Chapter 3 - The Empty Cradle
Clara awakened to the steady beep of an electronic monitor and the hollow silence of an empty private room.
Sunlight sliced through the blinds, casting prison-bar shadows across the white bedspread. Panic struck her like an electric charge. Her hands flew to her flat, tightly bandaged stomach.
Empty.
"Baby?" Clara’s voice was a ragged scrape. She ripped the IV needle from the back of her hand, ignoring the sudden blooming sting. She swung her legs off the mattress, but her muscles betrayed her; she crashed to the hardwood floor with a heavy thud.
The room door clicked open. Nurse Elena rushed inside, dropping a clipboard to catch Clara’s trembling shoulders.
"Clara! Stop, you have twenty fresh stitches, you'll rupture your abdomen!"
"Where is he?" Clara demanded, clutching Elena’s uniform with white knuckles. "Where is my baby boy? Bring him to me!"
Elena looked away, her eyes betraying a heavy sorrow. "Mr. Vance... he presented the court injunction this morning. Along with full custody documentation and medical clearance."
"What court injunction? I didn't sign anything!" Clara screamed, her fingernails digging into Elena’s sleeves. "He had no right! Victoria was there, she attacked me! There are cameras!"
"The cameras in the east wing malfunctioned yesterday," a calm, chilling voice replied from the doorway.
Clara froze. Standing there was Nathan Cross, Arthur’s primary legal counsel. His suit was immaculately pressed, his briefcase leather gleaming under the fluorescent tubes.
"Mr. Vance has exercised his legal rights as the sole recognized guardian," Nathan stated, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "You were deemed medically incompetent during birth due to severe narcotics found in your toxicology report."
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"Narcotics?" Clara gasped in disbelief. "I never touched drugs in my entire life!"
"The lab results say otherwise," Nathan replied smoothly, pulling a manila folder from his briefcase. "And right now, Clara, you have forty-eight hours to vacate this city, or the police will arrest you for child endangerment and trespassing."
