Chapter 7
Ethan hated not knowing.
Claire saw it in the way he adjusted his sleeve.
The way his eyes moved to the flowers.
The way he kept checking her expression for cracks.
He wanted tears.
Accusations.
A scene.
A scene would help him.
He could call her emotional.
Overwhelmed.
Jealous of a newborn.
Unstable before a major signing.
Claire gave him nothing useful.
Lily shifted against the pillows.
“You look tired,” Claire said.
Lily’s smile was brittle.
“Labor does that.”
“I’m sure.”
The baby stirred.
Claire stepped closer and touched the edge of the blanket, careful not to disturb the child.
For one second, Lily looked genuinely afraid Claire might take the baby.
Claire did not.
She was angry, not cruel.
The newborn was not evidence.
The newborn was not a weapon.
The newborn was a child born into a room already full of lies.
Claire looked at Ethan.
“Your meeting ended early?”
He hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Lucky.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
The phone behind the bouquet continued recording.
Naomi’s line remained open.
Claire could not hear typing anymore, but she imagined transfers freezing, alerts going out, digital doors closing.
Ethan and Lily thought tomorrow was their deadline.
May you like
They did not know tonight had already arrived first.
Read the full story 👉 Claire refused to make the baby part of the betrayal, even while using the room to preserve every lie Ethan told.
