Chapter 305: No One Came to Sign

The operating-room doors swung shut, leaving the nurse's final question hanging in the corridor.

Where was the family?

Paige Lawson's temporary caregiver stood alone beneath the harsh fluorescent lights. She called Catherine Holloway again. The call rang until it disconnected.

She tried Grant next.

No answer.

Inside the operating room, the medical team moved quickly. The pregnancy could not be saved. Their priority was stopping the hemorrhage before Paige's condition deteriorated further.

Outside, the caregiver paced between rows of empty chairs. She had been hired to prepare meals and help Paige move around the villa, not make emergency medical decisions. When the consent form arrived, she held the pen as if it might burn her.

"I am not a relative," she repeated.

"We have documented the emergency and the failed contact attempts," the nurse said. "The attending physician has authorized the procedure. Stay available in case anyone calls back."

No one did.

Hours later, Paige woke beneath a thin hospital blanket. Pain radiated through her abdomen, dense and unrelenting. She tried to lift her hand, but even that small movement exhausted her.

The nurse noticed her open eyes and leaned closer. "Ms. Lawson, the surgery is over. You're stable, but you lost a significant amount of blood. You need rest."

Paige's lips barely moved. "The baby?"

Silence answered before the nurse did.

"I'm sorry."

Paige turned her face toward the wall.

The caregiver hovered near the window, twisting her hands. "I called everyone. Mr. Holloway, Mrs. Holloway, Miss Holloway. I kept calling."

Not one of them had come.

Paige closed her eyes. Catherine had guarded the pregnancy as if it were the family's most precious asset. Grant had promised to take responsibility. Victoria had alternated between threats and concern whenever it suited her.

Now the child was gone, and so were they.

"My phone," Paige whispered.

"You should rest."

"Give it to me."

The caregiver placed it in her trembling hand.

Paige called Grant first. The line rang unanswered. She called again, then sent a message that remained unread.

She tried Catherine.

This time, the call connected.

"What now?" Catherine's voice came coldly through the speaker.

Paige swallowed against the rawness in her throat. "The baby is gone."

There was a pause.

For one breath, Paige expected shock, grief, perhaps even the frantic concern Catherine had shown every time the pregnancy seemed threatened.

Instead, Catherine said, "You were warned to stop making trouble."

The line went dead.

Paige stared at the darkened screen, her fingers trembling.