(Steele Morgan’s POV)
I wasn’t there by coincidence.
Years ago, after Elara married Damien Vale, my younger sister Aliana warned me repeatedly to leave her alone. She said Elara had made her choice and that I needed to respect it.
But forgetting Elara, and staying away from her were two different things.
So instead, I did the only thing I could. I quietly placed trusted people around her over the years. Not to interfere in her marriage or monitor her life obsessively, but to make sure she was safe. If Elara ever needed help, someone would always be nearby.
She never knew.
For a long time, the reports about her remained simple. Mrs Vale was fine. Then the reports started changing…
Elara looked thinner, and barely smiled anymore.
Then yesterday, the birthday scandal exploded online.
I saw the videos… Saw security dragging Elara away while the guests laughed and recorded her humiliation like it was entertainment.
So today, I personally came.
I only intended to see her once and leave.
Instead, I watched Elara step out of a car looking like she could barely stand. One hand pressed tightly against her stomach while pain flashed across her face.
Then I saw blood.
Everything after that happened quickly.
I remembered shoving the car door open while Rowan called after me. My bodyguards rushed behind me just as Elara’s body gave out completely.
I caught her before she hit the ground.
Even now, standing in the silent hospital corridor hours later, I could still remember how light she felt in my arms.
Too light.
The operating room doors suddenly opened, jerking me from my thoughts.
A doctor stepped outside while removing his mask before his eyes settled on me. “Mr Morgan? Please come with me.”
Something about his expression immediately made my chest tighten.
I followed him silently into his office.
The room remained quiet after we entered. The doctor sat behind his desk while glancing down at a report in front of him. I remained standing.
Several seconds passed before he finally asked, “Are you family?”
“No.” The answer came automatically.
Then after a brief pause, I quietly added, “…I should have been.”
Sympathy immediately crossed his face, clearly misunderstanding my words.
The doctor sighed softly before looking back at the report. “The patient was pregnant.”
My brows furrowed slightly.
Pregnant?
“We’re sorry,” he continued gently. “We couldn’t save the baby.”
For a moment, everything around me seemed distant.
Elara had been pregnant?
Then the doctor lowered his voice further. “We also found traces of abortive compounds commonly used in medication to terminate pregnancies.”
My eyes slowly lifted toward him.
“No,” I said immediately.
Because the Elara I knew would never willingly hurt her own child.
Years ago, Aliana owned a tiny goldfish she adored. When it died unexpectedly, Elara cried harder than Aliana herself. She spent nearly three hours digging beneath a tree in our backyard because she insisted Sunny would feel lonely if nobody buried him properly.
That was who Elara was.
Too soft-hearted for cruelty.
A woman like that would never willingly hurt her own child.
“Could she have taken it unknowingly?” I asked quietly.
The doctor adjusted his glasses before nodding slowly. “It’s possible.”
Something cold settled heavily inside my chest.
This no longer felt accidental.
Someone had hurt Elara.
When I stepped outside the office, Rowan immediately approached me with concern written all over his face. “Sir, the investors are still waiting. Mr Haynes has called three times already.”
“Cancel everything tonight.”
Rowan froze slightly.
In six years of working beside me, he had never once seen me postpone an important meeting. Even during my father’s surgery, I attended meetings remotely because business remained business.
But tonight, none of it mattered. Elara was lying unconscious a few feet away.
Night gradually settled over the hospital while the corridors became quieter. Nurses passed occasionally, their footsteps soft against the polished floors. Through the glass window, Elara remained motionless beneath the pale lights.
The hospital gown swallowed her small frame completely.
She looked fragile.
Broken.
Alone.
For years, I had stayed outside her life because I thought distance was the right thing to do. But watching her lying there now, I realized something painfully clear.
Some promises should have been broken sooner.
Movement inside the room suddenly caught my attention.
Elara’s fingers twitched slightly.
I straightened immediately.
Slowly, her eyelashes fluttered open before her unfocused eyes moved around the room weakly. Without realizing it, my feet were already moving toward the door.
When I entered the room, her gaze slowly lifted toward me.
Confusion crossed her pale face at first.
Then recognition followed.
“…Brother Steele?”
Her weak voice tightened something painfully inside my chest.
After all these years, she still remembered me.
I stepped closer to the bed quietly while the room fell silent except for the soft beeping of machines nearby.
Then suddenly, her hand moved toward her stomach.
Fear flashed across her expression as she asked “How’s my baby?”
I couldn’t answer her. So instead, I quietly texted Rowan.
In no time, the doctor entered the room and explained everything again. The miscarriage, the abortive compounds found in her body… I watched Elara’s face as the truth slowly settled inside her.
Her fingers tightened around the blanket “That glass of water…” she whispered faintly.
“They killed my baby.” Her voice cracked as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. She broke completely, her shoulders shaking in agony. I remained beside her quietly. Some pain could not be comforted with empty words.
Several minutes passed before the room gradually became quiet again.
Elara suddenly lifted her head, her red-teary eyes meeting mine. She spoke firmly “…Brother Steele, I want revenge.”
