Chapter 15 - The Breaking Point
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Miles away, high above the city in the fortified panic room of the penthouse, Chloe paced the floor.
The walls were reinforced steel, but the silence inside was deafening. She watched the blank security monitors, praying for Arthur’s safe return.
Suddenly, a sharp, agonizing cramp ripped through her lower abdomen.
Chloe gasped, grabbing the edge of a metal table as her knees buckled. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the pain to pass, but it didn't. It intensified, radiating in a hot, terrifying wave across her back.
“No, no, no,” Chloe whimpered, looking down at her stomach.
She was only thirty-four weeks pregnant. It was too early. But the extreme stress of the assassination attempts, the poisoning, and the sheer terror of the ongoing war had pushed her body to its absolute breaking point.
Another contraction hit, doubling her over. A warm rush of fluid soaked through her sweatpants. Her water had broken.
She crawled to the emergency comms panel on the wall, her hands shaking violently as she smashed the large red button.
“Medical team!” Chloe screamed into the intercom. “I need help! The baby is coming!”
The heavy door of the panic room hissed open a minute later. The private syndicate doctor, Dr. Evans, rushed inside with two nurses, carrying a portable delivery kit.
“Miss Henderson, we need to get you to the underground clinic,” Dr. Evans said urgently, helping her onto a stretcher.
“Arthur,” Chloe sobbed, gripping the doctor’s coat. “You have to tell Arthur.”
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“The comms to the tunnel are jammed due to the concrete,” the doctor explained grimly, rushing the stretcher toward the private elevator. “We can't reach him right now. You have to be strong, Chloe. We are going to deliver this baby.”
As the elevator plummeted toward the subterranean medical bay, Chloe squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the agonizing pain, terrified that the man she loved was bleeding out in a tunnel while their child was entering the world.
