Another monitor picked up the baby’s heartbeat first.

Fast.

Strong.

Alive.

Then Clara’s.

Weak.

Slow.

But alive.

Marcus tried to leave immediately.

Detective Quinn arrived before he reached the elevator.

“Marcus Vale,” she said calmly while showing her badge, “sit down.”

He scoffed nervously.

“Do you even know who my family is?”

Quinn nodded.

“Yes. Financial Crimes has been investigating them for nearly a year.”

The confidence disappeared from his face.

Helena stared at me like she had never truly seen me before.

I stepped closer.

“You thought Clara married beneath her status,” I said quietly.

Her mouth trembled.

“But she married someone who listens.”

—

Clara woke up three days later.

Her first words weren’t about herself.

“The baby?”

I held her hand tightly.

“She’s alive.”

Tears rolled silently down Clara’s face before anger slowly replaced them.

“They did this,” she whispered.

“I know.”

“Dr. Crane injected me. Marcus held me down. My mother watched.”

I closed my eyes briefly.

Clara squeezed my hand.

“Don’t lose control.”

“I won’t.”

That’s why we won.

Not because we screamed louder.

Because we documented everything.

From her hospital bed, Clara gave detailed statements to detectives, prosecutors, and investigators. Toxicology reports confirmed the drugs in her system. Security footage from the clinic—footage Marcus believed destroyed—had already been copied to external servers.

Clara prepared for everything.

They underestimated her.