Page 68 of Say You're Mine

Elaine's hand closes around my wrist, her grip like iron. "Now, now, Cara. Let's listen to the doctor, shall we? He only wants what's best for the baby."

I look between them, seeing the trap closing in around me. This was never about my health, or the baby's. This is about control. About creating another Deveaux puppet to manipulate.

"I said no," I repeat, wrenching my arm from Elaine's grasp. "I won't let you drug me or my child."

Whitaker's professional mask slips for just a moment, revealing something cold and reptilian beneath. "I'm afraid you don't have much choice in the matter, Cara. The court has given us full authority over your medical decisions."

The room tilts, bile rising in my throat. This can't be happening. This can't be real.

But it is. Oh God, it is.

I stumble from the examination table, my legs shaking beneath me. "I need some air," I gasp, already moving towards the door.

Elaine calls after me, her voice sharp with irritation, but I don't stop. I can't stop. I have to get out of here, have to find a way to protect my baby from these monsters.

I burst out of the clinic, gulping in great lungfuls of the crisp autumn air. My mind races, desperately seeking a solution, an escape route, anything.

And then I see her. Marta, standing by Elaine's car, a look of concern etched on her weathered face.

"Miss Cara?" she calls, taking a hesitant step towards me. "Are you alright?"

In that moment, I make a decision. A reckless, potentially disastrous decision, but the only one I can see.

"Marta," I say, my voice low and urgent. "I need your help. Please. They want to drug the baby, to control it like they did June. I can't let that happen."

Her eyes widen, a flicker of something – recognition? understanding? – passing across her face. She glances over my shoulder, no doubt checking for Elaine, before giving a sharp nod.

"What do you need?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

"A phone," I say, the plan forming even as I speak. "And a message delivered to Judith. Tell her... tell her it's time. We need to get out. Whatever it takes."

Marta nods again, her expression grim but determined. "I'll make it happen. But Miss Cara, you need to be careful. They're watching you, always."

I squeeze her hand, gratitude and fear warring in my chest. "I know. But I don't have a choice anymore. They'll destroy my baby if I let them."

As Elaine's voice rings out behind me, sharp with annoyance, I straighten my spine and school my features into a mask of calm. The game has changed. The stakes are higher than ever.

But I'm ready. Ready to fight, ready to burn it all down if that's what it takes to save my family.

The next few days are a delicate dance of deception. I play the part of the dutiful daughter-in-law, all meek compliance and grateful smiles. But beneath the surface, I'm a hurricane of determination and barely-contained rage.

Marta becomes my lifeline, our whispered conversations in shadowy corners the only thing keeping me sane. She smuggles me a burner phone, hidden in the folds of freshly laundered towels. The weight of it in my palm is both terrifying and exhilarating.

Late at night, when the house is silent save for the tick of that infernal grandfather clock, I reach out to Judith. Our conversations are brief, coded, but they ignite a spark of hope in my chest.

"We're close," she tells me one night, her voice crackling with static. "But we need something big, something that will force Elaine's hand."

I bite my lip, an idea taking root in the darkest corners of my mind.

The silence on the other end of the line is deafening. When Judith finally speaks, her voice is tight with a mixture of fear and grudging admiration. "Jesus, Cara. You don't do anything by halves, do you?"

"Will it work?" I press, my heart pounding so hard I'm sure Elaine can hear it from her room down the hall.

Judith sighs, a heavy, weary sound. "It might. But it's risky as hell. If we get caught..."

"We won't," I say, with more confidence than I feel. "I'll make sure of it."

As I end the call, slipping the phone back into its hiding place, I feel a shift within me. The old Cara – sweet, trusting, naive – is gone. In her place is someone harder, someone willing to do whatever it takes to protect what's hers.

---