Chapter 2: The Woman Who Wouldn't Leave
The penthouse doors swung open.
Two paramedics entered carrying emergency equipment, followed by a third pushing a medical stretcher. Their movements were quick and practiced, their voices calm despite the terror filling the room.
“Who called?”” one paramedic asked.
“I did,” Andre answered, scrambling to his feet.
“My wife. She’s pregnant. She just collapsed.””
“Sir, give us some room.””
Andre stepped back, pulling Zoe against his side.
The first paramedic knelt beside Camilla while the second opened an equipment bag. A monitor beeped to life. Plastic packaging crackled. The stretcher’s metal frame rattled against the marble as the third medic positioned it nearby.
“Ma’am, can you hear me?”” the medic asked.
Camilla didn’t respond.
The paramedic checked her responsiveness and breathing, then began assessing her condition. His colleague prepared an oxygen mask.
Andre watched every movement.
“Is my baby okay?””
“We need to assess your wife first,” the medic replied.
“We’re going to get her to the hospital as quickly and safely as possible.””
“Please,” Andre said.
“Please save them both.””
Zoe tugged at his shirt.
“Daddy, why is that man putting something over Mommy’s face?””
“It’s an oxygen mask, sweetheart.””
“Will it make her wake up?””
Andre looked down at his daughter.
He wanted to tell her yes.
He wanted to promise that her mother would sit at the breakfast table tomorrow morning, humming while she made pancakes. He wanted to promise that the baby would arrive healthy, that their family would return to the ordinary life he had taken for granted.
Instead, he crouched and wrapped his arms around her.
“The doctors are going to help Mommy,” he whispered.
Zoe buried her face against his chest.
“Please help my mommy,” she said when the paramedic fitted the oxygen mask over Camilla’s face.
The medic glanced briefly toward the little girl.
“We’re doing everything we can, sweetheart.””
Andre held Zoe tighter.
Across the room, Valeria remained beside the doorway.
She had stopped crying. Her face was composed now, but her hands trembled around the strap of her handbag.
Andre noticed that she kept looking at the elevator.
He also noticed something else.
Valeria’s phone was missing.
“Where’s your phone?”” he demanded.
She blinked.
“What?””
“Your phone. Where is it?””
“In my bag.””
Andre looked at the fallen handbag.
Its contents lay scattered across the marble: lipstick, a compact mirror, car keys, a small wallet, and several folded receipts.
There was no phone.
“Then why are you holding your bag like you’re afraid someone will take it?””
Valeria pulled the handbag closer to her body.
“Because you’re accusing me of hurting your wife!””
“You said she wasn’t supposed to find out. Find out what?””
“Not here.””
Andre stared at her.
“Not here? My wife is unconscious on the floor, and you’re worried about where we have this conversation?””
Valeria glanced toward the paramedics.
“Lower your voice.””
A bitter laugh escaped him.
“You want me to lower my voice?””
One of the paramedics looked up.
“Sir, we need you to give us space. We’re preparing to move her.””
Andre immediately stepped away.
“Of course. I'm sorry.””
He watched as the team coordinated their movements around Camilla. They supported her carefully, secured her for transport, and continued monitoring her condition.
The stretcher rose slightly.
Zoe reached toward her mother.
“Mommy!””
Andre caught her hand before she could move closer.
“Stay with me, sweetheart.””
The paramedics began wheeling Camilla toward the elevator.
Andre followed, but a sudden movement behind him made him turn.
Valeria was bending toward her handbag.
Not to pick it up.
To reach beneath the scattered contents.
“Don't touch that!”” Andre shouted.
Valeria jerked upright.
“I’m getting my keys!””
“Your keys are right there.””
He pointed to the marble.
The paramedic pushing the stretcher stopped briefly as another crew member called for more room near the doorway.
Then the elevator doors opened.
Andre looked toward Camilla, torn between following his wife and stopping Valeria from leaving.
The decision lasted less than a second.
He guided Zoe toward the elevator, keeping his eyes on Valeria.
“Stay where you are,” he said.
“The police are coming.””
“You called the police?”” Valeria whispered.
“No. I called an ambulance. But I’m going to find out what happened here.””
Her face changed.
For the first time, Andre saw genuine fear in her eyes.
Not fear for Camilla.
Fear for herself.
“Andre,” she said, taking a hesitant step forward.
“You don't understand what you've walked into.””
He backed into the elevator beside the stretcher.
“Then start explaining.””
Valeria shook her head.
“If I tell you, you'll never forgive me.””
The elevator doors began closing.
Andre caught one last glimpse of her standing in the sunlit foyer, her emerald dress perfectly arranged, her beige handbag lying open at her feet.
Then the doors shut.
Inside the elevator, the paramedic checked Camilla again.
Andre took Zoe into his arms and pressed his cheek against her curls.
“Daddy?””
“Yes, baby?””
“Did Auntie Valeria make Mommy sick?””
Andre closed his eyes.
He couldn't lie to his daughter. Not about something this serious.
“I don't know yet.””
Zoe looked at the motionless woman on the stretcher.
“But she said Mommy wasn't supposed to find out.””
Andre's eyes opened.
He stared at his daughter.
“What did you say?””
Zoe sniffled.
“I heard Auntie Valeria talking to Mommy in the kitchen.””
“When?””
“Before Mommy fell down.””
Andre felt the elevator descend beneath his feet.
“What did you hear, sweetheart?””
Zoe hesitated, rubbing her fingers together.
“Auntie Valeria said that if Mommy told you about the papers, everything would be ruined.””
Andre went still.
“What papers?””
Zoe shook her head.
“I don't know. Mommy looked scared.””
The elevator chimed.
The doors opened onto the private lobby, where two uniformed police officers were hurrying toward the penthouse elevator.
Andre followed the paramedics out, his wife still unconscious beside him.
He had thought he was dealing with a medical emergency.
Now he wondered whether someone had been planning it for weeks.
And as he stepped into the lobby, his phone vibrated with a message from an unknown number.
*DON'T LET VALERIA LEAVE WITH THE BLUE ENVELOPE. ASK YOUR WIFE WHAT SHE SIGNED.*
Andre read it twice.
May you like
Then he looked back at the closing elevator doors.
For the first time, he wondered whether the vial on his floor had been intended to silence Camilla—or whether it had been intended to stop something much bigger from coming to light.
