. CHAPTER 3 — The Man Who Came Up Changed
Daniel broke the surface with Amelia in his arms, dragging in air while holding her head above water.
“Amelia! Look at me!” he shouted.
She coughed violently, choking pool water onto his shoulder. Her hair stuck to her face. Her cream dress clung to her body. Both hands were still locked over her stomach as if she could shield the baby from the world itself.
“Call 911!” Daniel roared.
Someone finally moved.
A waiter dropped a tray. A woman fumbled with her phone. Guests backed away from the edge, no longer pretending this was an accident that polite people could ignore.
Daniel lifted Amelia toward the stone ledge. Two men helped pull her out. He climbed after her and knelt beside her, soaked from head to toe, his black suit dripping onto the patio.
Noah threw himself beside her.
“Amelia, please,” the boy sobbed. “Please wake up.”
“I’m here,” Amelia whispered, though her voice was almost gone. She reached for his hand. “I’m here, honey.”
Daniel pressed his palm against her cheek. His hand shook.
“Are you hurt? Is the baby moving?”
Amelia swallowed hard. Her eyes filled with tears. “She moved underwater. I felt her.”
For one moment, Daniel closed his eyes, relief and terror fighting across his face.
Then he looked up.
Vanessa stood five feet away, one hand at her throat, playing shock for the crowd. She had taken off her sunglasses. Her eyes were wet, but not with fear—only calculation.
“Daniel,” she said. “I swear, she slipped.”
Noah stood so fast he nearly fell. “No, she didn’t!”
“Sweetheart, you’re scared. You saw it wrong.”
Daniel rose slowly.
There was a difference between anger and what appeared on his face then. Anger burns fast. This was colder. He looked at Vanessa as if he were finally seeing someone who had been standing in front of him for years wearing a mask.
“My son says you pushed her,” he said.
Vanessa laughed once, too sharp. “Your son is a child.”
“And my wife is pregnant.”
The crowd went silent.
Vanessa’s expression flickered. “Daniel, think. You know me. I would never—”
“I thought I knew you.”
Amelia gripped the edge of a lounge chair and tried to sit up, but pain pulled through her abdomen. Daniel turned back instantly.
“No. Stay down.”
Sirens wailed in the distance.
Vanessa stepped closer. “Daniel, don’t let her turn this into drama. She’s always wanted everyone to pity her.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
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“Security,” he said without looking away from Amelia. “Lock the gates. No one leaves until police arrive.”
And Vanessa’s perfect face went pale.
