aired, where damage was assessed and catalogued. Eleonora opened her eyes to white ceiling tiles, to the

d have been. The gesture was automatic, maternal, and the emptiness it encounte

. Fr

gentle. "You're at New York-Presbyterian. You experienced significant hemorrhaging. The surgic

llectually, but their meaning refused to settle, kept sliding away like water

The nurse's footsteps ret

other than hollow. The pregnancy had been six weeks along. Six weeks of secret hope, of imagined futures, of b

s on linoleum, multiple footsteps, the particular r

ella held up a hand, silencing her. She didn't look at the nurse, instead pulling out her phone and dialing a number. "Dr. Alistair? It's Isabella. I'm on the twelfth floor, VIP wing. There seems

She approached the bed, her heels clicking a rhythm of contempt, and deposited a bouquet of pale pink roses on the side table.

ison of their shared upbringing, the particular cruelty of women trained to c

n her empty abdomen, fingers spread as if

ossing her legs, adjusting her skirt with precision. "Jace has been quite clear about your functio

, Jace leaning against wall tile, his face in his hands, while Isabella's arm extende

e complications for our timeline." She leaned closer, her perfume overwhelming the medical sterility. "He c

monitor beside her bed registe

. The divorce proceeds on his timeline, not yours. And you'll find the term

ng water onto the laminate surface. Eleonora looked at them, at the color Jace ha

backing into the tubing. She ignored it. Her hand closed on the bouquet,

hrew

cheek, thorns drawing parallel lines of red. Isabella screamed, hands flying

d, her composure shattered along with her skin

in her own IV line, matched the roses, matched the life that had left he

am. And the press outside will have photographs of Ramos family ro

isk, the narrative control. She allowed her publicist t

. It's where you started

. Eleonora looked at her hand, at the thorn punctures welling bl

then numb, then nothing. She pressed the call button for t

ed with evidence of her failure. She belted it over the hospi

rds to answer for, explanations to attempt, lies