She believed attacking a pregnant woman in the hospital had no consequences — until the father she never expected showed up.

The wind outside Lakeview General Hospital howled against the windows like a restless spirit, rattling the glass just enough to remind anyone listening how fragile everything truly was. Inside Room 417, beneath the humming fluorescent lights and steady rhythm of medical monitors, Sophia Whitford sat quietly, her hands resting over the round curve of her eight-month-pregnant belly.

The room smelled faintly like disinfectant and soft cotton sheets. Nurses passed in the hallway every few minutes, shoes whispering across tile floors. Sophia should have felt safe there—monitors, doctors, people—but safety is a fragile illusion when the heart has been bruised too many times.

Her pregnancy had become complicated in recent weeks. Stress had dragged her blood pressure up, tightening its grip on her body until her doctor insisted she be admitted for monitoring. “It’s precaution,” they told her. “Rest, breathe, let us take care of you.” But rest was an impossible thing when your life had already split open.

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