Page 2 of Crystal Veil

I don't respond immediately. My heart's still pounding against my ribs like a caged bird trying to escape, and my hand instinctively moves to my lower abdomen. I press down gently as if reassurance could come from touch alone. The secret I'm carrying feels heavier now, more fragile in the face of everything that's happened.

Amelia leans closer, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper. “Elena, you have a concussion, but...” She glancestoward the door, then back to me, her eyes soft with relief. “The baby is okay.”

My breath hitches, and I feel tears prick at the corners of my eyes. Relief floods through me so completely that it's almost overwhelming. I'd been terrified to ask, terrified to even think about what the attack might have done to the tiny life growing inside me.

“Thank God,” I whisper back.

Amelia squeezes my hand gently, understanding passing between us without words. She knows how much this means to me and knows how scared I've been since discovering the pregnancy just a week ago. We've been through everything together since childhood, and she's the only person who knows about the baby.

Before I can respond, footsteps echo in the hallway outside. Different from Mercer's heavy shoes. These are deliberate, measured by the sound of expensive leather against polished floors.

“Elena.”

A jolt runs through me at the sound of the voice, and Amelia stiffens beside me.

Renat.

He steps into the room like a force of nature, every inch tailored in a charcoal suit that screams money and power. His hazel eyes scan me with restrained panic and rage barely held in check. His jaw is locked, his movements tight and controlled, but I can see the tension radiating from every line of his body.

I shoot a quick, nervous glance at Amelia, hoping she understands the silent plea in my eyes. She gives me an almost imperceptible nod, understanding that this conversation about the baby needs to wait until we're alone.

His dark hair is slightly mussed, like he’s been running his hands through it, and there's a shadow of stubble along his angular jaw that suggests he hasn't slept.

“You're okay,” he murmurs, more to himself than to me. His eyes flick to the door where Mercer left, and his expression darkens further. “What did he tell you?”

I shake my head, suddenly hyperaware of how I must look. Pale, bruised, vulnerable in this hospital gown. “He thinks I'm hiding something.”

“I'll make sure he never bothers you again,” Renat growls, his accent thick with anger. “He gets one warning. Just one.”

There's something in his tone that makes me believe he can make Detective Mercer disappear entirely if he chooses to. The thought should terrify me, but instead, it brings an unexpected sense of security.

He moves to my side, his presence filling the space between my bed and the wall. His fingers graze the edge of my blanket, careful not to touch me directly but close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating from his skin. “This shouldn't have happened. Not here.”

“Someone got through security pretending to be hospital staff,” I tell him, my voice growing stronger now that he's here. “She mentioned Bennato's name before everything went dark.”

The change in his expression is immediate and terrifying. His eyes turn cold and calculating, and I glimpse the man beneath the polished exterior. The one who built an empire through violence and fear.

“I knew it was Bennato,” he hisses through clenched teeth. “But that wasn’t just a warning. That was precision. He had inside help for a professional execution.”

His gaze sharpens, distant and calculating as he processes this information. I can almost see the wheels turning in his mind, connections being made, and plans forming. “Bennato thinks he can send one of his attack dogs into a hospital, slip past witnesses and cameras, and come for you?” His voice drops, rough with restrained violence. “I’ll show him just how fatal that mistake was.”

“I've already doubled security,” he continues, his voice dropping to a tone that brooks no argument. “No one steps into this room unless I personally clear them. Every nurse, every doctor, every person who even thinks about walking past your door gets vetted by my people first.”

Amelia shifts uncomfortably in her chair, and I realize she's been watching this exchange with growing alarm. Her eyes dart between Renat and me, clearly aware of the dangerous undercurrents in the room but also protective of the secret we share.

I nod faintly, but my thoughts are already spiraling down dark pathways. I'm not just fighting for my life anymore. I'm fighting for another one as well. The secret burns in my chest, demanding to be shared with the man standing beside my bed, but I can't find the words. Not yet. Not when everything is souncertain and dangerous. My hand moves to my abdomen again, a protective gesture I can't seem to stop making.

I catch Amelia watching me, and there's understanding in her eyes. She knows how hard this is for me, keeping something so monumental from Renat when every instinct tells me he deserves to know. But timing matters, and right now, with assassins hunting me and the war with Bennato escalating, the truth feels like another weapon that could be used against us.

I just don't know how long I can keep that part a secret, especially from him.

The irony isn't lost on me. I'm an investigative journalist whose entire career is built on uncovering the truth. Yet, here I am, harboring the biggest secret of my life. But this isn't just about me anymore. This tiny life growing inside me changes everything, makes every risk feel magnified, every decision tangled in consequences I never had to consider before.

“Elena?” Renat's voice brings me back to the present. He's studying my face with those intense hazel eyes, and I wonder how much he can read in my expression. “What aren't you telling me?”

The question pulses between us, loaded with implications I'm not ready to face. Outside the window, Miami continues its relentless pace. Traffic hums along distant highways, helicopters slice through the morning air, and the city awakens to another day of business, corruption, and violence hidden beneath a veneer of tropical paradise.

But in this sterile hospital room, with machines beeping steadily around me and the man who can either save me or destroy me standing at my bedside, the world feels suspended. Waiting.