detective caught his arm.

A chair hit the wall downstairs.

Claire recoiled.

Nathan moved closer to the bed.

Within seconds, Derek was handcuffed, not for the bruises yet, but for resisting the officer who had tried to stop him from entering the kitchen where evidence was being secured.

The sudden loss of control transformed him.

The calm husband disappeared.

“Claire!” he shouted.

“Tell them how unstable you’ve been! Tell them about the panic attacks!”

Claire stared at him.

“You caused them.”

The words surprised everyone, including her.

Derek stopped struggling.

Claire continued.

“You stood outside the bathroom door when I was sick.

You took my phone when I wanted to call Nathan.

You told me if I left, you’d tell everyone I was dangerous to the baby.”

Marissa whispered, “Oh my God.”

Claire looked at her.

“You knew.”

“Not all of it.”

“You saw him grab me.”

Marissa began crying harder.

“I thought he was just trying to calm you down.”

Claire’s face hardened.

“By dragging me across the room?”

Marissa had no answer.

Detective Alvarez crouched near the nightstand.

She looked at a glass of water, then at several unmarked tablets in a small plastic organizer.

“Whose medication is this?”

Claire looked over.

“Mine, I think.”

“You think?”

“Derek gives it to me.

He said my doctor changed my supplements.”

Alvarez glanced at Nathan.

“Do you know what she’s prescribed?”

“Prenatal vitamins.

Iron.

Nothing else that I know of.”

Alvarez called downstairs.

“Get EMS up here.”

Claire felt her pulse rise.

“Why?”

“Because I want you evaluated before you take anything else.”

Derek shouted from the hallway.

“Those are vitamins!”

Alvarez didn’t respond.

Paramedics arrived within minutes.

One examined Claire’s blood pressure while another collected the pills for identification.

Her pressure was elevated enough that they recommended immediate transport, especially given the stress and possible medication concerns.

Claire resisted at first.

“I don’t have a hospital bag ready.”

Nathan almost smiled despite everything.

It was so like his sister to worry about logistics while her entire life was coming apart.

“I can buy a toothbrush,” he said.

She looked at him.

The laugh that escaped her was broken and brief.

But it was a laugh.

The first he’d heard from her in months.

Before they left, the second detective removed the hidden camera device.

A memory card sat inside.

Alvarez sealed it in an evidence bag.

Derek watched from the landing.

For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.

Nathan saw it.

“What’s on the card?”

Derek said nothing.

Marissa whispered, “He said it was insurance.”

Alvarez turned.

“Insurance against what?”

Marissa shook her head.

“He said if Claire ever accused him, he’d be able to prove she was unstable.”

Claire’s stomach tightened.

“How?”

Marissa’s mouth opened, then closed.

Derek shouted, “Don’t answer that.”

Alvarez looked at him.

“You’re making this remarkably easy.”

At the hospital, Claire was placed in a maternity observation room beneath cold fluorescent lights.

Nathan sat beside the window while a nurse checked the baby’s heart rate.

The steady rapid rhythm filled the room.

Claire cried when she heard it.

Nathan said nothing.

He just put his hand over hers.

The physician found no immediate signs of fetal distress.

Claire had extensive bruising, dehydration, and elevated stress markers.

Blood tests were ordered to