Chapter 19 - The Awakening
For three agonizing days, Valeria refused to leave the hospital. She slept in the uncomfortable reclining chair beside Daniel’s bed, holding his hand, talking to him, and placing his palm against her swollen belly so he could feel the baby kicking.
On the morning of the fourth day, the rhythmic hissing of the ventilator was suddenly interrupted by a sharp, erratic cough.
Valeria’s head snapped up.
Daniel’s eyelids were fluttering. His brows furrowed in deep, evident distress as his body fought against the invasive breathing tube. The heart monitor’s tempo increased rapidly.
"Nurse! Doctor! He's waking up!" Valeria screamed, pressing the emergency call button with her free hand.
A team of doctors rushed into the room. They quickly and expertly assessed his vitals before gently removing the ventilator tube from his throat. Daniel gasped violently, taking his first independent, agonizing breath of sterile hospital air.
He coughed, his eyes darting around the bright room in sheer panic before finally locking onto Valeria’s tear-streaked face.
"Val...eria," his voice was incredibly raspy, nothing more than a broken, gravelly whisper.
"I'm here! I'm right here, my love," she sobbed, leaning over the rails and pressing her forehead against his. "We are safe. The baby is safe."
Daniel closed his eyes, a single tear escaping and sliding down his pale cheek. He squeezed her hand with surprising strength.
"My mother..." he rasped, the painful memory of the betrayal flooding back.
"She is in a maximum-security cell, Daniel," Aunt Elena said, stepping into the room. "She was denied bail. She is facing two counts of attempted first-degree murder. She can never hurt you again."
Daniel looked at his aunt, the woman who had saved their lives, and then back to his pregnant wife. The opulent, toxic empire of the Valdés family—the money, the estate, the prestige—meant absolutely nothing to him anymore.
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"We are done with them," Daniel whispered fiercely, his eyes filled with a new, unbreakable clarity. "We are selling my shares. We are leaving the estate. I want nothing to do with that cursed name ever again."
Valeria smiled through her tears, kissing his hand. "We will go wherever you want. As long as we are together."
