He strode quickly to my side, removing his suit jacket and carefully draping it over my frozen, soaked body.
As he lifted me into his strong arms, I felt the faint tremor in his muscles. The eyes that usually carried warmth and quiet smiles now brimmed with tears, burning with anger and heartbreak.
“You finally came…” My voice was barely a whisper, my eyelids heavy as lead.
Michael glanced down at me, his eyes instantly hardening into ice before he turned to face Daniel. His voice was sharp with fury: “You tortured Emma like this. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”
“She’s my wife! How I treat her is our family business—none of your damn concern!” Daniel shouted, his bravado masking his guilt.
“Family business?” Michael scoffed, holding me tighter.
“I’ve never heard of a husband locking his wife, on the verge of giving birth, in a walk-in freezer—drenching her with ice water and crushing her with ice blocks. That’s not family business. That’s a crime.”
Trying to stay calm, Daniel pointed at Vivian. “She bullied Vivian first! She made her climb stairs while pregnant. I was just standing up for her!”
“Vivian?” Michael’s eyes swept over the woman hiding behind Daniel like she was filth. “That pathetic mistress clinging to your side?”
Vivian bristled instantly, screeching, “Who are you calling a mistress? Emma bullied me, and Mr. Miller defended me! She didn’t even die!”
“You two worthless mongrels think you can ‘teach’ Emma a lesson?” Michael’s voice thundered.
“You’re not even worthy of standing in the same room with the Carter family.”
Vivian opened her mouth to argue, but Daniel yanked her back sharply. His face was pale, his voice low and urgent: “Shut up!”
Everyone knew Michael’s influence in New York City. To cross him was to risk seeing Miller Corporation collapse overnight.
Michael no longer wasted a glance on them. Instead, he looked down at me, speaking softly: “Emma, I’ll take you home.”
“You can’t take her! She belongs to me—she’s part of the Miller family!” Daniel shouted desperately.
Michael looked down at me. My whole body trembled, but I closed my eyes weakly. I didn’t want to spend another second here.
He understood. Raising his head, he spoke coldly to Daniel: “If you want her back, come to the Anderson estate yourself.”
Daniel opened his mouth but fell silent, unable to utter a word.
Michael carried me out. At the doorway, he stopped and tossed back one final sentence without looking: “In the meantime, consider this interest for Emma. You two can stay here and enjoy the cold.”
The freezer door slammed shut behind us, locking Daniel and Vivian inside with their screams echoing until silence fell.
I was rushed into an ambulance, my icy hand gripping Michael’s jacket tightly. My voice cracked: “Michael… save my baby… please… save him…”
“Don’t worry. I will…” His voice trembled despite his resolve.
Hearing his promise, the tension inside me finally snapped. Darkness swallowed me whole.
When I awoke again, the blinding white light made me dizzy. Instinctively, I reached for my belly—flat. The emptiness pierced through me like a blade.
“My baby…” I sat up abruptly, my voice raw and broken.
By my bedside, Michael’s bloodshot eyes and unshaven face revealed his exhaustion. He looked like he’d aged years in days. Bowing his head, his voice was heavy as stone. “Emma… I’m sorry. The freezer was too cold. Your body temperature dropped to dangerous levels. The baby… couldn’t survive.”
