Chapter 4 - AWAKENING TO THE NIGHTMARE
Elena opened her eyes to the blinding glare of fluorescent lights and the rhythmic, terrifying beep of a fetal monitor. Her throat felt like shattered glass, and a dull, agonizing ache wrapped around her abdomen.
She panicked, her hands flying to her stomach.
“He’s safe. You’re safe.”
She turned her head. Luke was sitting in the corner, shrouded in the shadows of the hospital room. He looked as though he hadn't slept in a decade. His knuckles were bruised, a smear of dried blood on his crisp white collar.
“Get out,” Elena croaked, her voice trembling with a mixture of terror and absolute fury. “You left me. You threw me away, Luke.”
He stepped into the light, falling to his knees beside her bed. He didn't try to touch her. He knew he had lost that right.
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“I divorced you because they were going to kill you, El. I thought if I broke your heart, they would lose interest. I was wrong.” His voice broke, the impenetrable armor of the Mercer heir shattering completely. “Silas poisoned you. I didn’t know you were carrying my child.”
Elena stared at him, tears finally spilling over her hollow cheeks. The nausea, the dizzy spells, the sudden hair loss—it hadn't been heartbreak. It had been murder.
