Midnight struck with a crack of thunder that shook the foundations of Croft Manor. The wind howled through the eaves, masking the sound of the window latch clicking open.
Victoria, dressed in dark leggings and a hoodie, swung her legs over the sill. The trellis was slick with rain. One slip meant a fall that could end everything.
“For the baby,” she whispered to herself.
She descended slowly, the freezing rain soaking her to the bone instantly. Her muscles screamed, weakened by days of bed rest, but adrenaline pushed her forward. Her feet hit the muddy earth of the garden.
She kept low, running toward the service road where the perimeter wall had a blind spot. A black SUV idled in the shadows, its lights off.
Victoria wrenched the back door open and scrambled inside, collapsing onto the leather seat. “Go! Drive!”
The driver turned around. It wasn’t Dominic.
“Julian?” Victoria gasped, wiping water from her eyes.
Dr. Julian Sterling looked at her in the rearview mirror. His face was grim, set with a resolve she hadn’t seen before.
“Where is Dominic?”
“My brother wanted to take you to a private airstrip,” Julian said, putting the car in gear. “He wants to stash you in Italy. He wants to use you and the baby as leverage to force William to abdicate the CEO chair.”
Victoria froze. Marcus Thorne’s warning echoed in her head: *Don’t trade one cage for another.*
“And where are you taking me?” Victoria asked, gripping the door handle.
“To the hospital,” Julian said, spinning the wheel as he sped down the muddy track. “To a secure ward where neither the Crofts nor the Valerius family can touch you. I’m done playing games with people’s lives, Victoria. I’m taking you to safety.”