Chapter 15 - The Choice Damian Finally Made
Marcus urged Damian to retrieve the evidence.
“If those documents exist, they could end the council.”
Damian looked through the glass at Katelyn.
She lay in the hospital bed with monitors around her belly.
Her contractions had slowed slightly.
But not enough.
The doctors still believed delivery could happen soon.
Three years earlier, Damian had allowed other people’s evidence to matter more than Katelyn.
A bank transfer.
Airport footage.
A fabricated story.
He would not repeat the mistake.
“Send Marcus,” Katelyn said when he returned.
Damian looked at her.
“You heard?”
“The walls are thin.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“The evidence matters.”
“You matter more.”
Her expression shifted.
Not forgiveness.
But something softer.
“Marcus can go,” she said. “You stay.”
Damian nodded.
No hesitation.
Marcus took Natalia and four security officers to the council residence.
Before leaving, Natalia looked at Katelyn through the glass.
For the first time, there was no jealousy in her face.
Only shame.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Katelyn answered quietly.
“Bring back the truth.”
Hours passed.
Katelyn’s labor intensified again.
Damian stood beside her through every contraction.
He did not speak unless she asked.
He offered his hand.
She refused twice.
The third time, she took it.
Near midnight, Marcus called.
They had found the nursery.
White walls.
Blackwood crest above the crib.
Legal files identifying the unborn baby as “Protected Successor Asset.”
Katelyn closed her eyes.
Asset.
Not child.
Marcus found signed agreements naming Arthur temporary guardian.
He found payment records to Natalia.
Surveillance photographs of Katelyn.
And instructions to provoke premature labor if she refused to cooperate.
Damian’s hand tightened around the phone.
“How?”
Marcus answered.
“Stress exposure. Public confrontation. Controlled collision. Nothing that would appear intentional.”
Katelyn looked toward Damian.
“The boutique.”
He nodded.
The meeting had not only been arranged to reveal her.
It had been designed to shock her into labor.
Samuel had believed he was bringing them together to protect her.
But someone had used his plan.
Natalia.
The council.
Arthur.
Everyone had played a role.
The doctor entered.
“The baby’s heart rate is dropping during contractions.”
Damian stood.
“What does that mean?”
“It means we may need to deliver now.”
Katelyn felt fear rise.
“Is my baby safe?”
“We’re doing everything we can.”
Damian leaned close.
“Katie, listen to me.”
She looked at him.
“No council. No trust. No inheritance matters right now.”
His voice broke.
“Only you and the baby.”
Katelyn squeezed his hand.
May you like
For the first time in three years, she believed him without evidence.
👉 As the emergency team prepared for delivery, Marcus discovered that Arthur Crane was already inside the hospital.
