Warren Hawkins got wind of what happened at home while he was still in his meeting.
He walked through the door looking darker than a thundercloud. Without even taking off his coat, he made a beeline for Hailey Castro.
Hailey was holding the baby, his little face covered with a damp cloth, still whimpering, his cheeks red and dotted with blisters.
"What happened?" Warren’s voice came out low and heavy, like the air itself was weighed down.
Hailey looked up, eyes swollen and red, voice shaking. "Mr. Hawkins, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked Mrs. Hawkins to handle the coffee. She must have done it by accident... the baby’s face got burned, and the doctor said there might be a scar."
She kept talking in front of Warren, never once directly blaming Liberty Phillips, but every single word pointed right at her.
Warren turned to look at Liberty. She stood by the coffee table, her left hand hanging limp at her side, swollen fingers still trembling.
She opened her mouth to explain—it wasn’t like that, Hailey was the one who squeezed her hand. But before she could get a word out, Warren was on her.
The slap came so hard it sent her sprawling sideways, her forehead smacking into the corner of the coffee table.
"I thought you were just being difficult. Never figured you for cruel."
Liberty lay on the floor, ears ringing. Words of defense rose to her lips, but all that came out was the metallic taste of blood from her split lip.
Everything blurred to black. The last thing she heard was the shuffle of feet—Warren carrying the child away, Hailey following, and the rest of the staff trailing after them.
No one tended to her.
When Liberty woke, all she saw was white.
Someone had brought her to the hospital.
Her broken fingers had been reset and bandaged. The pain still throbbed, but at least it had dulled.
A nurse came in, holding a stack of reports.
"Ms. Phillips, your test results are back."
Liberty took them, her eyes skimming the dense medical terms before stopping on a line halfway down.
Four weeks pregnant.
She was pregnant.
Pregnant at the exact moment she wanted nothing more than to divorce Warren Hawkins. A sudden emptiness washed over her.
But as she stared at the stark print, her mind fought against it while her body’s instinct took over.
Without thinking, she placed her hand on her stomach, gently stroking it.
"Baby," she whispered to herself, so softly even she barely heard it, "Why now?"
The door swung open.
Warren came in after the baby’s check-up, Hailey trailing behind him. The baby had ointment smeared on his face and was already asleep.
Warren stopped when he saw Liberty was awake, his gaze flicking to the report in her hand.
Liberty didn’t have time to hide it.
Hailey leaned in, glanced at it, and her expression shifted in a heartbeat.
She snatched the report, eyes glued to the word "pregnant," then shot a look back at Liberty, a strange mix of emotions on her face.
"You’re pregnant?" Hailey could barely believe it.
Warren paused, his eyes lingering on the paper.
He studied it for a few seconds, then his brow started to crease, his mouth opening to speak.
"Mr. Hawkins." Hailey cut him off.
She shifted the baby in her arms. "The announcement came out just a week ago, saying Mrs. Hawkins gave birth. Now she’s pregnant, four weeks along. If you do the math, she was already carrying when you made the announcement."
Warren’s words died in his throat.
"No woman can have two kids at the same time, unless they’re twins," Hailey added casually, glancing down at the baby in her arms like it was just a passing remark.
The room went dead silent.
Warren stood at the foot of the bed, quiet for a long moment.
His brows went from a slight furrow to a hard line, his gaze shifting between Liberty’s face and her stomach.
Then, he broke the silence.
"Terminate the pregnancy."
