My mother loved it like a secret.
I forced myself to continue.
She told me you had regrets, but not about losing me. About “complications.” She said if I cared about your future, I would disappear quietly. She knew about the baby, Luke. Before I told anyone. Before I even knew what I was going to do.
I did not believe her at first.
Then she showed me documents. Medical releases with my signature, though I never signed them. A letter supposedly from you saying any child connected to me would be “handled privately.” I know your anger. I know your pride. But I never believed you would write that.
Still, I was tired.
So tired.
She said you had chosen your family over me. She said I was embarrassing you by carrying a child you did not want. She said every attempt I made to reach you would prove I was unstable.
Luke, I am not writing this to ask you to save me. I am writing because I am afraid our child will grow up inside a story written by people who never loved either of us.
If something happens, find the blue notebook.
Trust no one who says they are protecting the Mercer name.
Emily
By the time I finished, my vision had blurred. I folded the letter carefully because it felt like the only gentle thing left for me to do.
“The blue notebook,” I said.
Marcus nodded. “We need to find it before she does.”
A movement came from the bed.
Emily’s fingers twitched.
I was beside her in an instant, pulling the chair close, afraid to touch her and more afraid not to.
“Emily,” I whispered.
Her lashes fluttered, but she did not wake. Her lips parted on a breath so faint I leaned closer to hear it.
“Don’t let her…”
The words faded.
My chest ached.
“I won’t,” I said, though I did not know whether she could hear me. “Not again.”
Dr. Bennett returned just after midnight. She found me seated beside Emily, one hand curled around the metal rail of the bed, as if I could hold the entire room in place through force alone.
“She stirred?” the doctor asked.
“She said something.”
“That is a good sign, but she needs rest. Her body has been under enormous stress.”
“What can I do?”
Dr. Bennett studied me. There was no softness in her expression, but there was something better: honesty.
“You can start by understanding that whatever happened before tonight, she is my patient. Not an extension of your family. Not a business problem. Not a scandal.”
“I know.”
“I hope you do.” She checked Emily’s IV, then lowered her voice. “Pregnancy under severe stress can become complicated quickly. Right now, the baby’s heartbeat is stable. Emily’s body is not. She needs nutrition, hydration, monitoring, and calm.”