I haven't slept. My eyes are gritty, my body heavy with exhaustion, but my mind won't stop racing. I've spent the entire night cycling through the same thoughts, the same questions, the same impossible choices.
Stay or go.
Forgive or condemn.
Tell him about the baby or keep it secret.
My hand drifts to my stomach, as it has a hundred times since I saw those two lines on the pregnancy test. There's a life growing inside me. A tiny cluster of cells that will become a person—a person who is half me and half Gabriel, who will carry Dwayne Thomas's blood alongside mine.
I haven't told him. I've been holding it back, waiting for... what? The right moment? There is no right moment. There's only now, and now is a disaster.
If I tell him about the baby, everything changes. He'll never let me go—I know that with bone-deep certainty. Gabriel Ambrose possessive of a woman is one thing; Gabriel Ambrose possessive of a child is something else entirely. He'll move heaven and earth to keep us, will burn down anyone who tries to take us away.
Part of me finds that comforting. Part of me finds it terrifying.
And part of me—the small, stubborn part that's been growing stronger since this nightmare began—wonders if I want to be kept at all.
Zach's card is still in my purse, tucked into the lining alongside the pregnancy test and the manila envelope full of documents. A way out, he called it. A new life, far from the Brotherhood.
I could take it. I could pack a bag, slip away while Gabriel is distracted, disappear into whatever network of safe houses and false identities Zach has prepared. I could raise this baby alone, far from the darkness that Gabriel represents.
But even as I think it, I know I won't do it.
Not because I'm afraid. Not because I'm weak. But because running would mean making a decision without all the information. It would mean letting Zach—a man with his own agenda, his own reasons for wanting to hurt Gabriel—dictate the course of my life.
I'm done letting other people control my choices.
If I stay, it will be because I choose to stay. If I go, it will be because I choose to go. But either way, it will be my decision.
First, though, I need perspective. I need to talk to someone outside this world, someone who might understand what I'm going through.
I need to talk to my mother.
***
I hear Gabriel moving through the house around seven—his footsteps on the stairs, the distant murmur of his voice as he speaks to the staff. He pauses outside my door again, and I hold my breath, waiting.
Still, he doesn't knock.
I wait until I hear the front door close, until the sound of a car engine fades down the driveway. Then I get out of bed and start to pack.
Not everything. Just a small bag—enough for a few days. Clothes, toiletries, the envelope from Zach. The pregnancy test, still wrapped in its silk scarf. Evidence of all the secrets I'm carrying.
My phone buzzes with a text from Bea:Haven't heard from you in forever. Starting to worry. Call me?
I stare at the message for a long moment. Bea has been my best friend for ten years. She's the one I should be turning to, the one who's always been there when I needed her.
But I can't drag her into this. Can't explain any of it without putting her at risk. Gabriel's world is dangerous, and I won't make her a target just because I need someone to talk to.
Everything's fine, I type back.Just busy with work. Talk soon, I promise.
Another lie. I'm drowning in them now.
I finish packing and sit on the edge of the bed, my phone in my hands. I need to tell Gabriel I'm leaving. Not asking permission—informing him. There's a difference.
I compose the text carefully, deleting and rewriting until the words feel right:
I need to see my mother. I'll be back in a few days. Please don't follow me.
