Page 2 of Ivory Legacy

Rodriguez looked me up and down, his eyes cold and assessing. “Sure,” he finally grunted. “But you’re not going alone.” He motioned to a uniformed officer standing by the door. “Carter, take her.”

The officer nodded, his face an expressionless mask. He gestured for me to lead the way. We walked down the bleak, narrow hallway, my footsteps echoing on the linoleum floor, until we reached the ladies’ room. Carter held the door open, his presence at my back a silent pressure urging me forward.

Once inside the cramped space, I entered the nearest stall and locked it behind me. My hands trembled as I sat on the closed toilet seat, the sound of the flushing mechanism filling the silence as I used the noise to cover the sound of my heavy breathing.

This was it—a brief moment of privacy, a chance to think. I berated myself for being so gullible, for letting fear cloud myjudgment. They wouldn’t have let Dante die; not when he was their best bargaining chip.

And…he was a person. The doctors weren’t just going to let him die from a gunshot wound.

Fucking Rodriguez. I had been so worried about Dante I hadn’t been thinking clearly.

But it was becoming clear now. I had been a fucking idiot.

“Everything alright in there?” Carter’s voice cut through my thoughts, sharp and intrusive.

“Fine,” I snapped, harsher than intended. “Just a minute.”

I stood up, pacing the tiny space like a caged animal. I needed a plan, something foolproof. Rodriguez and the police were no amateurs. A scientist by trade, logic was my weapon, and I would wield it with precision. It was time to outsmart them, to find my way back to Dante and to safety.

If…if Dante was safety. For me. For my child. I couldn’t think about that right now.

“Ma’am?” Carter called again, impatience seeping into his tone.

“Coming out now,” I lied, buying myself a few more precious seconds. My mind raced through possibilities, discarding one after another, until a desperate, wild idea formed. It was risky, possibly foolish, but it was all I had.

“Let’s do this,” I murmured to myself, steeling my nerves. I unlocked the stall door, stepping out with feigned calmness as Ibreathed heavily. Carter studied me with hawk-like intensity as I washed my hands, avoiding his probing gaze in the mirror.

“Ready?” he asked, his hand hovering near his gun belt.

“Uh, sure,” I confirmed, my voice steady despite the turmoil within. Fuck. I really hoped this would work.

He waited for me to keep talking.

“Could we maybe... sit down for a second? There’s a bench in the hallway, right?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even. The fake concern in his eyes didn’t escape me.

“You can sit in the interrogation room.”

“Please,” I said. “You’ll be right there.”

“Sure,” Carter said as we walked out into the hallway. “But make it quick.”

I nodded and made my way to the bench slowly, deliberately. Each step was a calculated effort, each breath a silent plea for believability. Just as I reached the seat, I let the panic I’d been holding back surface, my hand flying to my stomach with practiced alarm.

“O-Oh God...” My words came out strangled, choked by an imaginary fear.

“Ma’am?” He was on his feet now, the façade of concern peeling away to reveal genuine surprise.

“Something’s wrong,” I gasped out, doubling over as if in agony. My hands clutched at my belly, the black maternity topstretching tightly across my supposed bulge. “I didn’t want to say anything, but I was, uh…in the bathroom…you don’t want to know.”

“Ma’am?” he asked again, this time sounding more alarmed.

“The baby...I think—“

“Shit.” The officer was moving now, radio in hand. “Dispatch, we need medical assistance in the hallway, near the interrogation rooms. Now!”

“Please,” I whimpered, my face contorted into a mask of pain. “It hurts so much.”

Carter was cursing under his breath, his eyes darting around the room, suddenly unsure of what to do with his hands. His tough exterior faltered as he knelt beside me, his voice taking on a softer edge. “Hang in there, okay? Help is on the way,” he said. “Look, my wife was pregnant last year and…she had a couple of scares. But she was fine. Everything was fine. You’ll be okay.”

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