Chapter 7 - THE ROOM ABOVE THE GARAGE
I never made it to the hospital.
Halfway to the elevator, Gordon panicked.
He shoved one of the officers.
Guests screamed.
He ran toward the service stairwell.
Detective Hayes chased him.
Julian followed.
I don’t know why I did it.
Maybe rage.
Maybe fear.
Maybe I was tired of being the person everyone kept secrets from.
I followed too.
“Chloe!” Mom screamed.
The stairwell door slammed behind me.
Gordon was already two levels down.
Hayes shouted.
“STOP!”
We ran through the hotel’s service corridor.
Kitchen staff jumped out of the way.
Gordon hit a fire exit.
An alarm screamed.
He burst into the parking garage.
Julian tackled him beside a black Mercedes.
They hit the concrete hard.
Gordon punched Julian.
Julian hit him back.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?”
Hayes dragged Julian away.
“Enough!”
Gordon’s nose was bleeding.
He laughed.
“You really think you’re the father?”
Julian tried to lunge again.
I stepped forward.
“Who is?”
Gordon looked at me.
His smile disappeared.
“Ask your mother.”
I froze.
“My mother?”
Then I realized he wasn’t looking at me.
He was looking past me.
At Eleanor.
She had followed us downstairs.
My mother stood beside her.
“What does that mean?” Mom demanded.
Gordon laughed again.
“Wrong mother.”
He meant Eleanor.
Hayes cuffed him.
“Talk.”
“I want immunity.”
“Not happening.”
“Then enjoy guessing.”
Eleanor turned away.
I grabbed her arm.
“Where did he take me?”
“Let go.”
“Where?”
“Get your hands off me.”
I squeezed harder.
“Did someone assault me?”
The garage went silent.
Even Gordon stopped smiling.
Eleanor looked at me.
For one second, something almost human appeared in her eyes.
Then it vanished.
“No.”
I searched her face.
“Then what happened?”
She pulled away.
“Nothing happened to you.”
“Four hours disappeared.”
“You were sedated.”
My breath stopped.
Julian stared at her.
“Sedated?”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
She had said too much.
Hayes stepped closer.
“With what?”
She looked at Gordon.
He looked away.
I felt like I was going to be sick.
“Why?”
Eleanor whispered, “To move you.”
“Where?”
No answer.
“WHERE?”
“Home.”
“Whose home?”
She looked toward Julian.
His face changed.
“The estate.”
Eleanor said nothing.
Julian whispered, “The room above the garage.”
I turned.
“What room?”
His voice was barely audible.
“My father’s old medical suite.”
I stared.
“Medical?”
“Dad was sick before he died.”
Eleanor interrupted.
“It hasn’t been used in years.”
Gordon laughed from the ground.
“Not true.”
Hayes looked down at him.
“Explain.”
Gordon smiled through the blood.
“She had it cleaned in December.”
Eleanor screamed.
“SHUT UP!”
My knees weakened.
Mom grabbed me.
“What happened in that room?”
Gordon looked at me.
“Nothing sexual.”
I almost collapsed with relief.
Then he continued.
“But your mother-in-law had a doctor waiting.”
Julian’s face went blank.
“What doctor?”
“The family fertility specialist.”
I stared at Eleanor.
My voice came out as a whisper.
“No.”
She didn’t answer.
“No.”
My hands covered my belly.
“What did you do to me?”
Eleanor’s composure finally cracked.
“You were never supposed to get pregnant.”
The words were almost inaudible.
But everyone heard them.
Hayes stepped forward.
“What did you do?”
Eleanor looked at my stomach.
Then at Julian.
“I tried to make sure the Sterling bloodline stayed under control.”
May you like
And suddenly, the baby inside me was no longer just my child.
It was evidence.
