The doorbell rang early the next morning, jolting Clara from a restless, nightmare-filled sleep. Her mother went to answer it.
It was Gideon Frye, Clara's best friend from college. He stood on the doorstep holding a bag of bagels and a thermos.
"I came as soon as I got your text," he said, his brow furrowed with concern as he saw Clara emerge from the living room, wrapped in a blanket. He rushed to her side, gently guiding her to the sofa. "How are you feeling?"
He poured a steaming liquid from the thermos into a mug. "Ginger tea. It should help with the nausea."
The warmth of the mug in her hands was the first comforting thing she had felt in days. She took a tentative sip, and the knot in her stomach eased slightly.
Gideon pulled a small, sleek device from his pocket and placed it on the coffee table. A soft blue light pulsed from it. "Signal jammer. Just in case Kane put a bug on your phone or car." He was a tech genius, the founder of a successful cybersecurity firm. "I've already started looking into Corinne's medical history. Something isn't right."
"Gideon, you can't," Clara said, her eyes welling up. "This is too dangerous. The Spencers..."
He took her hand, his grip firm and reassuring. "I'm not letting you go through this alone, Clara. Never."
The words were still hanging in the air when the front door was kicked open, splintering the frame.
Kane stood there, flanked by two of his bodyguards, his face contorted with a rage that was almost feral. His eyes landed on Gideon's hand holding Clara's.
Jealousy, raw and ugly, flashed across his face. In a heartbeat, he crossed the room, grabbed Gideon by the collar of his shirt, and slammed him against the wall.
"So this is who you were with last night!" Kane roared.
Gideon shoved back, and the two men began to grapple, knocking over the coffee table. Bagels and tea went flying.
"Stop it! Stop!" Clara screamed, scrambling to her feet to pull them apart.
Kane, blinded by rage, grabbed Clara's arm to yank her away from Gideon. "Stay out of this!"
The force of his pull sent her stumbling backward. Her feet tangled with the leg of the overturned table, and she fell hard on her side. A dull, terrifying ache bloomed in her lower abdomen.
Gideon saw her fall and wrenched himself free from Kane's grasp, immediately kneeling beside her. "Clara, are you okay?" he asked, his voice tight with panic as he helped her sit up.
"Get away from her," Kane snarled. He pointed a trembling finger at them. "I knew it. I knew you were cheating on me."
Clara, fighting through the pain in her belly, looked up at him with cold fury. "We are getting a divorce, Kane. Who I'm with is none of your business."
Her words seemed to fuel his rage. His eyes narrowed, his gaze flicking to where her hand was instinctively pressed against her abdomen. In his twisted mind, he saw not a sign of a potential pregnancy, but evidence of a sordid affair.
"You look like hell," he spat. "Guess your new boy toy wore you out."
He barked an order at his men. They seized Gideon, pinning his arms behind his back. Kane then hauled Clara roughly to her feet.
"Since you're so careless with your body," he said, his voice dripping with venom as he began to drag her toward the broken door, "I'm going to have my own doctors check if you've ruined yourself with him."
"You can't do this!" Marion shrieked, trying to block their path, but one of the bodyguards easily moved her aside.
Gideon struggled against his captors. "Let her go, Spencer! You'll pay for this!"
As Kane dragged a terrified Clara out of the house, Gideon managed to twist one hand free just enough to pull his phone from his pocket. His thumb flew across the screen, activating an emergency protocol he had designed for exactly this kind of situation.
