Chapter 4 - The Truth Revealed
I stood frozen in the center of the living room, my blood running cold as Elena's words echoed in the quiet space.
"You told him?" I whispered, my voice trembling with a terrifying blend of anger and betrayal. "I trusted you as my doctor, Elena! You swore to me!"
"I had to!" Elena cried out, looking up at me with tear-filled eyes, reaching out to grasp the hem of my sweater. "Sophia, look at me! I didn't tell him because I wanted to take Luke's side! I told him because your lab results came back from the central lab at four o'clock today!"
She scrambled up, frantically unzipping her heavy leather medical bag, pulling out a sheaf of clinical lab reports covered in red highlight markers.
"You have severe atypical preeclampsia and a localized placental abruption risk," Elena explained rapidly, her professional instincts taking over her grief. "Your blood pressure is spiking dangerously, your protein levels are elevated, and the baby's oxygen flow is borderline. If you don't start intravenous medication and specialized bed rest immediately, you could suffer a stroke within days, and we could lose the baby!"
I stared at the medical sheets in her hands, the technical numbers blurring before my eyes as a sudden, dizzying wave of nausea washed over me.
I reached out, gripping the back of the sofa to steady myself as my legs went soft.
"The baby..." I choked out, my hand instinctively pressing against my stomach. "Is she... is she in danger?"
"She is in severe danger if you stay on the run, Sophia," Elena said gently, taking my hand and guiding me down onto the sofa. "I know how cold Luke has been to you. I know how my mother treated you like an outsider, and I know how disgusting it was for them to flaunt Vanessa in front of you at the River Club. My family is toxic, Sophia. I know that better than anyone."
Elena looked into my eyes with fierce, absolute sincerity.
"But Luke loves you," Elena whispered. "He is an arrogant, emotionally distant idiot who built a fortress around his heart because of what happened to our father, but when I told him you were pregnant and sick... I heard a sound in his voice I have never heard in my entire life. He was terrified, Sophia."
Before I could reply, the ground-floor entrance of the building rattled with the heavy, echoing sound of iron gates being forced open.
Screeching tires sounded in the alleyway below.
Dozens of heavy footsteps began bounding up the wooden staircase leading directly to my second-floor loft.
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Elena looked toward the door, her face turning pale. "He's here."
I sat on the sofa, clutching the ultrasound scan to my chest, my heart beating frantically against my ribs as the brass door handle slowly began to turn.
