One Night Changed Everything
It was supposed to be a memory—loud music, flashing lights, a reckless decision she’d laugh about someday.
Instead, it became the beginning of a nightmare.
Brooke had loved the concert: the pulse of the crowd, the rush of freedom, the thrill of doing something impulsive. Sharing a bed with Isaiah had felt harmless in the moment. Temporary. Forgettable.
Now, hunched in the back seat of his car, clutching her stomach as sharp pain tore through her, Brooke knew she had been wrong.
Very wrong.
The Ride That Felt Too Long
Isaiah drove like he was being hunted. His jaw was clenched, eyes darting to every shadowed street.
“We’re almost there,” he said, his voice controlled but fragile, as if fear were pressing just beneath the surface.
Brooke tried to breathe through the pain, but each jolt of the road sent another wave crashing through her. By the time they reached the hospital, she was barely holding herself together.
The emergency room lights were blinding. Nurses rushed her into a wheelchair while Isaiah hovered close, pale and unnervingly silent. He wouldn’t meet her eyes.
That scared her more than the pain.
A Diagnosis That Made No Sense
The doctor entered with her results, calm to the point of cruelty.
“Brooke… you’re pregnant.”
The words echoed, hollow and impossible. The timing didn’t fit. The math didn’t work. Her mind spun as Isaiah’s grip tightened around her hand—then stiffened.
Fear flashed across his face. Not shock. Not disbelief.
Fear.
Before Brooke could speak, her mother burst through the door.
“Pregnant?” Sharra whispered, her face draining of color. “How is that possible?”
Isaiah looked away.
“It’s… complicated.”
That single word set every alarm in Brooke’s body screaming.
Secrets, Warnings, and a Flickering Truth
The lights flickered.
Another stab of pain hit Brooke hard enough to make her gasp.
“Something’s wrong,” she said. “This isn’t normal.”
The doctor frowned at the screen.
“Medically, this is unusual,” he admitted, his gaze sliding to Isaiah. “Are we missing something?”
Before anyone could answer, Brooke’s phone buzzed.
Unknown number. One message.
This baby changes everything. Watch your back.
Isaiah went white.
“Who sent that?” Brooke demanded.
He shook his head.
“You shouldn’t be involved in this,” he said quietly. “It’s dangerous.”
Sharra stepped forward, protective and furious.
“What kind of danger?”
They didn’t get an answer.
When the Hunter Revealed Himself
A crash echoed down the hallway. Screams followed. Nurses scattered.
A figure in black moved fast—too fast—through the chaos.
Isaiah’s breath caught.
“They’re here.”
The masked figure appeared at the ER entrance, a gun glinting under harsh fluorescent lights.
“You think you can hide her from me?” the voice hissed. “The child belongs to me.”
Gunshots shattered the air.
Isaiah lifted Brooke into his arms and ran as alarms blared. Outside, bullets struck metal as they ducked behind a black SUV. Sirens wailed in the distance, but help felt impossibly far away.
Then—another shadow stepped forward.
Chase Walker.
A face Brooke recognized. A man she once trusted.
And suddenly, nothing was clear anymore.
As Isaiah met Brooke’s terrified gaze, his voice was heavy with regret.
“I should’ve told you the truth. Now… all that matters is surviving.”
Brooke’s hand tightened over her stomach as the night closed in around them.
Because the child growing inside her wasn’t just a secret anymore.
It was the reason everyone was coming.
And whoever reached her first would decide what happened next.
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