Chapter 12 - The Fall
Before he could answer, the study doors banged open. Vivienne rushed in, hair loose, robe half-tied. She'd been listening from the hall.
"You're trying to destroy my son!" She came straight at me.
"Vivienne, stay back."
"You miserable—"
It happened fast after that. Voices climbing over each other. Marta in the doorway. Vivienne closing the distance. Marta trying to get between us. Damon frozen by the desk.
In the middle of it, I lost my footing.
My lower side hit the hard edge of the desk. Pain tore through my stomach. I went down onto the floor. For a moment I couldn't breathe.
Then I felt warmth. I looked down.
Blood.
"My baby—"
Marta screamed. "Oh my God." She spun toward Damon. "Call an ambulance!"
Vivienne froze. Every bit of fury drained out of her face. Damon stared at me like he couldn't process it.
Then he finally moved. "Rosalind?"
"Call an ambulance." My voice barely came out. "Please."
He pulled out his phone. His hands shook so badly he almost dropped it. Marta took it from him and dialed 911.
I curled around my stomach. The chandelier above me blurred. One of Silas's cameras was hidden up in it. Still recording. The argument. The confrontation. The fall. Everything after.
The sounds went far away. Marta crying. Vivienne talking too fast. Damon saying my name.
Then sirens. Then nothing.
When I opened my eyes I was looking at a white hospital ceiling. An IV in my arm. A monitor beeping. For a few seconds I didn't know where I was. Then I remembered the blood.
My hand went to my stomach.
The small curve was still there.
"You're awake." Dr. Naomi Bright came in.
"My baby?"
Her face softened. "Safe."
My whole body let go. Tears came before I could stop them.
"What happened?"
"You had a partial placental abruption after the impact. You lost a lot of blood." She checked the monitor. "But the heartbeat's strong. You were lucky — the ambulance got you here fast and we stabilized the bleeding."
"Will it affect the pregnancy?"
"You'll need strict rest. No heavy exertion. Minimal stress. Frequent monitoring. But right now, both of you are stable."
I breathed slowly. "Who came with me?"
"Damon followed the ambulance. He sat in the waiting room for a few hours." She hesitated. "Then a young woman came for him. He left with her about two hours ago."
I knew who. Camille. Of course.
Then Naomi took an envelope out of her coat. "Before he left, Damon gave this to the nurses' station."
Inside was a bank card and a handwritten note on Ashford stationery.
Three million wired to escrow. I accept the settlement unconditionally. The child is yours. I waive all rights.
I read it twice. Then again.
Damon had surrendered.
I picked up my phone. Seventeen missed calls, all Grant. I called him back. He answered on the first ring.
"Rosalind?"
"I'm awake. The baby's safe."
He exhaled. "Thank God." Then: "I've reviewed the hidden-camera footage."
My body tensed. "It got everything?"
"The confrontation. The fall. All of it. If you want to pursue legal action over what happened tonight, we have very strong evidence."
I said nothing.
"Rosalind?"
"No."
Silence. "What?"
"I'm not doing it."
"You nearly lost your child."
"I know. But I've spent five years living inside that family's nightmare. Damon signed. The money's in escrow. Three million. The parental waiver's signed." I looked toward the window. "I'm done. I don't want five more years of hearings and depositions. I don't want my kid's whole first years spent reliving the Ashfords."
Grant was quiet a long time. "All right," he finally said. "But I'm keeping that footage in a secure vault. If any of them ever come after you again, we use it."
"Agreed."
I hung up, leaned back against the pillow, and looked out over Manhattan. For the first time since Theo came into my house, I let myself cry.
May you like
Not because I wanted Damon back. Not because Camille had won. Not because I was mourning an estate.
I cried because I finally understood that I was free.
