The MC President's Forsaken Wife (Zara and Knox) novel Chapter 411

Chapter 201-3

Chapter 201-3

+25 Points

“She brought my sister back, and nobody in this club will ever forget it,” Mayhem says quietly, stepping in to break the silence. “She’s safe at the clubhouse, Zara.”

Dad nods. “She did right by her family. The club protects its own.”

Before anyone else can speak, a soft knock sounds at the doorframe.

A doctor steps into the room, carrying a digital tablet under her arm and a plastic bottle of ultrasound gel in her hand.

“Good evening, I’m Dr. Kline,” she says. “I’m here to run the bedside ultrasound and check on the gestational sac and heart rate. We want to make sure there’s no sign of placental abruption, internal bleeding, or distress after the trauma you experienced tonight.”

Mayhem snaps upright from where he was leaning against the wall.

“Distress?” Mayhem echoes. “What do you mean distress? Is the baby in trouble? Are you saying something’s wrong?”

Dr. Kline remains completely composed, holding up a hand to cool the rising temperature in

the room.

“It’s standard procedure after any physical trauma or blunt force impact, sir. We test to ensure the placenta is holding firm and the heart rate is stable. We aren’t assuming the worst … we’re confirming the best.”

Dad immediately takes a step back toward the door, his boots squeaking against the linoleum. “We’ll give you some room, Doc. We’ll wait out in the hallway.”

“Yeah, go ahead, Zara.” Mayhem uncrosses his arms, gesturing toward the corridor. “Take your time.”

“No,” I say quickly, reaching out toward my brother’s sleeve with my free hand. “Stay. Both of you. Please.”

Dad pauses mid-step, looking down at me in genuine surprise, while Mayhem hesitates, glancing nervously between the ultrasound machine and me.

“You don’t have to leave,” I say, holding my father’s gaze before turning to my brother. “You’re my family, and this baby is part of this family. I want you both in this room.”

Dad’s broad chest heaves in a quiet breath. The hard, unyielding club President melts away entirely, leaving just a grandfather moved to his very core.

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Chapter 201-3

+25 Points

He nods and steps back to the side of the bed, placing his huge hand over the metal headboard above my pillow, while Mayhem walks up beside him, his gaze fixed intently on the quiet monitor.

“I’m ready,” I say, squeezing Locke’s hand tightly. “I just want to hear the heartbeat, Dad. I need to know everything’s okay with the baby.”

“Alright, then,” Dr. Kline says, setting her tablet aside on the bedside table and pulling the mobile ultrasound cart closer to the edge of the mattress. “Let’s take a look at our little

survivor.”

She gently pulls up my hospital gown and lowers the cotton sheet, exposing my lower stomach to the cool, conditioned air of the room. In the dim overhead light, the sight brings a sharp, collective intake of breath from the men standing around me.

A wide, nasty dark red and purple bruise is already blooming across the right side of my abdomen. It’s a violent, ugly mark left behind where I was hit during the fight in the alley.

At the sight, Locke’s hand tightens around mine until my fingers feel numb, his knuckles turning stark white in the dim light.

“Doctor,” Locke says, his voice laced with sudden, raw panic. “Look at that bruise. Is that – did that fucker hit the uterus?”

“It’s superficial tissue bruising,” Dr. Kline reassures him. “I know it looks terrible, but the abdominal wall took the brunt of the force. We’re going to check the baby and the placental right now to be absolutely sure.”

She squirts a generous dollop of clear gel onto my skin. I flinch slightly at the chill, but Locke immediately leans over, pressing his warm lips against my temple.

“I’ve got you, baby. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

The doctor places the plastic transducer against my lower stomach, pressing gently down through the gel, and angles the small gray monitor toward the four of us.

And now there’s static: a low, hum of white noise echoing from the cart’s small speaker, sounding like the rushing of a distant river or wind through the trees. The room goes entirely, suffocatingly quiet.

Nobody breathes, nobody moves.

Locke holds his breath so hard his broad chest stays completely still, his eyes glued to the black-and-fluid-gray screen with a desperate, unyielding intensity. Dad stands like a statue above me, while Mayhem leans over Dad’s shoulder.

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Chapter 201-3

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Five seconds pass. Then ten. Nothing but the empty white noise of static filling the air.

My chest tightens so hard I can barely draw air into my lungs.

“Dr. Kline?” My voice shakes, thin and terrified. “Shouldn’t… shouldn’t we be hearing the heartbeat by now? Where’s the heartbeat?”

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