As they wheeled me into the operating room, the stark white walls seemed to close in, each heartbeat echoing in my ears like a drum.

Everything felt surreal, like I was watching someone else’s nightmare unfold. I focused on the thought of my babies, tiny lives waiting to enter this world, innocent and untouched by the chaos surrounding them.

The team moved swiftly. Lights overhead blurred into a single, blinding halo. Dr. Harper’s voice was calm, a steady anchor against the storm. “You’re in good hands, Nora. We’ll take care of you and the twins.”

As the anesthesia began to take effect, my thoughts drifted to the moments that had brought me here.

Derek had once been my partner in dreams, the man who promised the world under a sky full of stars. His descent into this stranger filled with venom and greed was a painful mystery I couldn’t unravel.

But right now, my focus had to be on survival—for myself and my children.