Chapter 2 - TWO O'CLOCKThe doors exploded inward.
Agents flooded the mansion.
Guests screamed.
Champagne glasses shattered.
Someone dropped a tray of miniature sandwiches.
"ARTHUR VANCE!"
The lead agent raised his warrant.
"You're under arrest for conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and racketeering."
Arthur froze.
His entire empire had been built on confidence.
In that moment, confidence disappeared.
Beatrice screamed.
"This is a mistake!"
The agents cuffed her.
Julian ran.
He shoved Chloe into an agent and sprinted toward the kitchen.
He didn't make it.
Two agents tackled him against the marble island.
"GET OFF ME!"
I barely heard him.
Another contraction ripped through my abdomen.
I screamed.
"The baby!"
A paramedic dropped beside me.
"Possible placental abruption!"
Everything became noise.
Sirens.
Boots.
Shouting.
Radio calls.
The ceiling spinning above me.
Then darkness.
When I woke, I heard a single sentence.
"Emergency C-section. Now."
The operating room was cold and bright.
The doctors moved quickly.
My hands trembled.
"Hold on, baby," I whispered.
Then I heard it.
A cry.
Small.
Angry.
Perfect.
"It's a girl."
My daughter.
Three pounds, four ounces.
Thirty-four weeks.
Alive.
They rushed her to the NICU before I could touch her.
I closed my eyes.
For one precious second, I thought the nightmare was over.
Then a nurse whispered to another nurse outside the operating room.
"Her husband is already asking for her room number."
May you like
My eyes opened.
The nightmare had only changed locations.
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