Chapter 192 This Is My Child
No... he couldn't die... not now...
Caroline... their baby...
If he died, they'd have no one left to protect them.
Alexander clenched his jaw. From somewhere deep inside, he found one last surge of strength. He braced himself with his uninjured arm and yanked a backup pistol from his boot.
Two shots rang out.
Liam screamed.
"Mr. Hamilton!"
Alexander collapsed.
But in the next instant, the scarred man's grin froze. His eyes went wide with disbelief. He swayed once, then toppled backward like a felled tree.
Liam stared in shock. Through the clearing smoke, he saw Alexander's blood-soaked body move again.
Alexander pushed himself up, pressing one hand against the wound in his abdomen. A low groan escaped his lips.
"Ugh..."
Then his strength gave out. He crumpled to the ground.
"Mr. Hamilton!" Liam was sobbing now as he ran to Alexander's side and caught him before he hit the dirt.
"Are you okay? I'll get a doctor--"
"No..." Alexander's voice was weak, but his grip on Liam's wrist was iron. "Clean up... finish them... don't let them... get inside..."
Tears streamed down Liam's face. He nodded hard.
"Everyone! Sweep the area! I want every last one of them dead!"
On Liam's command, Alexander's men launched a final assault on Armando's forces.
No survivors. No mercy.
When the last man fell under Felix's gun, a sharp, piercing cry rang out from inside the villa.
A baby's cry.
It cut through the smoke and gunfire, reaching every ear on the battlefield.
The baby. His baby. His and Caroline's baby.
Alexander's fading vision snapped back into focus.
He had to see his child. Had to see Caroline.
Liam watched in horror as Alexander dug his fingers into the rough gravel and began dragging his nearly lifeless body toward the villa.
"Sir--Mr. Hamilton! Don't move! Doctor! Someone get a doctor!"
Liam finally snapped out of his shock and scrambled to Alexander's side. The blood trail behind him was massive. Liam's voice cracked as he shouted for help.
Inside the delivery room, everyone was crying.
"It's a girl! A beautiful baby girl! She's healthy! Congratulations, Mrs. Hamilton!"
The doctor held up the tiny, wrinkled infant--her cries loud and strong. The midwife took her immediately and began cleaning her off.
"Mrs. Hamilton! Do you hear that? You and Mr. Hamilton have a daughter!"
Kenna was laughing and crying at the same time, clutching Caroline's limp hand and repeating the words over and over.
Caroline lay still on the delivery bed. Her body was wracked with pain. She was too exhausted to lift a finger.
She stared blankly at the white ceiling. The sounds around her were muffled and distant.
The baby's cries. Kenna's joyful congratulations. The hurried footsteps of doctors and nurses.
It all felt... unreal. Far away.
A baby? Her baby?
When did she... have a baby?
Wasn't she... wasn't she the one who killed Edith?
Wasn't she supposed to be in hell, atoning for her sins? How could she... be here... giving birth?
Kenna didn't notice the confusion in Caroline's eyes. She was too caught up in relief and joy, still holding Caroline's hand and crying.
"Thank God... thank God... Mrs. Hamilton, you did it. Mr. Hamilton's back, your baby's safe, it's all over now. Everything's going to be okay..."
Caroline's lips, cracked and dry, parted slightly.
"I... how can I have a baby? I'm... a sinner..."
Kenna's voice cut off mid-sentence.
She jerked her head up and stared at Caroline.
At the same moment, Alexander stumbled through the door, supported by Liam. He heard it too.
The delivery room went silent. Only the baby's cries continued.
Caroline seemed to sense something. She turned her head stiffly, dragging her empty gaze from the ceiling to the doorway.
Their eyes met.
Alexander heard her whisper.
"I'm... Caroline... aren't I..."
Then she slipped into darkness.
"Mr. Hamilton, your injuries are severe. You need to rest. And please--don't get the wounds wet..."
The doctor's hands shook as he finished bandaging Alexander's wounds. He spoke carefully, nervously.
But when he saw the cigarette between Alexander's fingers, he didn't dare say another word.
He knew Alexander looked calm on the surface, but inside, he was a bomb waiting to go off.
One spark. That's all it would take.
An hour ago, the psychiatric team had sent their report.
The news wasn't good. According to the CT scan, the blood clot pressing on Caroline's brain had shifted during labor.
Under the strain and agony of childbirth, Caroline had finally found her way back to herself.
Caroline had returned.
Alexander's hands trembled violently.
His wife was sleeping in the next room, still exhausted from the delivery.
But she would wake up eventually. And when she did, the moment he'd been dreading would finally arrive.
Dawn broke.
The first rays of sunlight slipped through the curtains and fell across Caroline's eyelids.
She stirred. Blinked. Slowly opened her eyes.
Kenna leaned forward instinctively.
"Mrs. Hamilton..."
The words died in her throat.
She stared at Caroline, her face full of uncertainty and fear.
She feared Caroline might remember everything.
Caroline blinked a few more times, adjusting to the light.
Then she turned her head slowly and looked at the bassinet beside the bed.
A baby lay inside--skin pale, still soft and wrinkled, eyes closed, sleeping peacefully. But even now, you could tell she'd be beautiful.
The baby's features and nose looked like Caroline's. Her mouth was Alexander's. But her eyes... no one knew yet who she'd take after.
Kenna tried to speak. "Mrs. Hamilton... would you like to hold your baby? I can bring her to you."
Caroline didn't answer. She just stared.
After a long silence, she finally spoke.
"This is... my baby?"
Kenna answered carefully. "Yes. That's right... she's yours and Mr. Hamilton's..."
In the next room, Alexander heard a scream.
He couldn't hide anymore. He sprang from his chair and burst into the room.
The moment he stepped inside, his eyes went wide with horror.