Chapter 45

"There is no baby!" Kiara screamed, thrashing against the restraints. The bindings creaked, her skin burning beneath them. "I told you it's not mine! You have no right!"

"Right?" Hannah let out a small laugh. "Since when has anything been fair?"

She drew back the plunger, the clear liquid rising slowly.

"I just want to confirm one thing."

Kiara swallowed hard, her mind racing.

"Don't take the bait. Don't confess. What if I really am pregnant..."

"I'm not pregnant," she repeated, quieter this time. "If you touch me, you're the one who's finished. The police are already watching you."

Hannah's step faltered. Her smile hardened.

"Your threats are cute," she said coldly. "You think I'm that stupid?"

She raised the needle, its tip glinting under the light. "Or..." Hannah tilted her head, fixing Kiara with a piercing stare. "Would you rather just be honest?"

The seconds hung suspended.

Cold sweat trailed down Kiara's temple. Outside, the faint creak of a metal door -- maybe wind, maybe footsteps.

Kiara met Hannah's eyes and forced herself to stay calm.

"Inject me," she said quietly, a challenge. "If you don't believe me."

Hannah froze. Their gazes locked, and between the needle, the clear vial, and the hatred thickening the air, Hannah's decision was one breath away.

"Go ahead -- inject me!" Kiara shouted, her breath ragged. "I already told you, nobody's pregnant! Alvar and I have never been intimate! How could I be pregnant? You think I'd want to be with a man who's still hung up on his past?"

The words landed.

Dr. Hannah's expression shifted -- not anger, but something touched. Her lips curved slowly into a smile that made the skin crawl. She brought her face close to Kiara's, too close.