Chapter 8 - New Life in the Dawn
The delivery room at St. Jude’s Memorial was quiet, filled with the steady, reassuring beep of heart monitors and the soft morning light filtering through the sheer curtains.
I sat beside Grace's bed, holding her hand tightly as she rested after eight hours of labor. Her face was washed clean, her hair brushed, and color had finally returned to her cheeks.
In the clear bassinet beside our bed, wrapped in a soft blue knitted blanket, slept our son, Noah. He had ten tiny fingers, a dusting of dark hair just like mine, and the calm, steady breathing of a healthy newborn.
Grace opened her eyes slowly, turning her head toward me with a tired, radiant smile.
"You brought him home, Ethan," she whispered softly.
I leaned over and kissed her forehead, then took her left hand. I pulled the platinum wedding band from my pocket—the ring I had found on the crib rail—and gently slid it back onto her ring finger.
"I will never leave your side again, Grace," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "No merger, no company, and no fortune is worth a single second away from you and our son."
May you like
She squeezed my fingers, looking over at Noah. "What happens to Caldwell House?"
"It gets sold," I answered without hesitation. "Every single dollar from the estate will go into a foundation to support victims of domestic abuse and corporate exploitation. We’re building our own life, Grace. Far away from those gilded gates."
