Outside the glass doors, a black Mercedes SUV pulled up smoothly.
A driver stepped out, opened the rear door, and gave a respectful nod.
“Ms. Hayes, everything is ready.”
Ethan shot to his feet so abruptly that his chair scraped loudly across the floor.
“What the hell is this?” he demanded. “Where did you get this kind of money?”
I looked at him—really looked at him—for the first time in a long time.
And all I felt…
was distance.
“I told you,” I said softly. “That’s not your concern anymore.”
I lifted Chloe into my arms.
Aiden slipped his hand into mine, holding on tightly.
I turned back once—just once.
“From this moment on,” I said, “you’ll never have to worry about us interfering with your life again.”
And then I walked out.
As we drove toward the airport, my phone buzzed.
A message from my attorney, Daniel Reed:
“They’ve arrived at the clinic. Everything is in place.”
I didn’t reply.
I simply stared out the window as the city blurred past… shrinking behind me.
Meanwhile, across town…
Ethan and his entire family were walking into the private maternity clinic as if they owned the place.
To them, this wasn’t just a routine checkup.
It was a coronation.
Vanessa sat in the waiting room, glowing with confidence, dressed in something far too expensive for someone who claimed to be “fragile.”
Ethan’s mother clutched her hand as if she had already been crowned queen.
“My grandson will be perfect,” she said proudly.
