ra

in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the staircase. My head slamme

saw was Ethan, standing at the top of th

my voice a broken w

pain that terrified me. A deep, cramping agony was seizing my l

ba

old, unreadable mask. There was no

ice echoing in the suddenly silent lobby. "Yo

was peering over his shoulder, a s

orrified onlookers who had gathered at the top of the stairs.

turned his back on

look back

doors, leaving me alone on the cold, hard floor. A profound, bottomless d

through me again, sharper this time, a brut

aked, reaching out a trembling hand t

anniversary, was no longer pristine. A dark, crimson sta

So much

eight of the horror crashing down

as over. He was gone. The tiny life I had cherished and protected for th

lance!" a woman' s vo

rs. Faces swam in and out of fo

uciating pain and desperate prayers. I clutc

aming down my face. "Please, yo

nd-faced doctor said, his voice gentle. "We nee

, treacherous and stupid, flickered in my chest. He would co

put the phone on speaker. It ra

n't Ethan's voice

I' m calling for Mr. Ethan Carlson regarding his wif

arine voice in the background, muffled. "Ethan

ith fake concern. "Oh, dear. Is Kiera okay? Ethan is just s

ing. She' s losing the baby. We ne

my voice barely a thread of sound.

ll Ethan... tell him I' m losing o

urr. "Kiera says she' s losing the baby. She' s always bee

t. "Tell her to stop it. I' m with you. The doctor i

ith the force of a physical

es," Chanel repeated, savoring each word.

ping in my belly intensifying into an unbea

space. "Kiera, I swear to God, if you don' t stop this pathetic act, I wil

ne wen

wail of the siren and the fran

ed at me with more compassion than my

he said, his voice gen

' am, I' m so sorry.

n all the rest, ripped through me. I felt a prof

st, most broken part

the ceiling of the ambulance, the flashing