Chapter 2 - THE SOUND THEY NEEDED
“Is my baby alive?”
Khloe asked before the doctor finished introducing herself.
Dr. Naomi Bennett pulled a stool beside the bed.
“We’re checking his heartbeat right now.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the honest answer I have.”
Marcus stood near the wall, still wearing the tuxedo that suddenly looked obscene in a room full of medical equipment.
A nurse adjusted the monitor.
Static filled the silence.
Khloe gripped the sheet.
Marcus took one step forward.
“Baby—”
“Don’t tell me everything’s fine.”
He stopped.
Then the room filled with a quick, steady rhythm.
Khloe covered her mouth.
Dr. Bennett watched the screen before looking at her.
“That’s your son.”
Marcus bent forward, his hands braced on his knees.
For the first time since entering the suite, he breathed.
But the doctor’s expression remained serious.
“His heartbeat is reassuring right now. You’re having contractions, and there’s bleeding after trauma. We need to watch both of you closely.”
“Can I lose him?” Khloe asked.
“We’re doing everything we can to prevent that.”
When the examination was finished, Khloe asked the nurse to stay.
Then she looked at Marcus.
“Where is she?”
“Security has her downstairs.”
“Security works for the hospital foundation. She runs the foundation.”
“I asked them to keep her away from you.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Marcus reached for his phone.
This time, he called the police himself.
He gave the hospital address, described the assault, and stayed on the line until the dispatcher finished.
Khloe watched him without thanking him.
He deserved that.
Afterward, she turned toward the window.
“I told you she cornered me in the garage.”
“I remember.”
“You said she was under pressure.”
“I was wrong.”
“I told you she grabbed my arm at dinner.”
His face tightened.
“You said she probably didn’t realize how hard.”
“Khloe—”
“Every time I told you something was wrong, you explained her to me.”
He had no defense that didn’t sound like another insult.
A knock interrupted them.
Detective Lena Ortiz stepped inside, introduced herself, and asked Marcus to wait outside while she spoke to Khloe.
He went without arguing.
In the hallway, his phone lit up with a message from Elaine.
I checked with security.
He opened the next message.
The camera outside the suite is working.
A third appeared.
The one inside went offline at 8:42.
Marcus checked the time on the emergency call.
May you like
8:56.
Someone had blinded the room fourteen minutes before he found his wife.
