Chapter 2 - The Ghost in the Shadows
“I’m not running anywhere until you tell me what’s happening!” I shouted, though my instincts took over. I slipped into the hospital room, scooped the sleeping newborn into my arms, and pressed her against my chest. She smelled of warm milk and lavender, her tiny heart beating wildly against my ribs.
James backed into the room and slammed the heavy door, throwing the deadbolt. Outside, heavy footsteps rattled against the polished floor tiles.
“Twelve years ago, Sarah stumbled into something monstrous,” James said hastily, dragging an armchair to wedge under the door handle. “Her ex-fiancé, Marcus Vance, wasn't a real estate developer. He was running an illegal human trafficking and fertility ring. When Sarah tried to expose him, Marcus set fire to her apartment to silence her.”
I gasped, pulling the baby closer. “She survived?”
“I found her first,” James admitted, his voice cracking. “She was severely burned, terrified, and begged me to let the world believe she was dead. If Marcus knew she was alive, he would have hunted her down. So we faked her records, hid her away in a private clinic up north, and kept her identity buried under three layers of forged legal documents.”
“And the baby?” I demanded, tears streaming down my cheeks. “How does she fit into this nightmare?”
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“Two years ago, Marcus was released from federal prison on a technicality,” James explained. “Sarah knew he’d come looking for vengeance. She knew she couldn't run forever. She begged me to let her give us one last gift before she went completely off the grid—a biological child from the embryos we froze before your illness ruined your uterus. She wanted you to have your dream, Eleanor. And she wanted your daughter to be safe with us.”
A heavy thud rattled the hospital door. The brass handle twisted violently.
