Naomi raised a hand.
“Don’t answer.”
It wasn’t a call.
A text.
Lauren looked down.
One attachment.
A photograph.
Her bedroom.
Taken from inside her house.
Ethan was visible in the background, asleep on the bed.
Lauren’s side of the bed was empty.
The photograph had been taken three nights earlier.
Below it were seven words.
CHARLES COLE IS NOT RUNNING THIS.
Lauren’s face went completely still.
Naomi read the message.
“What the hell?”
Another text appeared.
YOU’RE LOOKING AT THE WRONG BILLIONAIRE.
Then a third.
Madison wasn’t supposed to survive.
Lauren immediately handed the phone to Naomi.
“Call Mitchell from yours.”
Before Naomi could move, another attachment arrived.
A scanned page.
Hospital letterhead.
St. Catherine’s Medical Center.
OBSTETRIC OPERATING SCHEDULE.
Lauren’s name was highlighted.
Her scheduled C-section date—six weeks away—was circled in red.
Beside it, someone had typed:
PHASE TWO CONFIRMED.
