Chapter 31

Elena adjusted the blazer over her shoulders, smoothing it down where it hugged the growing curve of her stomach. Five months had passed since the gunshot that nearly claimed her life, and the scar on her side had settled into a faint, silvery line—a permanent mark of survival she wore with quiet pride. The pain was gone now, erased by months of grueling physical therapy and sheer stubborn will. She stood taller today, her body strong again, ready to step back into the world she’d been forced to leave behind. As the heiress of Horizon Resort, a sprawling luxury retreat her family had built from the ground up, she’d always carried a legacy on her shoulders. Now, with a baby on the way, that legacy felt even heavier—and more precious. Her belly, at four months pregnant, was starting to show, a soft swell that pressed against her tailored clothes. She rested a hand there, feeling a faint flutter—her little one, growing bit by bit, a reminder of what she’d fought to protect. The pregnancy had been a shock, a fragile hope born in the chaos of her recovery, but it had anchored her through the darkest days. Now, fully healed, she was ready to reclaim her place at Horizon.