uddle of blood, her gaze raking over the girl's torn

less littl

bag with all her might, the metal clasp catchin

er cheekbone, warm blood immediately trickling down to her chin. She co

f Dulce's dress, yanking her up un

you do to him? And what are these

tters of their cameras clicking like a swarm of lo

rning ache in her throat. Rain m

it wasn't me... Kai was murd

en't for him trying to buy you that ridiculous apartment, he would have never

mmed into the sharp ed

o sharp and violent that her vision flared black. She curled onto her

t her face, her voice carrying over the crowd. "If I ever see your fa

he arms like a sack of trash, and dragged her across the wet p

ng uncontrollably, her arms wrap

tte-red Jeep Wrangler mounted the c

gh the rain, dropping to her knees and throwing h

oice broke with panic as she hauled Dulce up into h

, and sped through three red lights, leaning on the horn unti

stench of antiseptic filled

e taped to the back of her bruised hand. The cramp

-aged emergency room doctor stepped i

vere soft tissue contusions, a minor concussion, and a laceration on your c

her fingers curling i

r to be the result of blunt-force trauma and extreme physical stress, but I want you to re

nodded

, gave Alanis a brief list of discharge in

d him, Alanis moved to Dulce's bedside

pened to you tonig

hospital window. The blue-grey eyes of the s

red. "There was a man inside. I couldn't

. She reached for Dulce's

go to the

i's broken body on the marble a

trust

hoarsely. "I can't do

e bells of Trinity Church toll

e, closed-door memorial service. High iron

sycamore tree. She wore an oversized black coat, a low-brimmed ca

Through the iron bars, she could see the sleek white casket being carried

d out a small, oval-shaped wooden pen

sary, the smooth cedar wood polished to a soft sheen. On the back,

s, letting a single tear slip b

t the cold bark of the tree. "I will

n the block, a sleek black Rolls-R

d window slid

y eyes fixed upon the slender figure standing by the sycamore tree, z

y, Dulce woke before dawn and vomited into he

and the sleepless nights that had followed Kai's death. But the nausea, crushing f

ancy tests from different pharmacies

her in the obstetrics and gynecolog

te image on the ultrasound monitor. Two small gestational sacs glowed against the darkness of her

vaginal ultrasound probe and turned

said. "Both embryos are measuring at approximately eight weeks o

ike a physical b

in

er crossed that final line. The twins had be

with her arms crossed, froze. She stepped forward, her ey

her voice trembling with protective rage. "The man fr

ch. The warmth beneath her p

refully. I reviewed the records from your previous gynecologic treatment. Your earlier uterine condition left extensive endometrial scarring, a

ned over her stomach.

are already extremely low. If you terminate, I cannot promise that you will ever have another viable pregnancy. Continuing a

room, broken only by the ste

ss eyes on the cold marble flashed before her, followed b

ng up her only chance to ever become a mother.

spered, a cold, stubborn reso