CHAPTER 1: THE TRUTH BEHIND THE FALL
The ambulance siren cut through the silence like a blade.
Caleb refused to let go of Amelia’s hand as paramedics lifted her onto the stretcher. Her eyes fluttered, unfocused, her lips pale.
“Stay with me,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “Please… just stay with me.”
Behind him, Eleanor stood frozen—no longer powerful, no longer certain.
For the first time in years, fear crept into her chest.
Not fear of Amelia.
But fear of what she had just done.
At the hospital, time slowed into agony.
Doctors rushed Amelia into emergency care. Caleb stood outside the operating room, his shirt stained with her tears and blood.
A nurse approached carefully.
“Sir… she’s pregnant.”
The world stopped.
Caleb’s knees nearly gave out.
“Is… is the baby—”
“We don’t know yet.”
Across the room, Eleanor finally arrived.
Her heels echoed against the sterile floor, but no one looked at her the same way anymore.
“Caleb…” she said, softer now.
He turned slowly.
There was no son in his eyes anymore.
May you like
Only a man who had just lost everything.
“If anything happens to her…” his voice cracked, “you’re not my mother anymore.”
