Chapter 6 - The Mother They Tried to EraseI forgot Richard existed.
Forgot the gun.
Forgot the security team listening through my microphone.
I could only see her.
My mother.
Elena Morales.
She clutched the porch railing with both hands.
Her shoulders were narrow beneath an oversized sweater. A scar ran from her temple into her hairline.
But there was no mistaking her face.
I had seen it in photographs.
Dreamed of it before I knew what I was dreaming.
“Clara?”
She said my name again.
My knees weakened.
“Mom?”
A sob tore from her.
Richard grabbed her arm.
“Enough.”
I lunged forward.
“Don't touch her!”
He raised the pistol.
I stopped.
Elena’s eyes dropped to my stomach.
Her face transformed.
“You're pregnant.”
I cried.
“Yes.”
She began laughing through tears.
“My baby is having a baby.”
Richard shoved her into a chair.
“Heartwarming.”
I stared at him with a hatred so complete it frightened me.
“What did you do to her?”
“What I had to.”
Elena looked at me.
“He's been moving me for years.”
Richard’s face tightened.
“Be quiet.”
“No.”
My mother looked at him with startling strength.
“You lost.”
Richard struck the back of the chair.
I flinched.
“Trust,” he snapped. “Now.”
I held up the leather folder.
“Release her.”
Richard laughed.
“You still haven't learned how negotiations work.”
“I learned from you.”
Something flashed in his eyes.
For years, Richard had controlled every room we entered.
He decided what I wore.
Who I spoke to.
What money I could spend.
When I could work.
When I was permitted to disagree.
He believed fear made me predictable.
He didn't realize fear had finally burned itself out.
“Why marry me?” I asked.
He stared.
“You already know.”
“I want to hear you say it.”
He smiled.
“You were supposed to be simple.”
Elena’s face twisted.
Richard continued.
“Marcus Hale spent decades tracking the trust. We knew Elena had hidden the beneficiary documents, but we didn't know the final identity until your foster records surfaced.”
“When?”
“You were nineteen.”
My blood went cold.
I met Richard when I was twenty.
Our meeting hadn't been accidental.
The flat tire.
The charming stranger who stopped to help.
The coffee afterward.
The flowers.
All designed.
“You chose me.”
“I invested in you.”
I nearly laughed.
“By pretending to love me?”
“Love is a useful word.”
Elena cried silently.
Richard went on.
“Marcus believed marrying you was the cleanest option. If the trust surfaced, marital agreements could direct control.”
“The prenup.”
“Yes.”
“You forged it.”
“Modified.”
My stomach turned.
“You forced me to quit my job.”
“I needed you dependent.”
“You made me believe nobody wanted me.”
“That wasn't difficult.”
The cruelty was so casual that for one second I saw my entire marriage clearly.
Not as a failed romance.
As a long-term fraud.
Richard stepped closer.
“You were supposed to remain grateful. Then you got pregnant and started asking questions.”
“About the finances.”
“You discovered transfers.”
“I didn't know what they were.”
“You didn't need to.”
He extended his hand.
“Give me the trust.”
I looked at Elena.
She subtly shook her head.
Richard noticed.
He pressed the pistol against her shoulder.
“Now.”
I handed him the folder.
He tore it open.
His face changed.
“Copies.”
I smiled.
“For once, Richard, you didn't read the fine print.”
His eyes snapped to mine.
Sirens exploded outside.
Richard turned.
Red and blue lights filled the windows.
He screamed.
“You stupid—”
He grabbed me.
The gun pressed against my side.
Elena launched herself from the chair.
She struck his arm.
The gun fired.
Glass shattered.
I stumbled.
Richard shoved Elena hard.
She fell.
I screamed.
The front door burst inward.
Alexander entered behind tactical officers.
Richard dragged me against his chest.
The gun went beneath my jaw.
Alexander froze.
His face changed when he saw Elena.
Twenty-four years disappeared from both of them.
“Elena.”
She looked up from the floor.
“Alex.”
Richard shouted, “Drop the weapons!”
Agents lowered their guns slightly.
Alexander didn't move.
Richard pressed the barrel harder.
“You ruined everything.”
“You ruined yourself,” I whispered.
“Shut up!”
My belly tightened.
Pain shot through me.
I gasped.
Warm liquid ran down my legs.
Richard froze.
Alexander’s eyes widened.
“My water broke.”
Chaos transformed instantly.
Richard looked horrified.
“No.”
Another contraction hit.
I cried out.
His grip loosened.
It was enough.
I drove my heel backward into his shin.
Alexander moved.
An agent tackled Richard.
The gun skidded across the floor.
Elena crawled toward me.
“Clara!”
Alexander caught me before I fell.
A contraction ripped through my body.
“Hospital,” someone shouted.
Richard was dragged outside screaming about lawyers.
I barely heard him.
Elena rode in the ambulance with me.
She held my hand.
The entire trip.
I stared at her through tears.
“You're real.”
She laughed softly.
“So are you.”
At the hospital, doctors rushed me toward labor and delivery.
Thirty-four weeks.
Too early.
The baby’s heart rate dropped twice.
Elena refused to leave.
Alexander stood outside because I hadn't told him he could come in.
Then a third deceleration hit.
The doctor looked concerned.
“We may need an emergency C-section.”
Fear flooded me.
“Is my baby okay?”
“We're going to do everything necessary.”
I clung to Elena.
“I can't lose her.”
“You won't.”
But her face showed terror.
Then a nurse entered.
“Mrs. Sterling?”
“Yes?”
“Your husband has arrived.”
I stared.
“What?”
Richard was in custody.
The nurse shook her head.
“Not Richard Sterling.”
A man stepped into the doorway.
Tall.
Dark hair.
Army medical uniform.
My heart stopped.
“Clara.”
I hadn't seen him in nearly a year.
Daniel Cross.
My first love.
The man Richard had forced out of my life.
He looked at my stomach.
Then at the monitor.
May you like
And whispered,
“Oh God.”
Related Stories
