Kaitlin POV:
We were halfway across the vast hospital lobby, our discharge papers clutched in my hand, Jayde' s arm linked through mine like a lifeline. The air was thick with the scent of antiseptic and the muted hum of distant conversations. Every step was a conscious effort, a defiant act against the lingering weakness in my body. We just needed to get out.
Then the elevator doors dinged, and Jayson stepped out.
He was on his phone, his voice tight, irritated. "I'm telling you, Gardner, this is an unacceptable delay. The Veridian deal can't wait. I don't care about their 'unforeseen complications' with the Northern territories. We need to move." He listened for a moment, then his jaw tightened. "Holly? No, she's fine. Just a little... sensitive. Nothing we can't handle. But this," he gestured vaguely, "this is actual work."
His gaze swept across the lobby, dismissive, impatient. And then, his eyes landed on me.
His expression froze. The phone dropped from his hand, clattering against the marble floor. His perfectly composed facade cracked, revealing a flicker of raw, unadulterated panic. His eyes widened, fixing on my still-distended belly.
"Kaitlin?" he breathed, his voice a strangled whisper. He took a step towards me, then another, his eyes wide, confused. "What... what are you doing here? Did you... did you have the baby?"
He rushed forward, grabbing my shoulders, his hands shaking. "Why didn't anyone tell me? Is it a boy? A girl? Where is the baby, Kaitlin?" His grip tightened, bruising. He shook me gently, then more insistently. "Tell me! Why are you still... why are you still so big?"
His touch was repulsive. The sheer audacity of his ignorance, his delayed horror, made bile rise in my throat. I recoiled, tearing my arm from his grasp, the sudden movement sending a sharp pang through my lower abdomen.
"Don't you dare touch me," I spat, my voice cold, devoid of any warmth or recognition. "Don't you dare."
His face paled further. "Kaitlin, what is it? What are you talking about?"
My heart twisted, a raw, bleeding wound. The image of the attack, the cold steel against my skin, the searing pain, the gush of blood, it all flashed before my eyes. The desperate calls, the voicemails, his dismissive tone, his choice. My baby's life, traded for Holly's lie.
Hatred, pure and unadulterated, surged through me, eclipsing every other emotion. It was a consuming fire, burning away the last embers of love, of longing, of a shared past. There was nothing left but ash.
He looked at me, a dawning horror in his eyes. "Kaitlin... the baby?" he stammered, his voice cracking. "When... when did this happen?"
"When you chose to ignore my calls," I said, my voice flat, emotionless. "When you chose to believe Holly's pathetic lie over my desperate screams for help. When you left me to die on the street, bleeding out, with our child dying inside me."
His face drained of all color. "No," he whispered, shaking his head, his eyes wide with a dawning terror. "That's not possible. That's... you're lying. Holly said you were exaggerating."
"Holly said a lot of things," Jayde interjected, her voice dangerously soft, her mangled hands tucked close to her body. "While Jayson and Elliott were coddling her, my sister was being brutally assaulted. Our calls went unanswered. The people who attacked us? They knew exactly what they were doing. They were hired to send a message. A message that you, Jayson, don't deserve an heir."
Jayson staggered back, bumping into a waiting room chair. "Sent a message? Who? What are you talking about? I never... I never got a message like that!"
"Oh, you got a message, Jayson," I said, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "You just chose to prioritize a self-serving lie over the truth. But it doesn't matter now. The past is irrelevant. Only the consequences remain."
I looked him dead in the eye, my voice steady. "I lost our baby. And due to the severity of the trauma, I can never conceive again. Your heir, Jayson, is gone. Forever. And it's on your hands."
His breath hitched. He looked like he'd been punched in the gut. But before he could process my words, Jayde stepped forward, her eyes blazing.
"And me?" she asked, her voice trembling with barely suppressed fury. "Look at my hands, Jayson. The hands that once brought music to life. They're ruined. Permanently. The nerve damage is irreversible. My career, my passion, my identity... gone. All because your precious Holly 'needed' you more."
Elliott, who had just emerged from the elevator, drawn by the commotion, stumbled to a halt. His eyes, wide with shock, landed on Jayde's bandaged hands. "Jayde? Your hands? What happened? Are you... are you okay?"
Jayde met his gaze, her eyes cold, devoid of any past affection. "Okay? I'm broken, Elliott. Physiologically, emotionally, professionally. I'm a concert pianist who can no longer play. A shadow of who I was. Because you chose to play nursemaid to a manipulative liar."
"No," Elliott gasped, shaking his head. He tried to reach for her, but she flinched away, her disgust palpable. "Jayde, I didn't know... I swear, if I had known..."
"You didn't know?" I demanded, my voice rising. "You ignored our calls! Both of you! You were told explicitly that I was bleeding out, that the baby was in danger, that Jayde was hurt! And you chose to believe Holly's fabricated crisis because it was easier! Because it suited your narrative of her perpetual victimhood!"
Jayson, his face a mask of dawning horror, finally pieced it together. The attack. The missed calls. Holly's insistence that we were both "exaggerating." He stammered, trying to form words. "Kaitlin, I... I can fix this. We can get the best doctors, the best treatments. We can try again for an heir."
"Fix this?" I scoffed, a bitter, hollow sound. "There is no fixing this, Jayson. My body is irreparably damaged. My child is dead. Jayde's hands are mangled. Some things, once broken, can never be mended. And as for an heir... you lost your chance. You lost your future. You prioritized a lie, and now you have nothing."
His eyes widened further, not with grief, but with a sudden, chilling political calculation. The Morgan dynasty. The board. The expectations. He had lost his heir.
Just then, from the elevator, a figure emerged. Holly. She had clearly heard the commotion. Her face was a picture of wide-eyed innocence, quickly morphing into one of feigned concern.
"Oh, Jayson, Elliott," she whispered, her voice laced with false sorrow. "What's all this shouting about? Kaitlin, Jayde, I'm so sorry – I heard. I heard about the baby. It's truly tragic. I hope you're both... recovering." Her eyes flickered to me, then to Jayde's hands, a hint of malicious satisfaction in her gaze.
I met her eyes, my own cold and unwavering. "Recovering?" I repeated, my voice dangerously calm. "Tell me, Holly. Was it worth it? Was the 'allergic reaction' worth the price? Because you knew, didn't you? You knew exactly what you were doing when you called them."
Holly's face crumpled, her carefully constructed mask threatening to slip. Her eyes darted between me, Jayson, and Elliott. She had been caught.
