It All Comes Out Slowly
By morning, the news had exploded across every major outlet and social media platform.
Headlines screamed the story. Photos and videos from witnesses outside the hospital circulated rapidly.
Harper dragging a visibly pregnant and distressed Emery, the chaotic scene at the entrance, security intervening.
The Prescott name was being dragged through the mud, and the press was feasting on it.
Inside the hospital, Alexander stood in a quiet corner of the waiting area, phone pressed to his ear, dealing with the crisis.
"Yes, issue a brief statement. No details on the baby or Emery's condition. Emphasize that Harper is no longer part of the family operations and that we are cooperating fully with the police," he said firmly to the PR team. "And get our lawyers on the defamation cases immediately."
Rebecca sat nearby, making her own calls, voice low and controlled. "Yes, I need damage control on all major networks. Pull every favor we have."
Jesse had refused to rest. He hadn't left the hospital since arriving. His eyes were bloodshot, hair disheveled, clothes still the same from yesterday. He paced near the recovery wing, waiting for any update on Emery.
Harold had been told the full truth late last night: that the baby was Jesse's, not Alexander's.
The revelation had broken the old man. He sat stunned for a long time before whispering, "I did this to her.
.. I forced her into that marriage. My poor girl.
" Judith had taken him home early that morning, worried about his heart.
Jesse finally stepped out of the main waiting area toward the hospital cafeteria to grab a coffee, hoping the caffeine would keep him going.
The moment the automatic doors opened, the media swarm hit him like a wave.
"Mr. Prescott! Is it true Mrs Harper Ryde assaulted Emery Prescott?"
"How is Emery now?"
"Is it true that the baby is not a Prescott?"
"Are Mrs Ryde's allegations true?"
Cameras flashed. Microphones were shoved in his face. Reporters crowded him aggressively.
Jesse's face darkened with fury. "Get the hell out of my way!"
He tried to push through, but the crowd only pressed closer. His patience snapped.
"Where the fuck is hospital security?!" he roared, voice echoing through the entrance. "Why can't you keep these vultures out when my family is fighting for their lives inside?!"
Two security guards finally rushed forward, physically dragging the reporters back and clearing a path.
"Back off! Now!" one guard shouted, pushing the media personnel toward the exit.
Jesse stood there, chest heaving, fists clenched. The flashes continued from a safer distance, but the damage was done. The world now knew something was deeply wrong in the Prescott family.
He turned and walked back inside without the coffee, jaw tight, eyes burning with exhaustion and rage.
Emery was still unconscious.
Their son was in the NICU.
And the world was watching their pain like entertainment.
Jesse leaned against the wall in the corridor, closing his eyes for a moment, whispering under his breath:
"Just wake up, love... Please wake up."
The storm outside was only beginning.
×××××××
The police station holding area was cold and sterile. Harper sat on the metal bench inside a small cell, still in the clothes she'd been arrested in, her hair messy and eyes red from crying and rage.
The metal door at the end of the corridor opened. Percy walked in, holding Kitty in his arms. The little girl looked sleepy and confused, clutching her favorite stuffed toy.
Harper shot up from the bench the moment she saw them. She rushed to the bars, gripping them tightly.
"Percy! Kitty! My baby!" she cried, voice breaking. "Please... let me hold her. Just for a minute."
Percy stopped a few feet away from the bars, his expression cold and unforgiving. Kitty buried her face in her father's shoulder, clearly uneasy.
"Look at you," Percy said, voice dripping with contempt.
"Behind bars like the criminal you are. You dragged a pregnant woman across the city, put her and the baby in danger, all because you're jealous and bitter.
You slapped your my mother. You neglected our daughter for months. And now you're surprised you're here?"
Harper's face twisted with desperation and fury. "I was trying to expose her! That baby isn't Alexander's! She's a liar who stole everything from me!"
Percy laughed bitterly, shaking his head.
"You still don't get it, do you? You lost Kitty because of your own actions.
You lost respect from the entire family.
You lost everything because you couldn't stop being cruel.
I'm glad I filed for full custody. You're a psychopath, Harper.
You should be in a mental hospital, not anywhere near our daughter. "
Harper's eyes filled with fresh tears of rage. She lunged forward, hands reaching through the bars as if she could grab him.
"You bastard!" she screamed, voice echoing off the walls. "Give me my daughter! You can't keep her from me! I'll fight you! I'll destroy you!"
Percy didn't even flinch. He simply turned away, holding Kitty closer.
"You already destroyed yourself," he said quietly. "Goodbye, Harper. Wait for the divorce deed."
