Chapter 7 - The Break-In
Peace was an illusion.
Three days later, I was woken in the dead of night by the blaring of the hospital's emergency alarms. The lights flickered and died, plunging my VIP suite into darkness, save for the red glow of the backup generators.
My heart hammered in my chest. Code Silver. An active intruder.
My phone buzzed. It was David. "Elena, lock the door. Do not move. Julian's loan sharks bonded him out an hour ago. We think he's in the building."
Julian had nothing left to lose. He was facing decades in federal prison for fraud and assault. In his twisted mind, if he eliminated me, the trust would dissolve, and he could reclaim his empire.
I ripped the IV from my arm, ignoring the sting, and slid out of the hospital bed. I was heavily pregnant, moving clumsily, but adrenaline flooded my veins. I dragged myself into the en-suite bathroom and locked the heavy wooden door behind me, clutching a heavy metal IV pole as a weapon.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside my room. Heavy. Deliberate.
The main door to my suite crashed open.
"Elena!" Julian’s voice echoed in the dark room, slurred and manic. "I know you're in here! You ruined me! You ruined my life!"
I held my breath, pressing my back against the cold bathroom tiles, my hands shaking violently around the metal pole.
"I'm going to make you pay for what you did!" he screamed, his footsteps drawing closer to the bathroom door. He rattled the handle. Finding it locked, he let out an animalistic roar and kicked the wood.
The door splintered. He kicked it again.
"Julian, stop!" I yelled, my maternal instinct overriding my fear. "You're going to kill your children!"
"They aren't mine anymore!" he screamed, kicking the door a third time. The wood gave way, and he stumbled into the bathroom, a wild, murderous look in his eyes. He reached into his coat, pulling out a heavy handgun.
He aimed it directly at my stomach.
A gunshot rang out, deafening in the small tiled room.
Julian’s eyes went wide. He dropped his gun, clutching his shoulder, and collapsed to the floor, screaming in agony.
Standing in the doorway behind him, gun smoking, was David.
"I told you not to move, Elena," David said calmly, keeping his weapon trained on Julian's writhing body. "Police are on their way."
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I dropped the IV pole and sank to the floor, gasping for air, clutching my belly as a massive, agonizing cramp ripped through my lower abdomen.
My water just broke.
