Chapter 12 - The Night the Baby Came Early

Daniel left the mansion without looking back.

At the hospital, Sarah was shaking.

Dr. Grant stood at the foot of the bed.

"We're going to try medication and positioning first. But if the baby's heart rate drops again, we do not wait."

Sarah nodded.

Then she looked at Daniel.

"Did you find it?"

He took her hand.

"We found enough."

"Enough to stop Eleanor?"

"I don't care about Eleanor right now."

"I do."

"Sarah."

"Daniel, if something happens to me-"

"Don't."

"If something happens to me, you keep her away from our daughter."

His face broke.

"Nothing is happening to you."

She squeezed his fingers.

"Promise me."

"I promise."

Arthur arrived with Detective Brooks.

Behind them came Rosa Alvarez.

Sarah sat up.

"Rosa?"

Rosa looked exhausted.

"I am sorry I disappeared."

Eleanor had sent her sister home from work and threatened to blacklist both women from every Vance contractor.

Rosa had panicked.

"But I didn't quit," she said. "I went to my cousin's."

She pulled a phone from her coat.

"I told Detective Brooks I saw the push."

Sarah's eyes filled.

"Thank you."

Rosa shook her head.

"No. There is more."

She opened a video.

At first, it showed a vase of flowers and the edge of the foyer.

Rosa explained she had been recording the centerpiece because her sister wanted to copy it for a wedding.

Then Eleanor's voice came through clearly.

"You don't belong in this family."

The camera shifted.

Sarah appeared on the upper landing.

The image shook.

Then Eleanor's hands hit Sarah's shoulders.

Hard.

Daniel stopped breathing.

The entire push was there.

So was Arthur catching her.

So was Eleanor saying, "She slipped."

Detective Brooks looked at Rosa.

"This is the original file?"

"Yes."

Sarah covered her face.

For the first time since the fall, she felt something close to relief.

Then a man in a gray hoodie brushed past Rosa in the hallway.

He bumped her shoulder.

"Hey!"

He kept walking.

Rosa looked down.

Her hand was empty.

"My phone."

Daniel ran after him.

The man hit the stairwell.

Daniel followed.

Two floors down, the man shoved a cart behind him and disappeared through a service door.

Security cameras caught his face for half a second.

Detective Brooks enlarged the image.

Malcolm.

Rosa looked sick.

"The video is gone."

Sarah's heart monitor accelerated.

Then Rosa suddenly smiled.

"No."

Everyone turned.

She pointed to Daniel's laptop.

"My cousin made me back up everything last night."

She opened a cloud folder.

The video appeared on screen.

Three copies.

Rosa looked toward the stairwell.

"Let him keep the phone."

Detective Brooks smiled for the first time.

"Good."

Then Sarah gasped.

A sharp pain tore across her abdomen.

The baby's heartbeat dropped.

May you like

She Tried to Kill a Disabled Woman at a Billionaire’s Pool Party—But One...

She had already lost her leg. Now, they were trying to take her life.At a luxury mansion filled with millionaires, a terrified you...

THEY DECLARED HER DEAD—THEN ORDERED HER CREMATED WHILE SHE WAS STILL ALI...

They were about to burn her alive.Her death certificate had already been signed. Her body was scheduled for immediate cremation. A...

She Pushed a Pregnant Woman in a Wheelchair Into the Pool—Then Her Husba...

She was pregnant. She was in a wheelchair. And the woman standing behind her was smiling.Seconds later, one brutal shove sent her...

Dr. Grant rushed in.

"We're done waiting," she said. "Prep the operating room."