I had been confined in the villa for three days before they finally let me out.
The first thing I wanted to do…
was go see my grandmother.
I kept rubbing the soft cake in my pocket. It was her favorite flavor — she’d been talking about it for days.
My fingers had just brushed over the wrinkles of the wrapper when a sharp screech of brakes split the air.
Then—
impact.
My body lifted, like a kite with its string cut.
And then everything crashed.
A brutal jolt.
A tearing pain ripped through my lower abdomen.
Warmth spread down my legs.
My vision blurred, but through the chaos, I saw a black sedan in front of me — its rear lights glowing faintly.
And the license plate.
My heart clenched.
It was Liam’s car.
“…Help me…”
My hands trembled as I grabbed my phone, my fingers slippery, barely able to function.
I called him.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Nothing.
Just his voicemail.
I started typing, my hands shaking, my vision doubling:
> *Liam, I’ve been in a car accident. I’m bleeding so much…
> I’m pregnant with your child. Please come to the hospital.
> They need your signature for surgery.*
No reply.
No call back.
When the ambulance sirens arrived, everything around me was fading.
The pain grew unbearable, drowning out all sound.
And in the haze, I suddenly remembered his face the day he found out I was pregnant.
He had lifted me off the floor and spun me around the living room.
“I’m going to be a dad, Clara!”
“Our baby is going to be as kind as you. I’ll protect both of you — I’ll give you the best life in the world.”
He took me to baby stores.
Clumsily choosing cribs.
Tiny clothes.
Smiling like a fool.
“I’ll tell bedtime stories every night.”
“I’ll teach our kid to fly a kite… ride a bike… I’ll be the best father, Clara…”
Those promises…
Now they felt like poisoned needles, sinking straight into my heart.
---
When I opened my eyes again, I was under the blinding lights of the operating room.
The smell of disinfectant burned my lungs.
Pain radiated through my body.
I tried to sit up, but a nurse pressed me gently back down.
“Don’t move. We need to begin surgery.”
I forced air into my lungs.
“Did Liam come?” I whispered.
“They need his signature…”
The nurse shook her head, anxiety in her eyes.
“We can’t reach him. We’ve already delayed for thirty minutes. If we wait any longer, both you and the baby will be in danger.”
The door suddenly opened.
High heels clicked softly across the sterile floor.
“Isn’t this a coincidence?”
A familiar voice.
Vanessa.
She walked in, dressed in a white medical coat, her ID badge reflecting under the bright lights.
I had forgotten…
She had studied medicine.
She now worked in this exact hospital — in obstetrics.
A chill ran down my spine.
“Clara,” she said, taking off her mask slowly, a twisted smile on her lips.
“Of all the shifts… I happened to be on duty today.”
My heart pounded.
“What are you doing here?” I rasped.
“I want another doctor.”
“Another doctor?” She chuckled and waved the nurse outside.
“Right now, I’m the only one who gets to decide what happens to you.”
Her eyes were cold.
“Do you really think Liam will come?” she continued softly.
“He’s busy with me. Why would he care about someone he already threw away?”
She picked up a surgical instrument.
The metal glinted.
I trembled.
“I want anesthesia,” I pleaded.
“I won’t do this without anesthesia.”
Vanessa looked at me like I had just told her a joke.
“Anesthesia?”
Her head tilted slightly.
“You’re about to lose your baby, Clara.
Don’t you think you should *feel* it?”
She leaned closer, voice dropping.
“It would be such a waste to let you miss this experience.”
Pain exploded through my senses.
My scream echoed.
“Vanessa!” I cried, my body shaking.
“You’re insane! I’ll sue you!”
“Sue me?” She laughed quietly.
“You think anyone will believe you?
Liam will testify that you refused anesthesia yourself.”
She bent closer to my ear.
“And by the way… the person who hit you with the car?”
Her lips curved slowly.
“That was Liam.”
The world shattered.
Not just the pain.
Everything.
“He… did what…?” My voice cracked.
“Of course he did,” she smiled.
“Because the baby inside you wasn’t his.
It was Lucas’s.”
My blood froze.
“How could he let you give birth to another man’s child?”
“He wanted you both gone. In one clean move.”
Her hands moved again.
The cold metal.
The pressure.
My world dissolving.
“No…” I sobbed.
“My baby…”
“That child shouldn’t have existed,” she whispered.
“And neither should you.”
My vision faded.
But I forced my eyes open one last time.
I glared at her.
“I won’t let this go,” I whispered.
“I swear… I will take you to court…”
Vanessa let out a soft, mocking breath.
“Court?”
“Clara, you won’t even get the chance.”
---
When I woke up again…
I was in a hospital room.
My abdomen felt impossibly empty.
Flat.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
A nurse entered, changing my IV, avoiding my eyes.
“Miss Clara…”
Her voice faltered slightly.
“I’m sorry… you miscarried.
You need to rest.”
The words hung in the air.
My baby…
Was gone.
The child I had carried so carefully.
Protected so desperately.
Vanessa had killed it.
And the one who caused the accident…
Was Liam.
My fingers curled tightly into the sheets.
My nails dug into my palm until I tasted blood.
My chest felt hollow.
But inside that emptiness…
Something else began to rise.
Cold.
Sharp.
Unforgiving.
I will sue her.
I will expose him.
They will pay for what they’ve done.
