Chapter 5 - The Gift of Life
For three agonizing days, Grace lay in an medically induced coma at Greenwich Hospital.
Grant remained at the hospital the entire time. He moved Kiara and her brothers into a private executive suite at the medical center, ensuring they had hot meals, tutors, and round-the-clock support.
On the fourth morning, the sun broke through the hospital blinds.
Grace’s eyes fluttered open.
The room was quiet, filled with the soft hum of heart monitors. Sitting in the chair beside her bed was Grant, his suit wrinkled, holding a small, warm bundle wrapped in a blue blanket.
Grace’s breath hitched, terror instantly rushing through her chest. She reached for her stomach—it was flat.
"My baby..." Grace choked out, tears streaming down her face. "Oh God, my baby... Marcus's baby..."
Grant immediately stood up, leaning over the bed with a soft, gentle smile. "Grace... calm down. Look."
He carefully placed the warm bundle into her arms.
Inside the blanket lay a tiny, beautiful baby boy. His skin was warm, his little chest rising and falling rhythmically, his tiny dark curls soft against Grace's touch.
"He's alive?" Grace wept, clutching her son to her chest, kissing his forehead again and again. "He's alive?!"
"He's a fighter, just like his mother," Grant said softly, his own eyes shining with unshed tears. "The emergency C-section was touch-and-go, but the pediatric team saved him. He’s healthy, Grace."
Grace buried her face in her baby’s blanket, sobbing tears of pure, overwhelming gratitude.
"Vanessa..." Grace whispered, looking up at Grant with lingering fear.
"Vanessa is in a federal holding facility," Grant assured her firmly. "Her bail was denied. Her father tried to pay off the judge, but the video evidence from the chandelier was released to the district attorney. She is facing fifteen to twenty years in prison without the possibility of early parole. She will never hurt you or anyone else ever again."
Grace took a deep, shuddering breath, feeling the heavy dark cloud that had hovered over her life finally lift away.
"What did you name him?" Grant asked gently.
May you like
Grace looked down at her son, who opened his tiny dark eyes, looking up at his mother.
"Isaiah," Grace whispered softly. "Isaiah Marcus Bennett."
