Chapter 5 - The Glass Room
Clara’s eyes fluttered open against the harsh white neon of the intensive care unit. The rhythmic beeping of the monitor had slowed to a tentative stability, but the oxygen cannula hissed softly against her pale cheeks. Eleanor sat beside the bed, holding Clara’s cold, lifeless hand between her own.
""Clara,"" Eleanor whispered, leaning in close. ""You're safe. Julian is barred from this floor. No one can touch you here.""
A shudder ran through Clara’s slender frame. Her gaze drifted toward the darkened window reflecting the rain-lashed hospital exterior. ""You think walls can stop him?"" Clara’s voice was barely a rasp, stripped raw by agony and dehydration. ""He built this hospital, Eleanor. He owns the board. He owns the doctors.""
""Arthur?"" Eleanor pressed, her heart hammering against her ribs. ""Clara, look at me. Is Arthur alive?""
Tears spilled over Clara’s eyelashes, tracking down her hollow cheeks. ""He never left the island. Julian has been transferring funds from the offshore trusts for eighteen months. When I found the accounting ledgers in the safe room, Julian caught me. He didn't want to hurt me at first... but Arthur gave the order.""
Eleanor’s grip tightened until her knuckles turned snow-white. ""Why the child, Clara? Why try to kill your baby?""
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Clara turned her head slowly, her bruised face twisted in agony, staring straight into Eleanor’s soul with an expression of pure devastation.
""Because Arthur took a DNA sample from the amniocentesis last month,"" Clara wept, her chest heaving violently. ""The baby isn't Julian’s, Eleanor. And it isn't carrying Vance blood. The baby is the sole heir to the Thorne family... the people Arthur murdered to build your empire.""
