Chapter 225

“Reese is in trouble right now, so Zach won’t have time to come after us, at least for a while.
“And today, I pretended to fall and hit my stomach, just to make him feel sorry for
me.
“I don’t think he’ll do anything to the Ramos family anytime soon, but when you get home, you should talk things over with Dad. We need to figure out our next move.”
“That’s a relief.” Rosie let out a long breath, pressing a hand to her chest. She looked at Tara, pale and weak in the hospital bed, and couldn’t help but scold her. “You really have some nerve. I know things are desperate, but you can’t risk your health and the baby like this.
“If Zach cares about this child enough to back off from us then you need to protect it even more.”
Tara’s eyes filled with tears. She looked down at her slightly rounded belly and whispered, “But Mom, this baby was never going to make it anyway.”
Rosie’s face went white as she rushed to the bedside. “What do you mean, the baby won’t make it?”
“When I first found out I was pregnant, I did a DNA test. The doctor said the baby might have a rare genetic disorder.”
Tara gently rubbed her belly, her voice quiet. “A few days ago, I had an amniocentesis to confirm it. The doctor told me I should end the pregnancy, but I haven’t had a chance to tell Zach.”
Rosie’s hope crumbled. “What are we going to do? Without this baby, Zach will never let the Ramos family off the hook!
“And your wedding is planned for the end of the year. If there’s no baby, he won’t marry you!
“And on top of that, Reese is determined to divorce Sebastian. Once that happens, the whole city will be laughing at us.”
At the mention of Reese, Tara’s eyes turned cold for a split second.
She was quiet for a moment, then said slowly, “That’s why, before anything else happens, we have to make Zach turn against Reese. We need him to hate her.
“If the baby wasn’t meant to survive, then at least it can be useful one last time.”
Rosie saw the determination in her daughter’s eyes. She felt scared and uneasy, but there was no other way out. She just nodded.
“As long as you’ve thought it through. If we can get Zach back, you’ll have other chances for children.”
As they were talking, someone knocked softly at the door. Rosie jumped and hurried over.
Through the glass, she saw a middle-aged woman wearing a surgical mask, looking anxious and out of place.
She opened the door and frowned. “Who are you looking for?”
The woman took off her mask, her face full of panic. Rosie recognized her
instantly; it was the nurse from Mr. Ratcliff’s hospital room.
Rosie’s expression changed. She glanced down the hallway, then quickly pulled the nurse inside and closed the door.
Keeping her voice low, Rosie
snapped, “What are you doing here? Sebastian’s people are looking for you everywhere. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
The nurse grabbed Rosie’s arm, shaking all over. Her voice trembled. “Mrs. Ramos, you have to help me!
“I only let that woman into Mr. Ratcliff’s room because you told me to. I never thought she’d actually cut the oxygen line!
“By the time I saw what happened, it was too late!”
“What?!”
Rosie felt her legs go weak.
Leslie actually went to hurt Mr. Ratcliff?
Holding onto the wall for support, Rosie tried to calm the nurse, and also herself.
“Don’t panic. It’s fine. Nobody knows Leslie was in that room. The Ratcliffs are blaming Reese, not us.
“Besides, everyone in Bridger Lake knows the old man was on his last legs. He’s been in a coma for ages. No one will ever find out.” For more chapters visıt.net
“No, you don’t get it!” The nurse’s
voice broke as she nearly burst into
tears. “I’ve been hiding in the
hospital for days, and just now overheard the lead doctor say the military medical team is on their way they’ll be here tomorrow, or the day after, and they have some special medicine. When they get here, they’ll be able to wake Mr. Ratcliff up!
VI
“If he wakes up, he’ll tell them everything. When that happens, they’ll come for me, for the Ramos family, for that woman. None of us
are
getting out of this!”