His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

**Claire’s POV**

Initially, I thought I had misheard her. Nothing?

Nothing?

The sounds escaping her were so unclear, a soft, muffled noise that hinted at her tears. It was the kind of sound that people make when they’re on the brink of breaking down, desperately trying to hold themselves together.

“Mom?”

Silence.

The house felt unnaturally still. Where was everyone? The clock on the wall ticked softly, a reminder of time passing, while the comforting aroma of cinnamon tea lingered in the air, yet everything felt profoundly wrong.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” I pressed again, stepping closer, my heart pounding in my chest.

That’s when I noticed her hands, trembling around a dish towel. Her shoulders shook slightly, as if she were trying to contain a storm within her.

A tightness gripped my chest. “Mom?”

Her head snapped up, and for a fleeting moment, the relief that washed over her features was almost overshadowed by something darker—guilt? “Claire,” she breathed out, her voice raw and shaky. “I’m okay. You must be tired from school.”

“What happened? Are you hurt?”

I didn’t know why I instinctively looked down, but when I did, my eyes widened at the sight of a dark, wet stain spreading through the towel she clutched. I followed the trail down to the floor, where a faint smear of red marred the otherwise pristine tiles.

Blood.

Panic surged violently within me. “Oh my God—Mom, you’re bleeding!”

She glanced down, as if the realization was dawning on her for the first time, and that terrified me even more. “It’s—it’s fine, honey,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “It’s just a little—”

“No, it’s not fine.” I was already kneeling beside her, grabbing another towel from the counter and pressing it gently against her… I didn’t even know where the blood was coming from. “We need to go to the hospital—”

She caught my wrist, her grip weak yet firm enough to halt my frantic movements. When I looked up, the expression on her face was not one of pain, but of utter devastation.

Her lips trembled as she spoke, “I lost it.”

My mind went blank. “Lost what?”

Tears filled her eyes, spilling down her cheeks as she whispered, “The baby.”

I instinctively shifted back, confusion crashing over me like a wave. The word felt foreign, as if it had been plucked from another reality entirely.

“The—baby?” What baby?

She nodded slowly, gripping the towel tighter, as if it were her lifeline. “I didn’t tell you yet because I wanted to be sure everything was safe. I was just over two months…” Her voice cracked on the last word, and she pressed the heel of her hand to her mouth, as if trying to stifle the sob that escaped.

Everything inside me froze in that moment.

Two months.

Two months since we moved into this house. Two months since she married Ethan. Two months since my life had begun spinning out of control, faster than I could grasp.

I hadn’t even known.

A low, broken sound escaped her throat, and she folded forward, shaking. “It was too soon, Claire. I—I should’ve been more careful, I should’ve—”

“Stop,” I said softly, even though my own voice trembled. “Don’t say that. It’s not your fault.”

But deep down, I questioned whether my words held the weight they needed to.

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