The most feared man in Chicago believed nothing on earth could make him tremble... until the woman he had thrown away was rushed past him in a hospital corridor—dying with his unborn child still inside her.

The silence lasted only three unbearable seconds.

Then—

A sharp cry pierced the operating wing.

Not Grace.

The baby.

Every doctor in the room stopped holding their breath at the same moment.

"We have a heartbeat!"

"The baby's breathing!"

A tiny cry echoed through the delivery room, growing stronger with every second.

Outside the operating theater, Ethan staggered backward until his shoulders struck the wall.

His knees nearly gave out.

Marcus caught his arm.

"Boss..."

Ethan shook him away.

"No."

His voice cracked.

"I don't deserve to stand."

Twenty minutes later, the chief surgeon stepped into the hallway, exhaustion written across his face.

"The baby survived."

Ethan closed his eyes.

His body almost collapsed with relief.

"And Grace?"

The doctor's silence answered first.

"We managed to restart her heart twice."

"She's alive."

"But she's lost a dangerous amount of blood."

"The next twenty-four hours will determine everything."

For the first time in his adult life...

Ethan Carter prayed.

Not for money.

Not for power.

Not for victory.

Only for one woman to open her eyes again.

Natalie stood several feet away, watching the man she thought she knew.

She had never seen him cry.

Until tonight.

Without saying another word, she quietly removed the engagement ring from her finger and placed it on the waiting room table.

Then she walked away forever.