Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

**Aria’s POV**

I hurried toward the group of women, my heart racing as I glanced between their faces, trying to gauge their expressions. “Why are they looking for the woman?” I asked, my voice steadier than I felt, though it trembled slightly at the edges.

They exchanged furtive glances, a silent conversation passing between them before they turned their eyes back to me.

“I think they mentioned something about compensating her,” one of them finally replied, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

A deep breath filled my lungs as I fought to suppress the fury that threatened to unravel my already frayed nerves. Compensate me? After my child had come so perilously close to death? I huffed in disbelief, shaking my head as I returned to my seat, feeling the weight of their gazes lingering on my back.

When the nurse finally called, “Lana?” I rose to my feet, cradling my little girl close against me. Her small arms wrapped around my neck, her warmth a soothing balm against my anxiety.