Chapter 5

Elana Gomez POV:

The first thing to return was sound. A soft, rhythmic weeping that felt miles away, like waves pulling back from a distant shore. My eyelids were lead weights. I tried to lift them, but they refused to obey.

Then came the smell. Antiseptic. Sharp and sterile, it cut through the fog in my head, a chemical smell that meant something was wrong. I forced my eyes open. The white ceiling light was a physical blow, a spike of pain driving into my skull. I blinked, and the world swam in a blurry haze.

I tried to lift a hand to shield my eyes and found it tethered. A clear tube snaked from the back of my hand to an IV bag hanging beside the bed. A dull, hollow ache pulsed deep in my abdomen. It wasn't the sharp pain of an injury. It was an emptiness. A feeling of being scooped out.

The memories came then, not in a flood, but in jagged shards. The cold marble floor against my cheek. A spreading pool of crimson. Emilio's face, not concerned, but annoyed. And Hayden, standing behind him, the corner of her mouth lifted in a triumphant little smirk.

My breath caught in my throat. My free hand flew to my stomach, pressing against the soft fabric of the hospital gown. The emptiness was real. The space that had been full, that had held every hope I had, was gone.

"Elena?"

Ayla's voice, thick with tears. She was there, suddenly, her hand closing over mine. Her face was a mess of tear tracks and smudged mascara. Her lips trembled, but no more words came out.

My own lips were cracked and dry. The words scraped my throat on their way out, a sound like sandpaper. "Ayla... my baby..."

The dam broke. A sob tore from Ayla's chest, and she shook her head, her grip on my hand tightening painfully. "I'm so sorry, Elana," she choked out. "The doctor said... it was too late."

The world went silent. The beeping of the monitor, Ayla's crying, the distant hum of the hospital-it all faded into a high-pitched ringing in my ears. The hollowness in my belly spread, seeping into my chest, my limbs, until my entire body felt like an empty shell.

I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I just stared at the white ceiling tile, at a small water stain in the corner, and felt nothing at all. It was a terrifying, absolute void. A silence more heartbreaking than any shriek of grief.

"Emilio Thomas," Ayla snarled, her voice a low, vicious growl. Her grief had curdled into pure rage. "That bastard. He's a murderer!"

Her curse was cut off by a faint commotion from the hallway. Muffled voices, a sound like the click of a camera shutter. Ayla's head snapped toward the door. She moved to the peephole, her body tense.

"Damn it," she whispered, her back rigid. "The reporters are here. They're like vultures."

She crossed the room in two strides and snapped the blinds shut, plunging the room into dim, artificial light. The outside world was gone.

I didn't react. My world had already shrunk to the size of this bed, to the vast, aching emptiness inside me.

A nurse slipped into the room, her rubber-soled shoes silent on the linoleum. She checked my vitals, her movements efficient and detached. She adjusted my IV drip, her eyes flicking to my face with a brief, pitying glance.

"Mrs. Thomas, you need to rest," she said softly. "Your body is very weak."

I was a doll, letting her move my arm, check my pulse, without a flicker of response.

She finished just as the door opened again. A man in a white coat, Dr. Evans, entered. His face was a mask of professional sympathy. He recited my condition in a calm, clinical tone, explaining the physical trauma of the miscarriage, the need for observation, the suggestion of counseling.

Ayla's eyes were red-rimmed. "When can she leave?"

"We'd recommend at least forty-eight hours," he said. "To ensure there are no complications."

He was about to leave, his duty done. His hand was on the doorknob when my voice, thin and reedy, stopped him. I hadn't realized I was going to speak. The question just... emerged. It was the last flicker of a life that was already over.

My eyes, empty as they were, found his.

"Where's my husband?"