Chapter 8 - The Falling EmpireThe arrest was quick. As the police took her out in cuffs, she didn't look back at me. She only looked at the empty apartment, her eyes wide with the realization that the empire she had built on lies had collapsed in a single morning.

I didn't watch her go. I went straight back to the hospital, where Clara was finally resting.
The doctor informed me that the stress had caused early contractions, but the baby was fine. The laceration on her shoulder was deep but wouldn't require more than stitches and rest.
"Is she gone?" Clara asked as I walked into the room.
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"She’s gone," I whispered, sitting beside her. "She’s never coming back."
Clara reached out, her hand finding mine. The silence that followed wasn't the suffocating quiet of the apartment; it was the peaceful silence of a truth finally revealed. We had survived the ultimate betrayal, and in doing so, we had forged a bond that nothing could break.