Chapter 1 - The Forty-Second Floor CrisisThe luxury conference room of Whitmore Holdings transformed in a fraction of a second from a cold, tense legal battlefield into a chaotic emergency medical room.
My knees buckled as another contraction tore through my lower abdomen—a blinding, unbearable wave of pressure that sent me collapsing toward the cold marble floor.
Before my knees could hit the ground, Adrian’s powerful arms caught me.
He didn't care about the tailored charcoal suit that cost thousands of dollars, nor did he care about the pool of amniotic fluid spreading across the pristine floor. He dropped to his knees, cradling my trembling shoulders against his chest, pulling me into his lap with a fierce, frantic desperation I had never seen in him before.
"Lena! Look at me!" Adrian commanded, his dark blue eyes wide with absolute panic as he placed one heavy, warm hand over my straining belly. "Look at my eyes, Lena! Stay with me!"
"It hurts... Adrian, it hurts so much!" I sobbed, my hands twisting into the lapels of his jacket. "It's too early... I'm only thirty-two weeks! It's too early for the baby!"
The glass doors burst open. Mr. Henderson and two frantic executive assistants froze in horror at the doorway.
"What are you standing there for?!" Adrian roared, his voice echoing like thunder across the entire executive floor. "Get the private elevator locked on medical override! Call Dr. Harrison at Saint Jude’s Hospital and tell him to prepare the surgical bay immediately! If an ambulance takes more than three minutes, I will tear this city apart!"
"Right away, Mr. Whitmore!" Henderson yelled, sprinting down the hallway.
Adrian gathered me into his arms, lifting my weight effortlessly as he stood up. My head rested against the crook of his neck, and I could hear his heart hammering against his ribs—fast, erratic, and terrified.
"Is it mine, Lena?" he whispered rough against my hairline, his chest heaving as he walked fast toward his private elevator. "Tell me the truth. I don't care if you hate me. I don't care why you ran. Just tell me... is this my baby?"
I looked up through a blur of tears, my vision swimming as another contraction squeezed my lungs.
"Yes," I choked out, clutching his neck. "He's yours, Adrian. He's always been yours."
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A ragged, heavy breath escaped Adrian's throat. He squeezed his eyes shut for a brief second, pressing his lips against my forehead with a raw, agonizing reverence.
"I've got you," he growled low, stepping into the elevator as the steel doors closed us in. "I'm not letting you go again, Lena. Neither of you."
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