Chapter 72 Yusuf's Invitation

• No one spoke for almost a full minute. In the cramped hospital room, the only sound was the heart monitor, beating steadily like a countdown that never ended. Aleksander stood rigid near the bed, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white. He did not look at anyone. His gaze had fallen to the floor, to something far beneath the white tiles.
• "Pregnant," he repeated at last, barely making a sound.
• "Ten weeks," Wilhelmina said. "The Council received the lab results two weeks ago. That's why the threatening message was sent now, not last month."