Chapter 241 I Have A Daughter Savannah “Savannah!” Alyssa’s voice cut sharply through the haze. I barely registered her as I tore the IV from my wrist, ignoring the sharp sting and the sudden warmth of blood trailing down my skin. Pain meant nothing. Nothing mattered except Roman. With my legs already swung off the bed, dizziness threatened to knock me flat, but rage anchored me upright. Rage and fear and the gnawing certainty that something was happening without me—something irreversible. “Savannah, wait!” Alyssa shouted, scrambling after me as I stormed into the hallway. Emily who was asleep on the couch followed after mom too, calling out to her. I didn’t slow. The hospital corridor stretched endlessly ahead of me, polished floors reflecting the harsh lights overhead. Nurses turned. Doctors paused mid-conversation. Someone called my name. Someone else gasped when they noticed my gown half open, my bare feet slapping against the cold tiles, blood dripping steadily from my wrist. I didn’t care. I was looking for one man. And that's my mission. Then I spotted him. General Reginald Blackwood stood near the nurses’ station, flanked by doctors and men in black suits who didn’t bother pretending they weren’t armed. He was shaking hands, nodding with that cold, detached authority that made my stomach churn. Like this was just another transaction. Another acquisition. Like my husband wasn’t lying unconscious somewhere behind those walls. Like Roman wasn’t about to be stolen from me. I marched straight toward him. The bodyguards moved in unison, stepping directly into my path. “Get out of my way,” I hissed. “Step back, madam,” one of them said evenly. “We wouldn’t want to hurt you.” I laughed—short, sharp, unhinged. “Hurt me?” I spat, peering past them to where the General stood watching me with thinly veiled contempt. “That’s rich, coming from you people.” “Sav!” Alyssa cried behind me. “Stop!” I ignored her. “The Almighty General Blackwood,” I shouted, my voice echoing through the corridor. Heads snapped in our direction. Conversations died. “What’s the matter? Too scared to face a little girl without your army around you?” The bodyguards tensed, hands inching closer to their weapons. But the General didn’t move. He simply stared at me, eyes narrowing slightly, his grip tightening around the cane in his hand. His expression remained carved from stone—cold, unreadable, utterly unbothered. No matter how hard I tried, I could never read this man. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. And that infuriated me. And the sight of his calm only fueled the inferno burning inside me. “I’m all alone, you know,” I continued loudly, spreading my arms wide. “It’s just me now. Roman’s not here with me anymore. So why are you still skulking around like a coward? What are you afraid of, huh?” Silence fell heavy and suffocating.A small crowd had gathered—nurses, doctors, patients, curious onlookers drawn by the spectacle of a woman unraveling in a hospital gown. I felt their eyes on me, but instead of shame, I felt power. This was his nightmare. Public attention. Scrutiny. And I was done being quiet. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing?” I shouted. “You think I don’t see through you? You’re transferring Roman to your manor without telling me! Without my consent! You’re trying to take him away from me while he can’t fight back!” A murmur rippled through the crowd. “You know damn well if Roman were conscious, he’d never step foot in that cursed house again!” My voice cracked, but I forced myself to keep going. “But because he’s in a coma, you think you can drag him back there like he's your property!” “Savannah,” Alyssa pleaded, grabbing my arm. “Please. You’re going to get yourself killed.” I ripped my arm free, pointing straight at the General. “And don’t think I don’t see what you’re really doing!” I screamed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you paid these doctors to drug me, to keep me sedated so you could move him without me getting in your way! You think this is how you’ll break us apart? You think you can control his life just because he can’t speak for himself or make his own decisions himself?” My chest heaved. My throat burned. “Well, think again!” I roared. “Because I will not let you win this round, General! You will not take him away!” For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath. Then he finally spoke. “Are you finished, Miss Hart?” His voice was calm. Measured. Almost bored. Like I was nothing more than a nuisance interrupting his day. As if I’d done nothing more than throw a childish tantrum. The dismissal hit harder than any insult and sliced deeper than any blade. Alyssa grabbed my arm again, desperation etched into her face. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she whispered harshly. “Are you trying to get us all killed? Are you forgetting you’re pregnant?” I turned to snap back at her—but instead felt her hand connect with my face. The sound was sharp. Echoing. My head whipped to the side, pain blooming across my cheek. For a moment, I didn’t even register what had happened. I just stared at the floor, stunned, breath caught somewhere between my lungs and my heart. “Stop it, Savannah!” Alyssa shouted, tears streaking down her face. “Enough! We’ve had enough horrors to last us a lifetime!” I slowly lifted my gaze to her. “I just lost my Dad,” she continued, voice breaking. “We’ve lost Chloe. We’ve lost two people whose names I can barely remember. That’s enough! You don’t get to add yourself or anyone else to that list!” Her chest rose and fell violently as she gestured toward Emily, who clung to her leg, eyes wide with fear. “I have a daughter,” Alyssa said hoarsely. “And unlike you, I want to live long enough to see her grow up. I care about my child, Savannah. So stop this. Please.” The words hit harder than the slap. I looked at Emily. At her tiny hands gripping her mother’s jeans. At the terror etched into her small face. Then I turned back to him.General Blackwood regarded the scene with detached interest. But once again, I saw his eyes find their way back to Emily. Then he looked away. “More intense than I anticipated,” he said coolly. “I often wonder how you and my son ever crossed paths. That was never meant to happen.” I scoffed, anger surging back to the surface. “Well, it did. And guess what else happened?” I stepped forward, ignoring the bodyguards’ warning looks. “I’m pregnant.” He just stared. No expression. “I’m saying it out loud,” I continued, my voice steady despite the tremor in my hands, “so that if anything happens to me or to the child I’m carrying, everyone here will remember this moment.” He raised an eyebrow. “Surprised?” I pressed. “You shouldn’t be. You accused me of forcing this child on Roman earlier, but you conveniently left out the reason he’s afraid of becoming a father. Should I enlighten everyone here about what you put him through? About why—” “Enough!” he roared.The force of his voice silenced the room instantly. His eyes were cold and dangerous. “How dare you think you can threaten me,” he said quietly, menace laced through every syllable. “Who do you think you are?” I didn’t flinch. “I am angry,” I said. “I am grieving. And I am pregnant. So do not mess with me.” For a long moment, we stared at each other. Then he spoke again. “So what is it you want, Miss Hart? What is the purpose of this… spectacle?” I swallowed. “You’re taking the love of my life away from me,” I said. “And I’m going with him. Wherever you take Roman, I go too.” Silence stretched for a minute. Then, unexpectedly, he agreed. “Very well,” he said. I blinked. “You may accompany us to Blackwood Manor.”The words landed with a chill far colder than fear. I hadn’t just won access to Roman now. But I had stepped directly into the lion’s den. Blackwood Manor was General Blackwood's territory. And I had no idea of what to expect. At this point I knew I had won the battle. And walked straight into the war…