Chapter 1 - The Final Phone Call
The modern, sterile Chicago hospital room felt like an absolute icebox. The only sound cutting through the suffocating, heavy silence was the steady, rhythmic beeping of a medical monitor on the wall. The bright white fluorescent lamp above the bed cast harsh shadows over the small, colorful floral arrangement sitting on the bedside table.
Lying in the center of the bed was Claire.
The young woman in her late twenties looked incredibly pale, wearing a standard white and blue patterned hospital patient gown. Her brown hair was messy, clinging to her forehead with the sweat of a grueling, lonely labor. Her hand trembled violently as she gripped her smartphone, pressing the cold glass tightly against her ear. Hot, bitter tears streamed continuously down her face, soaking into her pillow.
"Are you really telling me to disappear?" Claire whispered, her voice shaking, barely able to force the words past the massive lump in her throat.
Miles away, sitting in the plush leather seat of a private jet, was her husband, Graham Ashford.
Graham, a towering, ruthless mafia boss in his late thirties, wore a pristine dark suit, a perfectly knotted tie, and a long dark trench coat. His handsome face was a mask of cold, menacing arrogance. His dark eyes held absolutely no warmth, no pity, and no remorse for the woman who had just given birth to his child.
In the background of his audio, Claire could clearly hear the high-pitched, mocking laughter of another woman.
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"Take the baby and leave the country," Graham commanded, his tone completely indifferent, devoid of any human empathy. "Just don't come back."
👉 Claire thought her heart couldn't possibly break any further, but the devastating reality of her situation was about to force her to make a terrifying choice.
