Chapter 4

Another contraction ripped through my lower abdomen, sharp and merciless.

I slammed against the silk-lined wall of the corridor, my vision swimming with dizzying black spots.

"Check the east wing! She couldn't have gone far!" a guard bellowed from the floor below.

"She's bleeding out. Just follow the drops," another voice replied, cold and detached.

The thunderous pounding of heavy boots echoed up the grand marble staircase. I clutched my swollen stomach, my knees trembling so violently I could barely stand.

The agonizing labor pains were coming faster, stealing the air from my lungs. I couldn't outrun them on foot.

If they caught me, they would drag me back to that sterile basement.

They would strap me down to that cold steel bed, and my baby would die.

I needed leverage. I needed a shield. And as the betrayal burned like acid in my veins, I realized I needed revenge.

Dragging my heavy limbs forward, I passed the master nursery. The heavy oak door was left slightly ajar. I peeked inside.

Bathed in the soft glow of a star-shaped nightlight was five-year-old Carl. He lay in his oversized medical bed, hooked up to a portable oxygen tank and a quiet heart monitor.

He was the boy they were willing to murder my child for.

A desperate plan ignited in my mind. I refused to leave this house empty-handed. I slipped inside, my bare feet silent on the plush carpet. Carl was fast asleep, his small chest rising and falling in shallow, uneven breaths.

My hands shook violently as I reached for the glowing monitors. I swiftly hit the mute buttons, silencing the alarms before unhooking the sticky sensor wires tethering him to the bed.

Leaving his nasal cannula in place, I grabbed the strap of his portable oxygen tank and slung it over my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," I whispered, my voice cracking. "But you're coming with me."

I slid my arms under his frail body and lifted him. He stirred with a soft whimper. "Mom?" he mumbled, his eyes fluttering.

"Shh, go back to sleep, Carl," I cooed, kissing his warm forehead. "We're just going for a ride."

The heavy sedatives pulled him back under.

Cradling him tightly, I slipped through the concealed door leading to the private staff stairwell. The concrete steps were steep and treacherous, but the chaotic search was concentrated upstairs. I descended into the shadows.

Every step sent a jolt of pure agony through my pelvis, but I bit my lip until I tasted copper, forcing myself to keep moving.

I pushed through the heavy fire door and stumbled into the underground garage.

The air was thick with the scent of motor oil and damp concrete. I made a beeline for Lucas’s heavy, armored black SUV.

The doors were locked. Panic flared in my chest. I grabbed a heavy steel wrench from a nearby workbench and smashed the driver's side window.

Glass shattered outward. I reached through the jagged opening, unlocked the door, and opened the back.

I gently laid Carl on the plush leather backseat.

Climbing into the driver’s seat,. I ripped off the plastic casing under the steering column. My father had been a mechanic; he taught me things a billionaire’s pristine wife was never supposed to know.

I found the ignition wires, stripped them with my bleeding fingers, and sparked them together. The massive engine roared to life with a deafening growl.

I threw the SUV into drive and slammed my bare foot on the gas pedal. The tires shrieked against the polished concrete as I tore out of the garage, smashing straight through the wooden security barrier just as the piercing wail of the estate’s alarms began to blare.

I burst out into a torrential rainstorm. The night sky was pitch black, the rain coming down in blinding sheets that lashed against the windshield.

I swerved onto the treacherous, winding coastal highway, the heavy vehicle hydroplaning slightly on the slick asphalt.

Suddenly, the two-way radio on the dashboard crackled to life.

"Boss, we have a breach in the lower garage. The black SUV is gone."

Lucas’s voice came through the speaker, vibrating with a lethal, icy calm. "She's in that car. Do not let her get to the main highway."

Within minutes, the blinding glare of high-beam headlights flooded my rearview mirror. Lucas’s men had found me.

I pushed the accelerator to the floor. My vision was fading fast, blurring from sheer exhaustion and the agonizing labor pains that tore through my body. I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white, gasping for air as the lead SUV closed the distance between us with terrifying speed.

The radio crackled again. "Sir, she's not stopping. We're right behind her."

"Then ram her off the road!" Lucas barked, his voice devoid of any human mercy. "I don't care if she's pregnant. Stop that car!"

"Lucas, no!" I screamed at the dashboard, even though he couldn't hear me.

Through the driving rain, I saw the pursuing SUV surge forward. The heavy vehicle violently rear-ended my SUV.

The sickening crunch of metal on metal echoed over the roaring storm.

The brutal impact threw me forward, the seatbelt biting viciously into my collarbone.

I screamed as I lost control on the wet asphalt. The armored SUV spun out wildly, the tires losing all traction.

With a deafening screech, the SUV crashed violently into the steel guardrail. The airbags deployed with a concussive blast, punching the air from my lungs.

The screeching metal groaned under the immense weight of the vehicle as it tore through the barrier.

Smoke hissed from the crumpled hood. I was trapped, my vision fading into absolute, suffocating darkness.

Lucas’ POV

The relentless rain lashed against my face as I stepped out of the lead pursuit vehicle.

I stared at the crumpled black SUV teetering precariously on the edge of the cliff. The front wheels hung over the abyss, the mangled steel groaning as it threatened to plunge into the violent, churning river below.

I marched toward the wreckage, my jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached.

I was done. I was so utterly exhausted by this woman's relentless defiance. She had ruined everything. I had tried to contain her, tried to do this cleanly, but she was a rabid dog that refused to be leashed.

"Sir?" my head of security, Alfred, asked over the roar of the storm. "Should we extract her?"

I stared at the teetering vehicle. One good shove, and it would all be over. The problem would be erased. The dark water would swallow her and the child she was so desperate to protect.

"No," I said, my voice as cold and hollow as a grave. "Kill her."

Alfred blinked, wiping the rain from his eyes. "Sir?"

"I'm tired of this bitch," I snarled, my eyes locked on the ruined metal. "Push it over. Send her to the bottom of the river."

My men hesitated for a fraction of a second before moving forward. Four heavily built guards placed their hands on the rear tailgate of the SUV.

"On three," Alfred ordered. "One. Two. Three!"

With a unified grunt, they shoved.

The metal gave a sickening screech. The heavy SUV tipped forward, the rear tires lifting off the wet asphalt. For a split second, it hung suspended in the air.

Then, gravity took hold.

The car plummeted over the edge, disappearing into the pitch-black abyss.

Seconds later, a massive, echoing splash rose over the roar of the storm as the violent river swallowed it whole.

I let out a long, ragged breath, feeling a twisted sense of finality.

Then, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

I pulled it out. The screen illuminated displaying an incoming message from Paula. I swiped to open it, my eyes scanning the text.

LUCAS! THE NURSERY IS EMPTY! CARL IS WITH THAT BITCH!