Chapter 4

The pungent smell of disinfectant dragged me from the murky depths.

First to return was touch—

The rough fabric restraints at my wrists and ankles, binding me tightly to the cold hospital bed.

Next came hearing.

"The cord blood extraction surgery is scheduled for half an hour from now."

An unfamiliar male voice—must be the bribed doctor.

"Once the sedative takes full effect and we ensure uterine muscle relaxation, we can begin. After the fetus is removed, we'll extract the fetal blood for Leo as planned."

Fetus removed... handle as planned...

These words were like red-hot brands, searing into my soul.

They didn't even bother using words like "delivery" or "induced labor," as if we didn't deserve such terminology.

I could no longer pretend.

I snapped my eyes open, precisely locking onto the three people by the bed—Adrian, Margaret, and the stranger in the white coat.

"Adrian..." My voice was terribly hoarse. "...Let me go."

They clearly hadn't expected me to wake suddenly, their faces simultaneously flashing with panic.

But Margaret was quickest to recover that condescending posture.

"Clara, good that you're awake." She stepped forward, attempting to pacify me with that nauseating false gentleness. "Don't get agitated. This is all for the child's good."

"Strapping a five-month-pregnant woman down like this—you call that 'for the child's good'?" I struggled to pull my hands from the restraints, but it was futile. "You mean for that child called Leo, right?"

Adrian's face instantly went deathly pale, a flash of pain I couldn't read crossing his eyes.

He crouched down, trying to meet my gaze.

"Clara, you heard everything..." His voice was low, even carrying a hint of choking. "I know this is extremely unfair to you. But this decision—you forced me to make it... Who told you to refuse to have children all these years? I had no choice..."

A massive sense of absurdity overwhelmed my anger.

To convince me to kill my own child, he'd use any excuse.

I hadn't had children because of him!

I stared at him. "Adrian, think carefully. Our child will meet you in just a few months. Can you really bear to use it to save another child?!"

This was the first and last time I'd ask this question.

If he had any conscience at all, he'd at least pause to think.

Instead, he suddenly exploded, overturning the flowers at the bedside. "Who knows if this is even my child!"

Watching him spiral out of control, I found myself powerless to argue.

Because even I didn't know who it had been that night.

"Fine... even if you need to save Leo... Adrian, you and her could have another child for matching, couldn't you? However much money it takes, I'll provide it. All my savings—I can give them to you."

This was the last escape route I offered, a final measure of his conscience.

Disappointment and pain flashed in Adrian's eyes. I thought it was guilt.

But he shook his head, saying,

"Clara, you don't understand. Selena's body... she's had too many miscarriages. Her uterine wall is paper-thin. She can't conceive again."

He paused, as if rekindling hope:

"Half-siblings have a one-in-four chance of matching. Clara, if you'll just save Leo, once you've recovered, I'll give you anything you want! We can go anywhere you want to go, start over..."

The last shred of illusion shattered completely.

He'd already calculated everything clearly in his heart.

My child, from beginning to end, was merely the lighter weight on his scale, the one that could be sacrificed.

My heart went completely cold.

I stopped talking, just used all my strength to struggle.

The restraints cut deep into my wrists, bringing searing pain.

"Let me go! You animals!"

I had to leave this hell, immediately, now!

"Hold her down!" Margaret barked.

Adrian and the doctor immediately pounced, pinning down my shoulders and legs with crushing force.

Their strength was devastatingly overwhelming.

In the chaotic struggle, I felt a sharp pain in my arm—the doctor had pushed a cold sedative into my vein.

The icy liquid spread rapidly, stealing the strength from my limbs.

Then, my lower abdomen transmitted a violent, tearing cramping pain.

A warm liquid gushed from between my legs, quickly soaking the sheet beneath me.

I grabbed Adrian's hand. "Do you know why I never had children with you?"