"You're begging me, Harper?"
"You're actually begging me for the sake of that bastard in your belly?"
He shot to his feet, turning to Paula, who stood off to the side.
"Call your mother's hospital. Tell them to send an ambulance."
"Today, that bastard dies."
Paula's lips curled into a faint smile. She turned and walked out to the balcony to make the call.
I scrambled up from the floor, crawling on my hands and knees to Kieran's side, clutching the hem of his pants with everything I had.
"Kieran, I'm begging you. Don't hurt this child. You're angry right now. Once you've calmed down, we can talk about this properly."
"My brother. I'll call my brother right now. I'll have him come explain everything to you—"
Before I could finish, Kieran snapped. His foot slammed into my shoulder with full force.
"Harper! Either the bastard in your belly dies today."
"Or you die with it."
He hadn't held back at all. The kick sent me flying, and my temple cracked against the corner of the coffee table.
Blinding pain ripped through my skull. My vision went black, and I lost consciousness.
I didn't know how long I was out. Voices dragged me back.
"Mom, did something go wrong with the pills you've been giving Kieran? How else could that tramp have gotten pregnant?"
"Good thing I got those photos of her at the hotel the other day. Otherwise, everything we've done would've been exposed."
"But it looks like Kieran still trusts us, so that's something."
I cracked my eyes open the tiniest sliver. I was inside an ambulance. Paula had her back to me, whispering to someone in a doctor's coat.
From the way Paula addressed her, it had to be her mother.
In a flash, everything clicked into place.
Kieran had said he'd booked his physical at the biggest hospital in Ridgeport. The examining physician had been the deputy director.
That was Marilyn James's hospital. Marilyn James was the deputy director.
The realization hit like ice water. I squeezed my eyes shut, terrified they'd notice I was awake.
Marilyn let out a cold scoff, seemingly unbothered by her daughter's fretting.
"I've been slipping it to him as vitamins. He's probably too busy with work to notice the occasional missed dose."
"It doesn't matter. After this, Kieran will definitely divorce that little tramp. Once you two are married, he won't need the pills anymore."
"You should be grateful for those pills. Three years without a pregnancy. If it weren't for them, Kieran would've been so wrapped up in that woman he'd never have spared you a single glance."
I couldn't see Paula's face, but her voice took on a wheedling, almost coy tone.
"It's my own fault, Mom. I just had to go study abroad. By the time I came back, he was already with that tramp."
"But I have the best mom in the whole world. I owe it all to you."
After that, the two of them huddled together, murmuring back and forth. The gist was simple enough: move fast, wheel me straight into the operating room the moment we arrived.
My blood ran cold. But we hadn't reached the hospital yet. All I could do was keep pretending to be unconscious while my mind raced.
By the time the ambulance pulled up to the hospital, Kieran had already driven there himself and was waiting at the entrance.
The second the gurney rolled out, I forced my eyes open and grabbed the edge of his sleeve.
"Kieran. I need to talk to you."
Marilyn's gaze sharpened. She strode forward, cutting in before he could respond.
"Kieran, the operating room is all prepped. Don't worry. I've arranged for the head of obstetrics to perform the procedure personally. Everything will be fine."
