Janetta was moved to a private room. The OB-GYN stood by her bed, his expression incredibly grim.
"Ms. Ramirez, you need to make a decision quickly," he stated bluntly. "Continuing this pregnancy puts your life in extreme danger. The baby is severely unhealthy. Neither the heart nor the brain has fully developed. The longer we wait, the worse the complications will be."
The implication was clear: the pregnancy had to be terminated. The assistant trembled as she listened.
Janetta already knew. She had known the baby's grim prognosis from the moment she got pregnant. Reaching this critical point wasn't a surprise.
She clenched her fists tightly against the sheets. Even if she couldn't keep this baby, she was going to squeeze every last drop of leverage out of it.
She looked up at the doctor. "How much longer can I hold out?"
The doctor frowned severely. "About half a month. If we don't operate by then, the fetus won't survive anyway; the heartbeat is already fading. When that happens, your body will go into shock. Given your neurological condition, the consequences will be disastrous."
Janetta absorbed his words in icy silence.
"Ms. Ramirez, please, let's call Mr. Hayes," the assistant pleaded, unable to hold back her tears.
Ignoring her, Janetta turned back to the doctor. "I am going back to Riverton."
The doctor's face drained of color. "You can't travel like this..."
But the absolute resolve in her eyes told him that trying to convince her was useless. He sighed and gave up.
The assistant looked horrified as Janetta issued her order. "Book a flight. Tomorrow at the latest. We are going back to Riverton."
Having known her for years, Beau couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. When Sebastian married Helena and practically forced Janetta into exile, it had been a raw deal for her.
"I know," she said softly. "But Seb isn't answering my calls. I saw the reports from Riverton. I don't know how much of it is genuine and how much is an act. But if he did this just to force my hand... then I admit it. He won."
Her voice cracked, thick with unshed tears.
"I'm completely out of options. I never wanted to corner him. I just had no choice." She ended the sentence with a quiet sob.
"Helena hates me to the bone. Now that she has the upper hand, she'll never give me the chance to reach him," Janetta added.
Wrapped in her tearful narrative, Helena was effortlessly painted as the vicious mastermind keeping them apart.

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