My Boss's Hidden Heir (Elara and Marcus) novel Chapter 151

Chapter 151

Elara’s POV

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Dr. Sarah’s office felt colder than usual. Or maybe that was just Elara’s nerves making everything seem hostile and sterile. She sat on the examination table in a paper gown, her hands resting on her stomach while Mimi paced by the window.

“How long does an ultrasound usually take?” Mimi asked.

“Depends on what they’re looking for.”

Dr. Sarah had been in the ultrasound room for twenty minutes now with the technician, both of them studying the screen with expressions that made Elara’s chest tight. Too many hushed whispers. Too many concerned glances.

Finally the door opened and Dr. Sarah walked in alone. She pulled up a stool and sat down, her face carefully neutral in that way doctors had when they were about to deliver bad news.

“Elara, I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Baby B’s condition has deteriorated significantly since your last appointment.”

The room blurred immediately. Elara gripped the edge of the table. “How bad?”

“The heart rate is weaker than I’d like to see. The growth measurements are falling further behind. And the amniotic fluid levels around Baby B are critically low while Baby A’s levels are too high. The twin-to-twin transfusion is progressing faster than we hoped.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we need to deliver soon, like soon. If we wait much longer, we risk losing Baby B entirely.”

Mimi stopped pacing. “How soon are we talking?”

“Ideally within the week. I’d like to get Elara to twenty-nine weeks if possible, but we’re at twenty-eight weeks and three days now. Every day counts for lung development, but every day also increases the risk to Baby B.”

Elara felt tears streaming down her face. Twenty-eight weeks. Her babies were supposed to have twelve more weeks to grow, to get strong, to be ready for the world. And instead they’d be ripped out early, fighting for their lives in incubators.

“Will they survive?” The question came out broken.

“Babies born at twenty-eight weeks have very good survival rates in our NICU. Around ninety percent. But they’ll need significant medical intervention. Breathing support, feeding tubes, possibly surgery depending on what complications arise.”

“And Baby B specifically?”

The doctor’s expression softened. “Baby B is the weaker twin. I won’t lie to you about that. The heart issues we’re seeing could require immediate surgery after birth. But our neonatal team is one of the best in the

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Chapter 151

country. If any babies can make it through this, yours can.”

ST

E5 vouchers

Elara pulled out her phone with shaking hands. She needed to call Marcus, needed to tell him their babies were coming early, needed him here to hold her hand and tell her it would be okay even if it wouldn’t.

The call went straight to voicemail. Right. The board meeting. He’d told her it would probably last all morning.

She tried again anyway. Voicemail.

“I need to schedule the C-section,” Elara said. “When can we do it?”

“I have operating rooms available Thursday morning. That gives us three more days to get you on steroids for the babies’ lung development and to prepare the NICU team.”

“Thursday. Okay.”

Dr. Sarah stood and put a hand on Elara’s shoulder. “I know this is terrifying. But we’re going to take excellent care of you and your babies. You’re not alone in this.”

After Dr. Sarah left to schedule the surgery, Elara sat on the exam table and let herself cry. Mimi wrapped her arms around her and didn’t say anything, just held her while she fell apart.

“Marcus is going to lose his mind,” Elara said finally.

“He’s already losing his mind over the board meeting. This might actually push him over the edge.”

“I need to tell him. As soon as he’s out of that meeting, I need to tell him the babies are coming.”

Elara tried calling again. Still voicemail. She sent a text instead.

Elara: Call me when you can. It’s about the babies.

The reply came quickly.

Marcus: Still in meeting. Everything okay?

Elara: Just call me when you’re done. I love you.

Marcus: Love you too. Almost finished here.

Mimi helped Elara get dressed and they checked out at the front desk. The scheduler handed Elara a packet of information about cesarean sections and NICU procedures. Reading material for the next three days while she waited to have her children cut out of her body twelve weeks too early.

They drove back to the penthouse in silence. Elara stared out the window at the city passing by, thinking about how everything had gone so wrong so fast. Two weeks ago her biggest problem had been Aurora wearing Marcus’s shirt. Now she was scheduling emergency surgery to save her dying baby while her husband fought to keep his company.

Her phone buzzed in her lap. Unknown number. Elara almost ignored it but something made her open the

17:00 Mon, May 11 M…

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