The waiting room of the clinic smelled of bleach and despair. The linoleum was peeling. A "Temporarily Closed for Maintenance" sign was hastily taped to the glass door, but Aurora had slipped in before it went up.
She sat on a plastic chair, her hat pulled low. Every instinct in her body was screaming that this was a mistake, but she forced herself to stay. She just needed the paperwork.
"Paul?" a nurse called out. She looked tired and harassed.
Aurora stood up. She followed the nurse into the back.
"Room 3. Doctor will be in shortly. Undress from the waist down."
Aurora did as she was told. She lay on the paper-covered table, staring at the water stain on the ceiling. This felt real. Too real. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, sliding into her ears.
The door opened.
"Dr. Stone," a voice said.
Aurora turned. The man who walked in wasn't the scruffy doctor she had seen on the website. He was immaculate. He wore a crisp white coat with a logo embroidered on the pocket: Heath Medical.
Aurora sat bolt upright. "Who are you? What's going on?"
Dr. Stone didn't look at her. He pulled an ultrasound machine toward the bed.
"We need to do a scan first," he said.
"I don't want a scan," Aurora said. "I just want the consultation."
"Protocol," Stone said. He squirted cold gel onto her stomach.
He pressed the wand down.
On the monitor, a grey static appeared. Then, a shape. A tiny, pulsing bean.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
The sound filled the small room.
The door banged open.
Corbin walked in. He filled the doorway, his presence sucking the oxygen out of the room. He was breathing hard, his hair slightly windblown. Behind him, she could see men in dark suits clearing the hallway.
"What are you doing here?" Aurora shrieked, trying to cover herself with the paper sheet.
Corbin walked to the side of the bed. He looked at the monitor. He stared at the pulsing light.
"Seven weeks," Dr. Stone said. "Strong heartbeat."
Corbin reached out and touched the screen. His finger traced the image.
Then he looked at Aurora. His eyes were blazing.
"You were going to kill it," he said. It was an accusation.
"It was a consultation!" Aurora yelled. "To get leverage! To make you listen! Get out!"
Corbin grabbed a chair and dragged it to the bedside. He sat down, bringing his face level with hers.
"Let's make a deal," he said.
"I don't want your money," Aurora spat.
Corbin pulled a folded document from his jacket pocket. He held it up.
"This is a transfer order for Leonard Paul," Corbin said. "Moving him to a minimum-security facility. Private room. Better medical care. And a new legal team-my legal team-to work on his appeal."
Aurora stopped struggling. She looked at the paper. "You can do that?"
"I can do anything," Corbin said. "But if you ever set foot in a place like this again... your father stays in general population. And I hear the gangs there are very... unfriendly to white-collar criminals."
Aurora stared at him in horror. "You're blackmailing me? With my father's life?"
"I'm negotiating," Corbin said coldly. "His life for this one." He pointed to the screen.
Aurora looked at the monitor. The heartbeat. Thump-thump.
She looked at Corbin. He was a monster. A beautiful, rich monster.
"I hate you," she whispered.
"I can live with that," Corbin said. "As long as the baby lives."
He stood up. He threw the paper on the counter.
"Get dressed," he ordered. "We're going home."
He didn't wait. He turned and walked out.
Aurora lay there, the sound of the heartbeat still echoing in her ears. She had saved her father. But she had just sold herself to the devil.
