Two hours later, the quiet waiting room of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital was bathed in the soft glow of fluorescent lights. Lucas sat in a hard plastic chair, his white shirt stained with dust from the marble floor, his head resting in his hands as he waited for news.
The heavy double doors of the trauma wing pushed open, and Dr. Harrison walked out, pulling off his surgical mask.
Lucas: *Standing up instantly* Doctor! How is she?! How is the baby?!
Dr. Harrison: Take a deep breath, Mr. Vance. It's good news.
Lucas let out a long, shaky exhale, sinking back slightly against the wall as tears pricked his eyes.
Dr. Harrison: Because you caught her and absorbed the primary impact, her body didn't slam against the hard marble floor. She sustained minor bruising on her left side and mild shock, but the ultrasound shows the baby's heart rate is strong and completely stable.
Lucas: Oh thank God... thank God...
Dr. Harrison: We're keeping her overnight for observation, but both mother and child are going to make a full recovery. She's awake and asking to see you.
Lucas walked quickly down the quiet hospital corridor, pushing open the door to Room 314. Clara lay in the hospital bed, an IV line hooked to her arm, her hands resting protectively over her swollen stomach.
Lucas: Hey... how are you feeling?
Clara: *Smiling weakly* Like I fell off a balcony... but the doctor said our little girl is a fighter.
Lucas: A girl? It's a girl?
Clara: Yeah... a little girl. I was going to name her Grace, after our grandmother.
Lucas walked over to the side of the bed, sitting in the armchair and taking Clara's hand gently in his own.
Lucas: Grandma Grace would have loved that. She was the toughest woman in Texas.
Clara: Lucas... what happened to Evelyn? Did the police take her?
Lucas: She's locked in a holding cell downtown. The District Attorney is filing formal charges without bail. She's never coming back to the estate, Clara.
Clara: *Looking down at her hands* It feels so strange... all my life, my mother told me stories about Dad's family... but I thought everyone in that mansion would hate me.
Lucas: Evelyn hated you because you represented the truth. But Dad loved your mother, Clara. In his private desk drawer, I found a whole photo album of you as a baby. He never forgot about you.
Clara's eyes filled with fresh tears, but this time they were tears of relief and comfort.
Clara: He really kept photos of me?
Lucas: Hundreds of them. Evelyn kept him away from you with legal threats, but he left instructions in his private trust that you were to receive the mansion and fifty percent of the company shares on your twenty-fifth birthday.
Clara: Tomorrow is my twenty-fifth birthday...
Lucas: Happy early birthday, little sister. Welcome home.