The Scandinavian researcher—Dr. Lund, his badge read-blocked James again. “You’re disrupting operations. Leave, or I’ll call
security.”
James barely heard the threat. Sophia was here, here, close enough to touch, yet she’d looked through him like he was a ghost. His voice cracked. “Tell her it’s James.”
Lund’s grip tightened. “She knows.”
By dawn, the rescue efforts had shifted to recovery. Sophia emerged from a medical tent, her gloves streaked with antiseptic. James intercepted her at the supply crates, his voice raw. “You’re pregnant.”
She didn’t flinch. “And you’re trespassing on federal research grounds.” Her tone was clinical, as if addressing a stranger. ” Leave before I report you.”
James reached for her, then froze when he saw his own hands-crusted with blood and dirt, the bandages frayed. A monster’s hands. He shoved them into his pockets. “I thought you were dead.”
“Funny.” Sophia stacked IV bags with robotic precision. “I’ve felt that way for years.”
A radio squawked at her hip. She turned to answer it, but James caught her sleeve. “Please. Just… look at me.”
When she finally did, her eyes were a void. “Why? You never did.”
The words landed like a bullet. James recoiled, and in that split second, Dr. Laud reappeared with two armed guards. Sophia vanished into the tent without a backward glance.
The makeshift infirmary reeked of iodine and melted snow. James waited outside for hours, his breath fogging in the cold, until Lund finally exited.
“Ms. Moretti is resting,” the man said, adjusting his glasses. “She’s three months pregnant, in case you missed that detail too.”
1/2
Chapter 9
+15 Bonus
James’ knees buckled. Three months. The timeline matched their last night together-the one before Vicky’s return, before everything unraveled.
Lund tossed him a satellite phone. “Call your pilot. The storm’s worsening.”
James stared at the device, the weight of his failures crushing him. He could summon a private army, bribe every official in Switzerland, torch the world to find her again–but none of it would undo the truth:
Sophia had rebuilt herself beyond his reach.
And this time, she wouldn’t be begging for his love.
He’d be begging for hers.
