom

The house didn’t feel like a sanctuary anymore. Every shadow had weight, every silence, an echo of danger. Yet, in the middle of all that fear, Amara felt something she hadn’t in weeks.Resolve.She stood in front of the nursery mirror in a robe, one hand bracing her lower back, the other smoothing down the swelling curve of her belly. Her daughter had shifted again. It wasn’t just flutters now—it was full-bodied movement. Life stretching into space.Behind her, Tessa stood in the doorway, arms folded, face unreadable.“You look… grounded,” Tessa said after a long pause.Amara turned slightly. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”“It’s not. It’s just… this house feels like it’s waiting for a war, and you’re in here glowing.”Amara gave a small laugh. “Maybe the trick is that I already fought mine. I’m just choosing not to let it own me anymore.”Tessa walked in, gaze sweeping over the soft pastel walls and shelves half-filled with books and blankets. “Do you think any of this will ma

Last Updated : 2025-07-24

Chapter 52: No Safe Houses Left

The next morning, they changed hotels.Then again at noon.Then again before sunset.Liam hated the pattern—running, reacting. He hadn’t lived this way since his father vanished and the Blackwood empire crumbled. But he remembered how it felt. Always a suitcase packed. Always the next move ready before the last one landed.But now it wasn’t just him.Now it was Amara. And Nolani. And a future that deserved more than flight.Amara sat by the window in their latest hideout, a boutique inn disguised as a wine lodge in the countryside. Her feet rested on a cushioned stool, swollen ankles peeking beneath a gray knit dress. Her fingers idly traced the arch of her belly.“How long do we stay here?” she asked without looking up.“Two nights,” Liam replied, tightening the last buckle on the duffel bag. “Then we meet Elliot at the lake house.”“You think they won’t find us there?”“I think they’ll try.” He walked over and crouched in front of her. “But I also think I’m done letting them win.”A

Last Updated : 2025-07-26

Chapter 53: Veins of Fire

Amara stood in front of the nursery’s window, the late afternoon light brushing gold onto her cheeks. Her hand moved instinctively to her belly—steady, protective, reverent. She hadn’t said it out loud yet, but she felt it: the baby had begun responding to her thoughts. Not just movements, but rhythms—like they were already communicating in a language older than speech.She hadn't told Liam about the dreams. The ones where the baby’s heartbeat echoed like a warning through a glass house, shattering everything soft around it. But each time she woke, her belly would flutter, reminding her that this child was no dream—and that the danger wasn’t abstract.Across the room, Liam was on a call, his voice low but taut. “I need a confirmation. Not an update. I want to know if Julian is in the city or not. If he is, he’s breaking the perimeter.”He ended the call with a clipped goodbye, then turned to her. “They tracked the encrypted number. Last ping was in Harlem. Not far.”Amara nodded slowl

Last Updated : 2025-07-27

Chapter 54: Cracks Beneath the Calm

The morning was deceptively peaceful. Amara sat in the sunroom, wrapped in one of Liam’s oversized sweaters, sipping lukewarm tea while watching the wind tease the edges of the lavender in the garden. The baby had been moving more lately—kicks stronger, stretches more assertive. But today, something felt…off.Not wrong. Just quiet.Too quiet.She rubbed her belly gently, waiting for the familiar flutter. Nothing.“Okay,” she whispered, shifting in her seat. “You’re probably just sleeping.”She tried the cold juice trick—cranberry, from the fridge. Nothing. Then chocolate. Then lying on her left side. Still nothing.The silence in her womb became a scream in her head.By the time Liam walked in with his phone pressed to his ear, she was already on her feet.“Something’s wrong,” she said.He paused mid-sentence. “What?”“The baby hasn’t moved. At all. It’s been hours.”Liam immediately ended the call. “Let’s go.”---The hospital was a blur of beeping monitors and too-white lights. They

Last Updated : 2025-07-30

Chapter 55: A Contract Resurfaces

Amara hadn’t seen the sunrise in days. At least not like this—wrapped in one of Liam’s flannel shirts, warm tea in hand, hair undone and unbothered. The glass wall of the coastal house framed the sky in pink and gold. Waves whispered below the cliffs like a lullaby just for her.She rested both hands on her belly. The baby kicked softly in response.“Good morning to you too,” she murmured.Behind her, Liam stirred, his bare feet padding across the wood floor.“Couldn’t sleep either?” he asked, voice groggy but tender.“I slept. Just woke up with her doing somersaults.”He grinned. “Maybe she’s protesting your breakfast choices.”“I’d protest too if someone ate spicy mango slices and string cheese at 3 AM.”She leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around her, forehead pressed gently to her temple.It felt like the version of forever they’d been building in secret—one quiet moment at a time.But the past never really knocked. It slipped in through cracks you didn’t know existed.---H

Last Updated : 2025-07-31

Chapter 56: Pain Points

The rain came without warning.Not a drizzle, not a storm—just relentless, silver sheets pounding the terrace like a heartbeat in crisis. Amara watched from the upstairs window, fingers tracing the fog gathering on the glass. Her body felt heavier these days—not just from the baby, who had started responding to music and light—but from the weight of everything pressing in.Online support was growing, yes, but so was the opposition.Every major media outlet now had a version of her face on their front page. Some hailed her bravery. Others dissected her past like vultures over a body. And though she never said it aloud, she could feel the tightening around her life. Like a belt slowly drawn inward.Downstairs, Liam was on the phone, pacing.“No, I don’t want a publicist. I want a goddamn forensic team on that contract.” A pause. “No, before Monday. Make it happen.”He hadn’t slept much. Neither had she.The world may have applauded her livestream, but the enemy had only recoiled like a

Last Updated : 2025-08-02