As soon as the thumbprint was done, Mom turned to Caleb. “Make sure you stitch her up properly,” she said coldly. “We can't have her ruining her womb. We still need her to breed another children.”
Caleb nodded. “Is the consent form signed?”
Mom frowned. “Why would we need to sign anything?”
I answered flatly, "Because Damon and I are divorced. I'm no longer a next of kin. Only you two are left.”
Dad's eyes lit up for a second. “You're finally divorced? Well, it's about time. Now Damon and Delia can finally be together like they were always meant to. Love will always find its way.”
I didn't respond, just pointed to the clipboard. “Don't forget to sign.”
“After all,” I added softly, “you two are the family I’ve got left.”
Mom's face twisted with rage. She raised her hand and slapped me across the face. “How dare you say that! You are cursing Delia to death. She's your sister!”
My head snapped back, slamming into the corner of the metal operating table. Warm blood trickled down my temple, blurring my vision with crimson streaks.
Through the haze, I saw Mom's contorted face, a grotesque mask of anger.
Dad gasped, but his concern wasn't for me. “Will the bleeding affect the cord blood?”
“No,” Caleb answered.
Only then did my parents relax. They signed the consent form, their eyes filled with disgust as they glanced my way.
“I don't know how we ended up with a vicious daughter like you,” Dad muttered.
I forced a smile through the pain. “Dad... Mom... I'll always love you.”
It was what I'd said when I was little. Back then, every time they wept over Delia's disappearance, I'd whisper those words and they'd hold me close, saying I was their lifeline. Now, the words only made them recoil.
“Your love is poison,” Mom spat. “We want nothing of it.”
“Fine,” I said, voice cracking. “Then write me a disownment agreement. From now on, Delia can be your only daughter.”
“If we’re cutting ties, we should do it thoroughly,” Dad immediately grabbed a tissue and scrawled the words across it before pressing his thumbprint into the paper. “There,” he said with finality. “You're no longer a Hayes. You even think to use it if you’re facing a step-back.”
“We finally free from an ungrateful daughter after these year.”
With that, they turned and left without a backward glance. My vision blurred. I couldn’t tell if it was from the blood or the fresh tears.
Caleb injected the anesthesia. My body went numb, but my mind remained painfully alert.
I felt the scalpel slice into me. I felt my child being separated from me. And when the umbilical cord was cut, a searing pain ripped through me like a thousand knives.
Caleb cursed under his breath as blood gushed from me. He hesitated for a moment, then left with the freshly collected cord blood, leaving my child beside me.
My child—my premature baby—lay beside me, tiny and still. I reached out with all the strength I had left. Just before death claimed me, I grasped his tiny hand.
“Mommy,” a faint whisper echoed in my mind. “Don't cry.”
Hot tears poured down my cheeks as my icy fingers grasped his tiny hand.
“I'm here, baby,” I whispered. “Mommy's here.”
Darkness swirled around me, pulling me under. I'll be with you soon, sweetheart.
[Congratulations, Host. Mission successfully transferred.]
[Recalculating the regret points of the three targets. Countdown: Six hours.]
I floated above the operating table, gazing at my lifeless body. But my baby's soul was nowhere in sight. The system promised I’d see my baby again when the task ended.
I fell silent, watching the world I’d left behind with cold detachment.
Of all people, it was Caleb who arrived first. He burst into the hospital corridor, his chest heaving, hair damp with sweat. But the moment his eyes landed on the blood pooling at the entrance of the operating room, he froze.
“Aurora, don't you dare fall asleep!” he shouted.
Snatching the defibrillator paddles from the tray, he pressed them to my chest. “You love to fight me, don't you?” His voice cracked. “Why won't you fight now? Wake up! If you don't wake up, they'll take your baby away!”
