Chapter 6 - A Threat Beneath the City Lights
The morning after the gala, the tabloids exploded.
MORETTI HEIR ON THE WAY: TYCOON DEFENDS EX-WIFE IN STUNNING SHOWDOWN.
BILLIONAIRE ADRIAN MORETTI PUBLICLY CLAIMS PREGNANCY WITH CLAIRE BENNETT.
Every major news outlet in New York had run front-page photos of Adrian placing his hand over my stomach in the Met pavilion. The narrative Vanessa had attempted to craft was obliterated within hours.
However, peace in Manhattan is always fleeting.
I spent the afternoon at my boutique design studio in DUMBO, trying to focus on client presentations. But as the afternoon faded into twilight, an uneasy feeling settled over me. Outside my storefront, a nondescript gray sedan had been idling near the corner for nearly two hours.
I reached for my phone to call a cab, but as I stood up from my desk, a sharp, stabbing cramp ripped through my lower abdomen.
"Ah!"
The pain was sudden and violent. I doubled over, gripping the edge of my drafting table as a cold sweat broke out across my forehead.
No. Please, God, no.
Panic seized my chest. I sank to my knees, clutching my belly as another wave of severe cramping washed through me. My mind raced to the worst possible scenarios. I was only sixteen weeks along—a miscarriage now would destroy me completely.
Trembling, I grabbed my phone from the floor. My fingers hovered over the emergency contacts. In my terror, I didn't dial 911 first.
I dialed Adrian.
He answered on the very first ring. "Claire? Are you alright?"
"Adrian..." I choked out, a sob tearing through my throat. "Something's wrong. The baby... I'm cramping... it hurts so much..."
The sound of papers shuffling and a chair crashing over came through the line. In the background, I heard Adrian's thunderous voice roar at his board of directors: "Meeting is over! Clear the building!"
"Claire, listen to my voice," Adrian said, his tone commanding yet laced with an edge of terror I had never heard before. "Stay where you are. Do not move. Marco is outside your door right now. I am five minutes away with the hospital trauma team. Breathe for me, Claire. Just breathe."
Within ninety seconds, Marco kicked open the studio door, dropping to one knee beside me. "Ms. Bennett, I have you. Help is right behind me."
Before I could answer, the roar of a high-powered engine screeched to a halt outside. Adrian burst through the doorway, his coat half-on, his tie torn loose, his eyes wide with unadulterated panic.
May you like
He scooped me into his arms effortlessly, lifting me against his broad chest as if I weighed nothing at all.
"I have you," Adrian whispered frantically, kissing my damp forehead as he carried me toward the waiting private ambulance. "I have you both. You are not going to lose this baby, Claire. I swear on my life, I will not let anything happen to you."
