Chapter 173
Blake
The air in the car felt thick with tension. I glanced at Sophia beside me, her profile sharp in the dim light, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. We'd been waiting for fifteen minutes now, parked a block away from her apartment, watching.
My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, a physical anchor while my mind raced through worst-case scenarios. Shit, this whole situation was spiraling out of control faster than I could handle.
"If he shows up," she said, her voice unnervingly calm, "I'm going to kill him. I won't hesitate this time."
The coldness in her tone sent a chill through me. This wasn't hyperbole or emotional venting. This was Sophia stating a fact with the same certainty someone might comment on the weather. The woman I loved was planning murder, and part of me couldn't blame her.
"Sophia—" I started, but my phone rang, cutting me off.
I checked the screen, my heart skipping. "It's security." I answered quickly. "This is Blake."
"Mr. Sterling, Jackson here. Miss Green's sister has just left the apartment building. She pushed past me when I tried to stop her. Seems pretty upset. Said something about going to her sister's place."
My stomach tightened into a knot. Goddammit, another complication. Just what we fucking needed right now. My jaw clenched so hard I could feel a muscle twitching in my cheek. "What about Lily? And Lauren?"
"Still inside, sir. Both safe. I've got two men on that floor."
Thank God. The relief was instant but fleeting, like a hit of oxygen to a drowning man. "Good. Keep me posted." I hung up and turned to Sophia. "Mia just left your apartment. Security says she's heading to your place."
Sophia nodded, oddly calm. "Of course she is."
"What do you mean?"
"She's scared, Blake. When she's scared, she runs to what feels safest." A fleeting smile touched her lips, softening her features momentarily. "Apparently, that's me now."
I started the engine, the quiet purr doing nothing to calm my nerves. My mind was racing with images of Mia wandering the streets alone, vulnerable, maybe followed. Jesus Christ, if that psychopath Soren got to her... The thought made my blood boil. "We should go there, then. Meet her."
"Yes." Sophia's shoulders relaxed slightly, the rigid tension easing from her posture. "At least Lily's safe. That's what matters."
I pulled into traffic, checking my phone again. The screen remained dark – no missed calls. "My father still hasn't called back." A flash of anger surged through me. Where the hell was he when I actually needed him? "I'm assuming Soren hasn't shown up at your place."
"Not yet," she murmured, her gaze distant, fingers twisting in her lap. "But he will. He always does."
My phone rang again. Different number this time. I answered on speaker, an inexplicable dread settling over me like a lead blanket, making it hard to breathe.
"Mr. Sterling? This is mental hospital. There's been an incident involving Amanda Price."
My blood ran cold, a physical sensation like ice water replacing my veins. Holy shit. What now? My throat tightened painfully. "What kind of incident?"
Sophia's head snapped toward me, her eyes widening with alarm.
"She appears to have fallen from the roof. It's being treated as a suicide attempt at this point, though we're investigating. Her condition is critical."
"Jesus fucking Christ," I muttered, meeting Sophia's gaze, seeing my own shock reflected there. My heart hammered so hard I could feel it in my fingertips. "Amanda's hurt."
"Oh my God!" Sophia gasped, her face draining of color so rapidly I thought she might faint. She clutched the dashboard, breathing suddenly shallow. "The baby—what about the baby?"
I was caught off guard by her immediate concern for Amanda's unborn child despite everything. That was Sophia—compassionate even when she had every reason not to be.
I refocused on the call, forcing my brain to work through the panic. Compartmentalize, dammit. Handle one crisis at a time. "Where's the warden?"
"Off-site at a conference, sir."
"Are paramedics there?"
"Yes, sir. They're preparing to airlift her now."
I made a sharp turn, narrowly missing a parked car, my heart hammering painfully against my ribs. "Make sure they take her to the nearest hospital with a Level I trauma center." I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry as sandpaper. "And tell them she's approximately six months pregnant. They need to check the fetal heartbeat immediately."
"Pregnant?" The deputy's voice rose in surprise. "We had no record of—"
"Just do it," I snapped, then hung up. I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles whitened, the leather creaking under my grip. My mind spun with competing scenarios, each worse than the last. Was this my mother's doing? Another of Amanda's manipulations?
Sophia watched me, her expression unreadable in the dim car interior. "Do you need to go to her?" Her voice was soft, without accusation, but the question hit me like a physical blow.
The question hung between us, loaded with history, pain, and impossible choices. I pulled over to the curb, needing to stop before I crashed from the sheer weight of indecision crushing me. Two emergencies. Two lives I was responsible for. Two impossible paths.
Path one: Stay with Sophia. Protect her from Soren. Find Mia. Keep them safe. Ignore the fact that Amanda might be dying with my child inside her.
Path two: Rush to Amanda. Try to save my unborn child. Leave Sophia to face her psychopathic father alone.
My head pounded with the pressure of it all. I wanted to punch something, scream until my voice gave out, anything to release the terrible tightness in my chest.
"I don't know," I admitted, the words scraping my throat raw. My breath came in shallow bursts. How the hell was I supposed to choose? No matter what I did, I'd be failing someone who needed me. "This doesn't make sense. Amanda wouldn't attempt suicide. Not now."
"You don't know that," Sophia said quietly, eyes fixed on the passing streetlights.
"I do." I met her eyes briefly, willing her to understand, my voice thick with conviction and desperation. "Whatever else she is, Amanda is a survivor. This wasn't suicide. Something else is happening here."
Sophia stared straight ahead, her profile illuminated by passing streetlights, shadows playing across her face. "So what do we do now?"
I had no answer. For the first time in years, I had absolutely no idea what to do next. My world was splitting in two, and I couldn't be in both halves at once. Someone would get hurt no matter what I chose.
The truth is, I already knew where I needed to be. I just didn't know how to say it without sounding like I was abandoning her. Again. My chest ached with the weight of it all, guilt and responsibility crushing me from all sides.
I reached for my phone, fingers trembling slightly. "I'm calling for additional security to meet us at your apartment. And another team for the hospital." My voice sounded hollow even to my own ears, as I tried desperately to be everywhere at once.
Sophia turned to look at me fully now, her eyes searching mine. "Blake," she said softly, "you need to go to the hospital."
"No," I shook my head, the motion too quick, too desperate. "Mia needs you, and you need me. I'm not leaving you alone with Soren out there."
"That baby might be dying," she whispered, and I saw the genuine concern in her eyes despite everything Amanda had done to her. "Your baby."
Those two words landed like physical blows. My baby. A life I had created. An innocent caught in the middle of this fucked-up mess.
I slammed my palm against the steering wheel, the sound sharp in the quiet car. "GODDAMMIT!" The pressure behind my eyes built until I thought my head might explode. "Why now? Why is this happening now?"
The terrible irony wasn't lost on me. For months, Amanda had manipulated and lied, using her pregnancy to control me. And now, when it might actually be in jeopardy, I was paralyzed with indecision.
Sophia reached over and touched my arm, her fingers light but steady. "I can handle Mia and watch for Soren. You should be at that hospital."
I looked at her, this woman who had every reason to tell me to forget Amanda, to stay and protect her instead. Yet here she was, urging me to do the right thing for a child that wasn't even hers.
"I'll send every security team I have," I said, my voice rough with emotion. "I'll call you every thirty minutes. If Soren shows up—"
"I'll call you immediately," she promised. "Now go."
I nodded, the decision made but sitting like lead in my stomach.