the mahogany table, her fingers clenching in

n her silver-topped cane. "Dominic does not negotiate

glasses up the bridge of his

omery that if she fails to appear, the private trust funding the specia

a's lungs in a sh

mo

ssive cognitive decline after the traumatic collapse of their family home. Without the trust f

er voice shaking with rage. "My m

," Derek replied, stepping aside to gestu

with genuine concern. "Clara, if you leave

ought of her frail mother sitting alone in a w

o go," Cl

the private underground elevator bay of the

bed sixty floors

oardroom or a living room, but into an expansive open-plan pen

of medical-grade isopropyl alcohol hung heavy in the air. Two nurses in surgical

noramic glass window ov

ss shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. His silver

in her tracks, her

ce dropping to a hollow whisp

teps. "You want to keep the fetus. Vivian needs whole blood to stabilize her red blood cell counts. Y

steel doors were already shut and locked. "Drawing massive amounts o

een them in three long strides. His hand shot out, catching her by the upper arm

me

ngernails clawing at the stiff fabric of his black shirt. She knocked over a metal tray

rectly into his ruthless gray-blue eyes. "Vi

flash of pure, murderous

mouth," h

hing pressure. Before she could roll away, the two nurses moved in, strapping thick

tared up at the ceiling lights. "You will regret this! I swear

hest rising and falling slo

raw," he tol

ced the vein in the cro

crimson blood surged into the clear plastic tubing, flowing s

t her body, a creeping, icy co

dows. Her breathing became shallow and rapid, her heart hammering wildly aga

d her hea

nst the counter, scrolling through emails

g a pale, ghostly blue. Her fingers clawed

e the bed began to emit

gital display, sweat breaki

ghty. Her heart rate is spiking to compensate. We are seeing

lancing toward the adjoining room wh

led?" Dominic ask

Miss Bloom's protocol

ic ordered without a

inic

ce was bare

ng spasm ripped thro

hrough her pelvis, as if her body were t

chime shifted into a conti

small, bright bloom of crimson blood began

d from his hand, clatt

at the spreading red stain on the bed,