I heard the lock turn and scrambled toward my parents.
I clutched their hands, my voice choked with sobs. "Mom, Dad… please, you have to help me!"
Seeing my tear-streaked face, they were visibly shocked. They frowned, looking me over.
"Clara, what's happened? You called saying you had good news… Why are you in this state?"
I had called them earlier, asking them to come. After being forced to lose two children, I couldn't afford to take any more risks. So, I had asked my parents for help. Thank God, they had actually come.
With them here, I finally found a flicker of courage. I sobbed, my body trembling. "Mom, Dad, Alistair and Beatrice… they're trying to force me to…"
My parents' faces darkened. My mother snapped, "Alistair, Beatrice, my daughter married into this family to be cherished, not to be tormented!"
My father added, "You owe us an explanation, and we're not leaving until we get one."
Alistair and Beatrice glanced at them but didn't deign to argue. They simply led everyone back to the living room.
Then, Alistair stated simply, "Clara's pregnancy is cursed. The child must be purified."
A wave of cold dread washed over me. I was about to beg my parents to take me home when the raven cried out again.
It stared at my belly with its blood-red eyes, screeching without pause.
With just a few of those terrible cries, my parents' expressions shifted. They exchanged a look with Alistair and Beatrice, as if some silent, horrifying agreement had been reached.
The next moment, my parents turned to me, their faces grim. "Clara, you need to terminate this pregnancy. Be a good girl and go with them. Get the ritual over with."
Their words hit me like a physical blow. I never dreamed my own parents could be as monstrous as the Sterlings. They, too, were blindly trusting the raven, forcing me to give up my child. Their betrayal was a sharper pain than any physical blow.
My eyes widened in disbelief as I screamed, "How can you listen to a bird? This is your grandchild! What century are we living in? How can you trust a bird over a doctor's report?"
I snatched the papers from the floor and thrust them toward my parents, begging them to just look.
But they pushed me away, scolding me as if I were a petulant child. "We told you, this child cannot be kept. Stop making a scene! Just do as you’re told and get rid of it!"
Meanwhile, the raven's cries grew louder, a maddening shriek that threatened to shatter my sanity.
My eyes were bloodshot as I glared at it. "It's you and your damned screeching! You're the one who deserves to die!"
I lunged for the raven, my hands ready to wring its neck, but my parents grabbed me, their grip rough. My mother’s hand cracked across my face while my father's fingers dug into my arm like talons.
They shouted in unison, "Clara, stop embarrassing us! Get in that room and get rid of that cursed child!"
