Chapter 8 – The Fight for Two Lives
The operating room doors closed.
For the next four hours, no one outside heard a single update.
Harrison remained seated alone.
Still wearing bloodstained clothes.
Richard paced the hallway.
Every few minutes he glanced toward Harrison.
He wanted to speak.
He never found the courage.
Finally, the doors opened.
Dr. Amelia Grant removed her surgical mask.
Both men stood simultaneously.
"Your sister survived."
Harrison closed his eyes.
One breath.
One moment of relief.
"But..."
The doctor continued.
"We had to perform an emergency C-section."
Richard whispered,
"The baby?"
Dr. Grant smiled for the first time.
"A little girl."
Harrison's knees nearly gave way.
"She's alive?"
"Very much alive."
"Premature?"
"Yes."
"But strong."
Then her expression became serious.
"Khloe lost a dangerous amount of blood."
"Will she recover?"
"We believe so."
"Believe?"
"The next forty-eight hours are critical."
Richard stepped forward.
"Can I see my wife?"
Dr. Grant looked at Harrison first.
Then back at Richard.
"Only immediate family."
"I am her husband."
A long silence followed.
Dr. Grant answered carefully.
"Not according to the emergency protective order that was delivered thirty minutes ago."
Richard froze.
"What?"
Harrison finally spoke.
"I filed it while she was in surgery."
"You can't be serious."
"I've frozen every jointly owned account."
Richard's face drained of color.
"You did what?"
"I've also notified federal investigators."
"Harrison—"
"You should call your lawyer."
Richard stared at him in disbelief.
"This isn't over."
"No."
Harrison agreed.
"It has barely begun."
Across the hallway, a nurse wheeled a tiny incubator past them.
Inside lay a little girl no bigger than a loaf of bread.
She stretched one tiny hand into the air.
Harrison gently touched one finger through the opening.
The baby's fingers curled around his.
The nurse smiled.
"She already knows her family."
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For the first time in twenty years...
Harrison cried.
