Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN IN THE BLUE SCRUBS
The hospital went into lockdown.
I had never heard that word used around me before.
Not in a place where babies were being born.
Not while I was bleeding.
Security officers appeared outside my room.
Detective Bennett ordered staff credentials checked.
Caroline stood beside my bed with her arms crossed.
“Nobody comes in unless I see their face.”
I almost smiled.
Then the cramps returned.
Hard.
Sharp.
I grabbed the bedrail.
“Claire?”
Caroline moved closer.
The nurse called the doctor.
Another ultrasound.
Another terrible silence.
The heartbeat remained.
Faint.
Fast.
Still there.
I cried.
The doctor explained that stress and the allergic reaction had placed strain on my body, but there was still reason to hope.
I held onto that word.
Hope.
Then a security alert sounded.
Someone had attempted to enter a restricted medical records room.
Sophia was found twenty minutes later.
Not by police.
By Teresa Moretti.
Vincent’s mother had walked toward the chapel to pray and spotted Sophia near an employee elevator.
Sophia tried to run.
Security stopped her.
I didn’t see the arrest.
I didn’t want to.
But Detective Bennett returned later.
“She had your medical chart.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“We’re investigating.”
“And my passport?”
“Also recovered.”
I closed my eyes.
Then she placed another item on the table.
A small vial.
Clear liquid.
Unlabeled.
My blood ran cold.
“What is that?”
“Being tested.”
Caroline immediately stood.
“She was going to put something in Claire’s medication?”
“We don’t know.”
Yet.
That word stayed in the room.
Then Vincent’s mother began crying.
“This is my fault.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
“I introduced Sophia back into his life.”
My expression hardened.
“Vincent made his own choices.”
Teresa nodded.
“Yes.”
For once, nobody defended him.
The door opened.
Arthur entered.
His shirt sleeve was stained with blood.
“Vincent?”
I asked before I could stop myself.
“Alive.”
“Was he shot?”
“No. Knife wound.”
My stomach turned.
“He’ll recover.”
I looked away.
Arthur continued.
“He told police everything he knows about Sophia and the Bellinis.”
That surprised me.
Vincent had spent his entire adult life treating law enforcement as the enemy.
Now he was cooperating.
“Why?”
Arthur looked toward my stomach.
“You know why.”
I shook my head.
“No. I don’t want him doing this because of the baby.”
Arthur’s expression softened.
“He isn’t.”
I stared.
“He said the baby was the final proof of what he almost destroyed, not the reason what he did was wrong.”
My eyes filled with tears despite myself.
Then the laboratory called Detective Bennett.
The clear vial had been tested.
It contained medication capable of causing heavy bleeding during early pregnancy.
I covered my mouth.
Caroline started crying.
Then Bennett said:
“We also recovered messages between Sophia and Victor Bellini.”
My chest tightened.
“What did they say?”
She hesitated.
May you like
Then read one sentence.
“If Claire survives the allergy, make sure the pregnancy doesn’t.”
