Chapter 05

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• The Price Of Us   Chapter 136

  JACE POV.My legs propelled me forward, pounding steps chasing the figure.Ahead, she vaulted over a low railing, stumbling but determined to escape.“Stop!” I yelled, gaining ground.My breath came in sharp bursts as I raced down the corridor. I’d seen her. I knew I had. That was Sophie—her build, her urgency, the unmistakable panic in her stride.But by the time I reached the stairwell, she was gone. Vanished like smoke.“Damn it!” I slammed my palm against the wall, then spun on my heel and stormed back down the hallway.“Security!” I barked into my phone. “Suspect was seen heading toward the east wing—female, late twenties, dark hair, possibly disguised. She drugged a hospital cleaner. Lock all exits. Now.”“Understood, Mr. Lysander,” came the curt reply.I stalked through the corridor, running a hand through my hair, heart beating like a war drum. I couldn't shake the image of Anna thrashing in that hospital bed, the memory of her wide, terrified eyes.Down the hall, two staff me

• The Price Of Us   Chapter 135

  JACE POVIt had been six hours.Six hours of sterile walls closing in. Of shoes scuffing the linoleum as I paced up and down the same damn stretch of corridor, counting the cracks in the floor tiles, listening to the second hand of the wall clock stab its way through time.Every time the door to the operating room swung open, my breath caught.Every time it wasn’t the doctor, I nearly lost my mind.My fists clenched, then opened, then clenched again. I couldn't sit. I couldn't breathe properly. My shirt stuck to my back with sweat. My heart hadn’t stopped racing since Anna's body started thrashing in that hospital bed.God. Why didn’t I listen to her?She told me. She said she saw Sophie—clear as day. And I... I brushed it off. Told her maybe she imagined it. Hell, I even said it wasn't our business.I’d failed her.I leaned against the wall, dragging both hands through my hair. My palms trembled.If anything happens to her… If anything happens to those babies…The image of her—barel

• The Price Of Us   Chapter 134

  ANNA POV.A sharp cramp twisted low in my belly.I woke up with a soft gasp, my eyes fluttering open to sterile white light and the mechanical hum of machines. My body felt heavy, dull with pressure, but the pain was real now—low, deep, starting to roll in and out like a tide that was beginning to rise.I blinked, heart fluttering as I turned my head toward the window.The chair beside my bed was empty.Jace wasn’t there.Another cramp rolled through me, sharper this time. I reached instinctively for the call button—but stopped when I noticed someone at the far end of the room.A nurse.She stood beside the IV pole, adjusting the drip bag. Her hair was tucked neatly into her cap, face mostly covered with a surgical mask and goggles. Blue gloves, white scrubs. She looked focused, and efficient.I assumed it was the nurse Linda the doctor said would be monitoring me while he stepped away.“Excuse me,” I said, voice rasping. “Can you—can you please call my husband? I need him.”No respo

• The Price Of Us   Chapter 133

  JACE POV.The bedside clock glowed 2:17 a.m. when the third contraction slammed into Anna—this one a freight train. She folded in half, a raw cry tearing from her throat.“Start—timing,” she panted.“Already on it.” My thumb hit the stopwatch on my phone. Two minutes since the last one. Too close, too fast. I shoved my own panic down where she couldn’t see it.“Bag’s in the car, coats by the door,” I said, grabbing her robe and draping it over her trembling shoulders. “We leave now.”Another contraction rolled through. She clutched my T-shirt, knuckles white. “I—can’t—breathe—”“Yes, you can. In… four counts. Out… four.” I breathed with her until the grip on my shirt loosened.2:32 a.m. — DrivewayCold mist clung to the windshield as I helped her into the passenger seat. She hissed when she sat.“Seat warmers on,” I muttered, buckling her in. “You squeeze my arm when one hits. I’ll watch the road and the clock.”She managed a nod, sweat beading at her hairline.Halfway down the coasta

• The Price Of Us   Chapter 132

  ANNA POV.The car pulled into the hospital’s entrance, the kind of sterile place I’d hoped to avoid for as long as possible—until now. Nine months and some days, my due date looming like a quiet drumbeat in the back of my mind.Jace’s hand was warm and steady on my thigh, his eyes on the road but always somehow aware of me.“I’m nervous,” I admitted, voice low. “Not about the babies, but the whole… process.”He squeezed my leg. “You’re not alone. We’re in this together.”We stepped inside, the sharp scent of antiseptic wrapping around us like a reminder that this was real. My feet shuffled a little on the cold floor, the weight of my belly making every step deliberate.As we waited for the nurse, my eyes caught a woman walking briskly toward the elevators.My heart hit a sudden stop.That was Sophie.No doubt.I blinked twice, the image stuck: her sleek hair, the way she carried herself with that same cold confidence.I grabbed Jace’s arm, my voice tense. “Jace… I think I just saw So

• The Price Of Us   Chapter 131

  ANNA POV.Hospitals smelled like lemon disinfectant and quiet dread.Even after months of prenatal visits, I still found myself nervously rubbing circles on my belly every time we stepped into the OB wing. It wasn’t fear, not exactly. Just… heightened awareness. Like my body knew this was a place where life-altering news happened.Jace walked beside me, fingers laced through mine, whistling under his breath like we were heading to brunch and not a third-trimester checkup.“Stop that,” I muttered, elbowing him lightly. “You’re way too chipper for someone about to witness me waddle onto an exam table.”He grinned. “It’s part of my charm. And I brought snacks.”That earned him a smile.Inside the dimly lit ultrasound room, the technician—Elena, a woman with a voice like chamomile—greeted us warmly. The gel was cold, as always. The screen flickered to life.“There they are,” she said softly, angling the wand. “Your little duo.”I exhaled slowly, eyes locked on the grainy blobs of life wr