Chapter 1 - The Heel
The heel struck Emily Whitmore just below her ribs, and the first thing her husband did was check his watch.
Pain flashed through her eight-months-pregnant body. She caught the silver railing beside the maternity elevator before her knees gave way. Her little leather purse slid off her shoulder. Across the gleaming hallway, a nurse dropped her clipboard.
Vanessa Cross lowered her designer heel as though she'd stepped over a puddle. Her white cashmere coat didn't have a wrinkle. Neither did her smile.
"Maybe now you'll understand you don't belong here."
Emily pressed a trembling hand to her belly. "You kicked my baby."
"I barely touched you," Vanessa said. "Don't be dramatic."
Preston Whitmore stood beside his mistress in a navy suit that cost more than the nurse made in a month. He slipped an arm around Vanessa's waist. Emily searched his face for horror, shame, anything. She found irritation.
"Don't embarrass me in my own hospital," he snapped.
The overhead lights hummed, white and cold. Warm lamps glowed behind the nurses' station. A family waiting for the elevator turned away, pretending not to see. Emily understood then how much silence a rich man could purchase.
"Mrs. Whitmore?" the nurse called. "I need to examine you. Right now."
"She's fine," Preston said.
"I didn't ask you," the nurse replied.
Emily lifted her purse with one shaking hand and found her phone. Preston watched, amused, until she tapped the first name on her speed dial.
"Uncle Raymond," she whispered. "I need you on the third floor."
"Emily?" The voice sharpened. "Are you hurt?"
"Please come."
The line went dead. Raymond was on-site for a meeting two floors below. For a moment, nobody moved. Then the double doors at the end of the corridor opened. Four uniformed security officers entered, followed by a silver-haired man in a charcoal suit. He walked fast, but nothing about him was hurried.
The nurse straightened. "That's Raymond Saint Claire..."
Raymond saw Emily's hand on her belly. His expression turned to stone. He stood between her and Preston.
"Preston," he said, quiet enough to make the silence worse, "this hospital was never yours."
Preston's smile vanished. "You can't prove what happened."
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Raymond looked up at the small red light above the elevator.
"Then why," he asked, "is that camera still recording?"
