Chapter 128

Chapter 128:

Jeraldine watched until they disappeared. Then she turned to Charla, her face cold and composed.

“You made me look like a fool,” she said.

“The test was fake — I know it was,” Charla insisted. “Cailin is clever. She has connections. She swapped the sample p>

“It doesn’t matter,” Jeraldine sighed, adjusting her pearls. “Hilliard believes it. Or he chooses to. Either way, we have no leverage. Without proof, that child is just a child p>

“Unless…” Charla’s voice dropped. A shadow moved across her face.

“Unless what?” Jeraldine asked.

“Unless the child disappears,” Charla whispered. “If the child is gone, the problem is solved permanently. Cailin leaves. Hilliard forgets p>

Jeraldine looked at her for a long moment. Her expression was not shocked. It was not horrified. It was contemplative.

“Do what you must,” Jeraldine said, turning toward the house. “Just don’t link it to me p>

𝗕𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻

The heavy doors closed behind her.

Charla stood alone in the driveway. A slow, deliberate smile spread across her face. She had her permission.

Back in the Brooklyn apartment, Cailin was moving like a whirlwind. Suitcases lay open on the floor again.

“We leave for Europe tonight,” she said, throwing clothes into a bag with both hands. “I’ll call Kegan. He can have the jet ready in three hours p>

“You can’t run, Cailin. They will find you,” Ashely said, trying to slow her down. “Running makes you look guilty. Hilliard just defended you — use that p>

“I can’t stay here. They raided my home. They were in my children’s rooms.” Cailin’s hands were trembling so badly she couldn’t close the zipper.

Then the room tilted.

She grabbed the edge of the table. Her vision blurred, black spots blooming across her field of sight.

“Whoa — are you okay?” Ashely rushed forward and caught her by the arm.

“Just stress,” Cailin mumbled. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead.

She tried to take a step and her legs gave out entirely. She went down onto the sofa.

Ashely pressed the back of her hand to Cailin’s forehead and pulled it away quickly. “You’re burning up. Cailin, you’re on fire p>

It had all arrived at once — the adrenaline crash, the sleepless days, the injury from the car, the relentless and grinding terror of the morning’s raid. Her body had held itself together through sheer will, and now the will was gone.

“My lungs,” Cailin slurred, her eyes losing focus. “It hurts to breathe p>

The last of the adrenaline drained away, leaving a bone-deep exhaustion in its place. Her immune system, battered past its limit, finally surrendered.

“No Europe tonight,” Ashely said firmly, reaching for her phone. “You need a doctor.” She dialed 911.

“No — no hospitals,” Cailin rasped, clutching weakly at Ashely’s sleeve. “They’ll take the kids p>

“I’ve got the kids,” Ashely said. “You need to breathe p>

Cailin’s head fell back against the cushion. The darkness closed in around her, and she stopped fighting it.