Chapter 1 - The Crimson Line
The sterile lights of St. Jude’s Memorial buzzed with indifferent brightness. Clara lay on the chilled linoleum floor, her back throbbing with blinding agony. Victoria’s manicured nails remained tangled in her scalp, dragging Clara’s head backward until the hospital ceiling spun into blurred ribbons of white and fluorescent glare.
"Look at you," Victoria hissed, her breath carrying the sharp scent of expensive mint and raw malice. "A gutter rat carrying a billionaire's legacy. You think Arthur would ever let a nameless nobody raise his rightful heir?"
Clara gasped, one hand shielding her swollen abdomen while the other clawed frantically against the slick tiles. Beside her, the spilled IV fluid mingled with dark, viscous blood pooling beneath her thighs. The pain ripped through her pelvic bone—sharp, rhythmic, and terrifying.
"Please..." Clara’s voice cracked into a hoarse whisper. "Call a doctor. My baby..."
"This child should never exist," Victoria snarled, tightening her grip until Clara felt strands tearing from her scalp.
Down the corridor, footsteps echoed. Two blue-scrubbed nurses froze at the corner, their faces pale with horror. "Security! Code Pink! Get security right now!" one shouted, fumbling with a wall intercom.
Victoria sneered, unaffected. Leaning down until her red lips brushed Clara's ear, she whispered: "Arthur signed the surrender papers an hour ago. You're giving me this child, or you bleed out on this floor. Your choice, Clara."
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With a sudden shove, Victoria slammed Clara's head onto the tile and stood up, smoothing the hem of her crimson sheath dress. The hospital floor trembled under running boots. As blackness encroached upon Clara's vision, she felt the baby kick violently—a desperate cry for life amid a river of crimson. Then, hands gripped Clara’s shoulders, lifting her toward an emergency gurney.
Just as the metal doors banged open, Clara caught Victoria’s gaze through the crowd. The heiress slowly slipped a vial into her designer purse and smiled.
