Chapter 3 - A Signature in Blood"Name your terms," I said, standing up to face him, putting my body between Nico and the bed. I refused to let my son see his father treat him like a business negotiation.
Nico stood up, towering over me. Up close, the resemblance between him and the dying boy on the bed was agonizing—the same sharp jawline, the same raven-dark hair, though Leo’s eyes were mine.
"Simple," Nico whispered, his gaze dropping to my lips before rising back to my eyes. "You drop the custody appeal filed in Seattle. You sign away your right to ever relocate him outside of my jurisdiction. And, most importantly... you move back into the penthouse on Fifth Avenue tonight. As my wife, in the eyes of the public, so the board doesn't question the sudden injection of Hayes capital into a pediatric research ward."
"You want me back in chains," I hissed, tears of pure rage stinging my eyes. "You want to parade me around like your favorite trophy while my son serves as the anchor keeping me tied to you!"
"I want my family back," Nico corrected, his voice dropping an octave, losing its businesslike edge and taking on a dark, possessive hunger. "And you know as well as I do, Claire, that Leo doesn't have weeks to argue semantics with family court judges. Vance is walking down this corridor right now. She has the syringe in her case. Every minute you spend hesitating is another second his organs begin to shut down."
A soft, agonizing moan came from the bed. I whipped my head around. Leo was clutching his chest, his small fingers digging into the thin blanket as the pulse oximeter’s beep began to speed up into a frantic, high-pitched shriek.
"Mom..." Leo gasped, his back arching in a spasm of pain. "It hurts... it hurts so bad..."
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The door flew open. Dr. Vance rushed in, her white coat billowing behind her, followed by two frantic nurses wheeling a crash cart.
"His lungs are filling with fluid!" Vance shouted, her eyes wide with panic as she shoved past Nico. "We’re losing him! Get the defibrillator ready—now!"
