Copy. Tactical team is currently breaching the main lobby.

On the ultrasound monitor, my granddaughter’s heartbeat fluttered—impossibly stubborn. Suddenly the heavy oak door swung open with a dramatic, arrogant flair.

I slipped the phone into my handbag. The trap was set.

Julian strode into the room, wearing his flawless, untouchable smile… completely unaware that the apex predator had just become the prey.

Chapter 2: Page Eighty-Seven

The primary ultrasound suite was kept at a temperature that bordered on cryogenic. Everything within the walls of Saint Aurelia had been meticulously engineered to remind patients that they were merely transient guests residing inside Julian Thorne’s flawless ecosystem.

Chloe hoisted herself onto the examination table, wincing as the paper crinkled beneath her. One hand protectively cradled the massive swell of her belly; the other reached out, fingers digging into my palm with bone-crushing force.