Chapter 3 - The Surviving Twin
The nurse stopped in front of them, breathing heavily, her eyes filled with a heavy, sympathetic sorrow.
“Maya... Mr. Miller,” the nurse said softly, her voice trembling. “The doctors did everything humanly possible. We... we lost your sister.”
Maya closed her eyes, letting out a shattered sob that tore straight from her ribs.
“What about the babies?” Gabriel asked, his voice shaking as he stood up, his eyes darting toward the bundle in the nurse's arms. “The twins—did they...?”
“One of them didn't survive the emergency delivery; the complications were too severe,” the nurse whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. “But the little girl... she’s fighting. She’s tiny, barely four pounds, and she’s currently stabilized in the neonatal intensive care unit.”
Maya opened her eyes, looking down at the tiny bundle in the nurse's arms. A microscopic hand, no larger than a matchstick, poked out from beneath the yellow blanket, curling its fingers weakly into the air.
For a fraction of a second, the overwhelming tide of grief receded, replaced by an instinctual, fierce wave of protection. This little girl was Gemma’s legacy. She was the only piece of her sister left in the world.
“Can I hold her?” Maya asked, her voice cracking.
“Just for a moment,” the nurse replied gently, shifting the infant into Maya’s trembling arms.
Maya cradled the fragile newborn against her chest, marveling at how impossibly light she felt. The baby let out a tiny, mewing sound, her miniature chest rising and falling in a fragile rhythm.
Gabriel stepped closer, peering over Maya’s shoulder, his expression a tangled mess of grief, guilt, and calculating panic. “We need to figure out the birth certificate and guardianship paperwork, Maya. With Gemma gone, and assuming the trust terms transfer automatically to the surviving parent—”
Maya turned her head slowly, fixing Gabriel with a stare so cold it could have frozen boiling water.
“You are not her parent, Gabriel,” Maya said, her voice terrifyingly steady. “You are a fraudster who married a vulnerable young woman under false pretenses. And as of right now, I am going to make sure every court, every judge, and every federal investigator in this state knows exactly what you did.”
May you like
Gabriel’s face hardened, the mask of remorse slipping away to reveal the cold, ambitious opportunist underneath. “You can’t touch that trust, Maya. My name is co-signed on every single asset. If you try to fight me, I will strip this baby of her inheritance before she even leaves the hospital.”
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