Chapter 6 - A Threat Cloaked in Velvet
The next morning, Adriana insisted on going to her scheduled prenatal appointment at the hospital. Damon had protested fiercely, wanting to bring the medical equipment directly to the estate, but Adriana refused to let fear dictate her life completely.
"I need to feel normal, Damon," she had told him. "Just for an hour."
He compromised by sending a four-car security detail and accompanying her personally. He sat in the waiting room of the women's pavilion, a stark, intimidating figure among expectant couples and pastel-colored walls.
The appointment went well. The baby was healthy, growing perfectly despite the stress of the past week. But as Adriana exited the examination room into the private side corridor, a figure stepped out from the utility closet.
It was Celeste Marquetti.
She looked unhinged. Her designer clothes were rumpled, her hair frizzy, her eyes wide with the manic energy of someone who had lost everything in less than twelve hours.
"You," Celeste hissed, pointing a trembling finger at Adriana. "You ruined my life! My father was arrested three hours ago! Our accounts are frozen! We are evicted!"
Adriana stumbled back, her hand flying to her belly. "Celeste, stay away from me."
"Why does he care about you?!" Celeste screamed, stepping forward, pulling a small, silver paring knife from her purse. It wasn't a professional weapon, but in the hands of a desperate woman, it was lethal. "You’re nothing! A nobody! If it wasn't for you, Damon would have signed the papers!"
Before Celeste could take another step, a hand of absolute iron clamped around her wrist.
Damon had appeared from the shadows like a wraith. With a single, brutal twist, he forced Celeste to drop the knife. It clattered to the linoleum floor. He didn't throw her down; he simply held her wrist with enough pressure to make her drop to her knees in agonizing pain.
"I warned your father," Damon said, his voice so quiet it was almost a lover's whisper, yet filled with an ancient, terrifying wrath. "And now, I am warning you. Touch her, look at her, think about her again, and I will ensure you spend the next thirty years in a maximum-security mental institution. Do you understand me?"
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Celeste wept, her pride completely shattered, nodding frantically against the pain. Damon flung her hand away in disgust and immediately turned to Adriana, his hands checking her face, her shoulders, his composure instantly shattering into raw panic. "Are you hurt? Did she touch you?"
"I'm okay," Adriana gasped, but as she spoke, a sudden, sharp pain flared deep within her abdomen. She gasped, grabbing Damon's lapels as her legs gave out. "Damon... something's wrong. The baby..."
