Chap 3
601 Words
By the start of the third month, Elena Cross was no longer referred to as “temporarily unavailable.” She was absent.
The word appeared carefully in emails from Helix, wrapped in neutral language meant to soothe. Mara read each one slowly, the phrasing precise, bloodless.
The intended mother is currently unreachable.
The intended father will oversee communications.
Mara closed her laptop and leaned back in her chair, one hand resting on the gentle curve now beginning to show beneath her sweater.
That evening there was a knock on the door. Nathan stood in the hallway, coat draped over his arm.
“I hope this isn’t inappropriate,” he said. “Helix thought it would be… more efficient.”
She stepped aside without answering letting him in. Inside, the apartment felt smaller with him in it, his tailored world brushing against her ordinary one. He noticed everything: the stack of unpaid bills on the counter, the old sofa, the faint smell of tea.
“She hasn’t contacted me,” Nathan said once they sat. “Not in weeks.”
Mara studied his face. “What happens now?” she asked quietly.
A pause.
“Legally? Nothing changes. Realistically…” He hesitated. “Everything does.”
That was the first honest thing he’d said.
The next day, Rhea solace, the private investigator watched Elena townhouse from across the street, coffee cooling in her hand. The place was Locked, too clean for a woman who left by accident. Phone records. Travel logs. Financial movements. Patterns formed quickly in Rhea’s mind.
This wasn’t a disappearance. It was an exit.
Back at Helix, Dr. Lillian Moore ran another scan. The screen glowed with movement. Mara’s breath caught.
“There,” Dr. Moore said softly. “Do you see it?”
Mara nodded, tears blurring her vision before she could stop them.
Dr. Moore cleared her throat, professionalism snapping back into place. “Emotional attachment is common. But remember the parameters of your agreement.”
She nodded, though the parameters felt meaningless now.
That evening, Julian called. “You’ve been distant,” he said gently. “I’m worried.”
Mara stared at the city lights from her window. “I’m carrying someone else’s future,” she replied. “And I don’t know where I fit in it.”
Julian didn't rush to answer, he was quiet. “You fit. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Across town, Seraphina sat with Nathan in his office, documents spread between them. She pointed to a line he hadn’t noticed.
“Elena moved assets weeks ago before the transfer,” she said. “She planned this.”
“She wouldn’t abandon her own child.” Nathan said.
Seraphina met his eyes. “People don’t abandon their plans. They abandon people.”
At the Cross estate, Vivienne spoke sharply into the phone.
“Find her quietly. No scandal.”
Arthur watched from his chair, unmoving. “If she doesn’t return,” he said, “we prepare contingencies.”
Mara felt them closing in days later when Noah Reed arrived with revised paperwork. “Purely precautionary,” he said pleasantly. “In case Elena remains unavailable.”
The clauses were subtle and terrifying. Mara read them twice, then a third time.
“What happens to me after the birth?” she asked.
Noah smiled without warmth. “That is not a concern outlined in the contract.”
That night, Mara sat alone in her bathroom floor, back against the tub, fingers trembling as she pressed them to her stomach. The baby responded.
She whispered without realizing it. “I’m here.”
- Writer
