Adeline whispered, “Why are you helping me at all,” while clutching the card as if it might disappear.
Lucien looked at her for a moment that felt older than the situation itself, then replied, “Because your mother asked me to protect you before she died.”
Before she could respond, her phone vibrated violently with a message that made her entire body freeze in terror.
A photo showed Nick standing at a hospital reception desk with lawyers behind him, while the message beneath it read, “I know you are carrying triplets, and you will not leave that hospital with my heirs.”
Adeline whispered in disbelief while pain and fear collided inside her chest, because the knowledge that her condition had been exposed felt like betrayal from every direction.
Lucien took the phone, read the message without changing expression, and then returned it while his eyes hardened into something colder than anger.
He said, “If he thinks influence protects him, then he has never faced consequences at my level of power.”
The vehicle accelerated toward Aster Ridge Private Hospital, where staff were already waiting as if alerted in advance by forces she did not understand.
Adeline screamed as another contraction tore through her body while Lucien ordered preparations through a direct communication line, his voice calm but absolute.
He said, “Secure the delivery suite and restrict all unauthorized access immediately,” while the city blurred past outside the armored windows.
Adeline clung to his coat and whispered, “I am scared of losing everything right now,” while he answered without hesitation, “You will not lose them while I am standing here.”
The hospital entrance was surrounded by security personnel who immediately recognized Lucien and stepped aside without question as he carried her inside.
Inside the main lobby, Adeline saw a group of men in expensive suits shouting behind security barriers, and she realized Nick had already arrived.
Nick shouted through the glass, “Those children belong to me and no one will take them away from my authority,” while banging against the divider.