He walked away without looking back, Kitty safe in his arms.
Harper screamed after him, shaking the bars violently. "Percy! Come back! You can't do this to me! Percy!!"
Her shouts turned into raw, broken sobs as she sank to the floor of the cell, hands still gripping the bars.
She had lost everything.
And in that cold cell, the reality finally crashed down on her.
×××××××
The ICU recovery room was quiet except for the steady beeping of monitors. Jesse stood at the doorway in a fresh gown and mask, gloved hands trembling slightly. The nurse gave him a gentle nod.
"You can sit with her for a few minutes. She's still unconscious from the anesthesia and blood loss, but her vitals are stable. Talk to her, it helps."
Jesse stepped inside slowly. The sight hit him like a punch to the chest.
Emery lay pale against the white sheets, her face drained of color from the significant blood loss. Her hair was spread across the pillow, and her eyes remained closed.
His gaze drifted to her abdomen where there was the fresh incision beneath the gown, a horizontal cut, neatly closed with a row of stitches.
"Twenty-eight stitches," the doctor had told him quietly outside. "Standard for this type of emergency C-section. The internal layers took more, but externally it's clean. She'll have a scar, but with proper care it should fade over time."
Twenty-eight stitches.
Jesse's knees nearly gave out. She had been cut open because of Harper's rage. This was never supposed to happen. Their earlier appointments had promised a normal, safe delivery. Instead, Emery had been dragged, terrified, and forced into emergency surgery at only thirty-four weeks.
He pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat down, gently taking her cool hand in both of his gloved ones.
"Emery..." he whispered, voice already cracking. "Love, I'm here. I'm right here."
He swallowed hard, tears filling his eyes as he looked at her pale face and the bandaged incision.
"I'm so sorry," he said, voice thick with guilt and pain.
"This never should have happened to you.
You were supposed to have a peaceful delivery.
You were supposed to hold our son without going through hell first. Harper.
.. she took that from you. She took your safety, your peace.
I should have protected you better. I should have seen how dangerous she was becoming. "
He pressed his forehead gently against the back of her hand, shoulders shaking.
"Please wake up soon, my love. Our boy is in the NICU... he's so small, so perfect. He has your eyes, I think. Or at least I hope he does. He's fighting, just like you. But he needs his mama. I need you. I can't do this without you."
Tears slipped down his cheeks and soaked into the mask.
"I love you," he whispered fiercely. "I've loved you for so long, and I'm so sorry I was a coward for so many years. I promise... when you wake up, I'm going to fight for us. For our family. No more hiding. No more fear. Just come back to me, Emery. Please."
He stayed like that for several long minutes, holding her hand, whispering apologies and promises, until the nurse gently reminded him that his time was up.
Jesse stood slowly, leaned down, and pressed the softest kiss to her forehead through the mask.
"I'll be right outside," he whispered. "Come back to us, love. We're waiting for you."
He left the room with a heavy heart, eyes red and swollen, but more determined than ever.
Emery remained still, pale and unconscious, but the steady beeps of the monitors promised she was still fighting.
×××××××
Alexander stepped into the quiet police station late that evening. Officer Ramirez met him in the hallway and led him to a private room.
"Mr. Prescott, thanks for coming so quickly," Ramirez said, closing the door behind them.
"We finally got a break. The middleman we picked up cracked after some.
.. intense questioning. He gave us the names of the three men who attacked you.
They've already fled the state, but we've issued warrants and alerts. We'll find them."
Alexander's jaw tightened. "Good. And the person who ordered it?"
Ramirez nodded grimly. "It was a woman. She paid cash through the middleman and used a burner phone. We got a sketch from his description."
The officer turned his computer screen toward Alexander and typed a few keys. A composite sketch appeared: clear, detailed, and unmistakably familiar.
Alexander's eyes widened, then narrowed into cold fury.
"Camilla," he said, voice low and dangerous.
"You know her?" Ramirez asked.
Alexander gave a single, sharp nod. "I do. Really well."
Ramirez leaned back. "We have an arrest warrant ready. We're planning to pick her up tonight at her residence. No warning."
Alexander's face hardened into stone. "Do it. And when you bring her in... tell me immediately. I want a word with her."
The officer studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Understood, sir. We'll keep you updated."
Alexander stood up, fists clenched at his sides.
Camilla was going to regret the day she ever came back into his life.
As he left the station, the night air felt colder. The betrayal that had once been a quiet ache was now burning into pure, calculated rage.
He would make sure she paid for every bruise, every tear, every second of fear she had caused his family.
×××××××