part 4
PART 4
At the hospital, Peyton disappeared before Nolan could find her.
That was Gabriel’s first decision as more than a rescuer.
The emergency team rushed Peyton through a private trauma entrance.
Her name was temporarily sealed under hospital security protocol.
The police were notified before the helicopter even landed.
Detective Mara Quinn arrived as surgeons prepared Peyton for emergency delivery.
Peyton was barely conscious when Gabriel leaned over her.
“Do you want him contacted?”
Peyton’s eyes snapped open.
“No.”
One word.
Enough.
Detective Quinn heard it.
She looked at Gabriel.
“We lock the record.”
Within minutes, Peyton Vale became Patient Rose.
Nolan Vale would call hospitals.
He would cry.
He would perform.
He would search only where the story required him to search.
But he would not reach her.
The emergency C-section happened under bright lights and controlled urgency.
Peyton remembered pressure.
Voices.
Cold hands.
Gabriel somewhere outside the operating room refusing to sit down.
Then a cry.
Small.
Angry.
Alive.
A nurse brought the baby close for one second before taking him to the warmer.
Peyton saw a red face, dark hair, tiny fists.
Her son.
Her living son.
She tried to say his name.
“Eli.”
Then everything went black.
When she woke, it was night.
Machines beeped softly.
Her throat hurt.
Her body felt broken into separate countries.
Gabriel sat in a chair beside her bed, still in rescue pants, head bowed, hands clasped like prayer.
He looked up immediately.
“Your son is alive.”
Peyton began to cry.
“Is he okay?”
“He is in neonatal care.”
“Strong.”
“Loud.”
“Very offended by the world.”
A laugh broke through her tears and turned into pain.
Gabriel reached for the nurse call button.
She stopped him.
“Did Nolan call?”
Gabriel’s face changed.
“Yes.”
Peyton’s blood went cold.
Detective Quinn stepped from the corner of the room.
“He reported you missing.”
Peyton stared.
The detective’s mouth tightened.
“He said you slipped while taking pictures.”
Of course he did.
Peyton closed her eyes.
Nolan had already started writing over her death.
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But this time, she was alive enough to edit it back.
Read the full story 👉 Nolan reported Peyton’s fall as an accident, not knowing she and the baby were hidden in the hospital under police protection.
