Chapter 37 CHAPTER 37
The Hospital Walls
“Is she going to be okay, Daddy?”
Beauty’s small voice trembled as she clutched Ares’s arm in the sterile white corridor of St. Helena’s Hospital. Her wide eyes shone with tears that hadn’t stopped since they’d arrived.
Ares knelt to her level, though his face was taut with tension. Behind him, the emergency room doors had just slammed shut, hiding Pretty from sight as a team of doctors worked feverishly.
“She’s going to be fine,” Ares said firmly, though the words scraped his throat. He reached to smooth Beauty’s hair, then drew Kamal and Jamal into his arms as well. “Your sister is strong. She’ll fight.”
“But she almost died,” Jamal whispered, voice cracking. “She went under and didn’t come back.” His body shook as the memory replayed, his eyes haunted.
Ares pulled him close. His own heart still hammered with the terror of seeing Pretty sink beneath the water. “Listen to me. None of you are ever going to suffer like that again. I swear it.”
Kamal lifted his head, his young face hardened with a maturity that didn’t belong on a child. “It was Mommy. She made us sit by the pool. She pushed Pretty too close.”
The words stung like knives. Ares’s fists clenched at his sides, his jaw set. He looked down at the three of them, their tiny bodies huddled together in fear. The truth was undeniable now—he had seen the bruises, the fear in their eyes, the way they flinched whenever Chloe’s name was mentioned.
He should have known. He should have protected them sooner.
“Daddy?” Beauty tugged on his sleeve again. “Are you mad at us?”
Ares froze, his anger dissolving into shock. “Mad at you? Never.” He swept her up into his arms, kissing her wet cheek. “You are my heart. All of you. I will never, ever be angry at you.”
“But Mommy said we’re not special,” Pretty had whispered earlier before she slipped under the water. The words echoed in his mind, cruel and unforgivable.
Ares pressed his children close. “You’re special to me. You’re my everything. Don’t you ever believe otherwise.”
The minutes dragged into an hour. Nurses passed by with brisk efficiency, their rubber soles squeaking on the polished tiles. The air smelled of antiseptic and quiet dread.
Marcus arrived first, his face thunderous, his tailored suit slightly disheveled from the rushed trip. He stopped at the sight of the children curled against Ares, their eyes red from crying.
“What happened?” Marcus demanded.
Ares didn’t rise. His eyes were fixed on the ER doors. “Chloe happened.”
Marcus stiffened. “Be clear.”
Ares finally turned, his voice a low growl. “She left them by the pool. She forced Pretty in. If I hadn’t come home when I did, my daughter would be dead.”
Marcus’s mouth parted, but no words came out. He looked at the children, saw their solemn nods, and his composure cracked. “God…”
He rubbed a hand over his face, muttering curses under his breath. Then, forcing his tone steady, he said, “We’ll handle this. Quietly. No one outside this family can know.”
Ares’s glare was sharp enough to cut steel. “Quietly? My daughter nearly drowned, dad. And you want to protect Chloe?”
“I want to protect this family,” Marcus snapped back, but softer this time, his eyes flicking toward the children.
“This family is my children,” Ares shot back, rising to his full height. “And if you think I’ll let Chloe anywhere near them again, you’re delusional.”
Marcus’s lips pressed into a thin line. He didn’t argue further, but his silence spoke volumes.
Hours later, the double doors finally opened, and a doctor came forward, peeling off his gloves.
Ares strode forward instantly. “How is she?”
The doctor gave a tired but reassuring smile. “She’s stable. She swallowed a dangerous amount of water, but you acted quickly. We’ve cleared her lungs. She’ll need to rest, but she’s out of immediate danger.”
Ares exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. His knees nearly buckled with relief. “Can I see her?”
“Yes, but only briefly. She’s still weak.”
The children clung to him as he led them inside.
Pretty lay on the small bed, her face pale but peaceful. An oxygen tube rested under her nose, her chest rising and falling in steady rhythm.
“Daddy…” she croaked faintly as her eyes fluttered open.
Ares’s heart cracked. He rushed to her side, brushing damp curls from her forehead. “I’m here, angel. You’re safe now.”
Beauty burst into tears, clutching Pretty’s hand. “You scared us!”
Kamal and Jamal climbed onto the edge of the bed, their small hands covering hers. The quadruplets clung together in a fragile huddle, their bond stronger than any cruelty Chloe could inflict.
Ares watched them, silent tears burning his eyes. At that moment, he made a vow deeper than blood, never again would he let Chloe harm them.
But the Langford estate was not silent.
Lady Bianca lay propped against pillows in her grand bedroom, her face pale, her breathing ragged. The nurse tried to feed her spoonfuls of broth, but Bianca waved it aside, her trembling hands clutching at Marcus’s.
“I told you,” she whispered, her voice thin. “That Chloe is poison. Look what she’s done now.”
Marcus’s jaw tightened. “Please…”
“Don’t patronize me!” she snapped, her strength flaring for a brief second. “I feel it. She’s unraveling this family thread by thread. If Ares turns against us completely…”
Her words faded as her chest tightened with another pang. The nurse hurried forward, checking her pulse.
“Save your strength, ma’am,” the nurse urged.
Lady Bianca closed her eyes, her lips pale. “If that girl…Tessa…”
Back at the hospital, night had fallen. The children finally dozed off on a couch in the waiting area, exhaustion pulling them under.
Ares stood by the window of Pretty’s room, his hands braced on the sill. His mind was a storm. Chloe’s cruelty, his daughter’s near death, the lies on television—it all converged into one truth.
Chloe had crossed the final line.
A slow clap echoed in the hallway.
Ares turned sharply, his eyes narrowing.
Chloe strolled toward him in her short dress, makeup flawless, her wine glass still in hand as though she had walked straight out of a party.
“Well, well,” she drawled, her smile sharp as glass. “I heard there was…an accident.”
Ares’s blood roared in his ears. His hands curled into fists. “An accident?” His voice was low, deadly.
Chloe tilted her head, unbothered. “Children will be children. You can’t blame me if they don’t know how to swim. Perhaps you should have taught them.”
The world went red.
In a flash, Ares was across the hall, his hand fisting in her hair as he slammed her against the wall. His voice thundered, each word trembling with fury.
“You nearly killed my daughter.”
Chloe’s smirk faltered, but only for a second. “Your daughter? Funny, considering you’re not even their…”
The slap landed before she finished. Hard, echoing through the sterile corridor.
The sound silenced even the beeping machines.
Chloe’s head whipped to the side, her cheek blossoming red, her glass shattering on the floor.
Ares’s voice was low, lethal. “If you ever come near my children again…I swear, Chloe, I will kill you.”
Her eyes widened not from pain, but from the sudden realization that she had finally pushed him past the point of no return.
Chloe Langford felt fear.