The rain had been relentless all week.

When Sarah reached the old part of the town, her shoes were soaked and her clothes clung to her from the drizzle. The roads here were rough and uneven, winding through crumbling alleyways and forgotten lots.

Her grandmother’s grave was supposed to be nestled peacefully in a cemetery. Instead, she found the tombstone discarded in a patch of weeds, mud-stained, cracked, and tossed aside like trash.

Sarah’s breath caught in her throat.

She stood frozen for a moment, then dropped to her knees and gently wiped the dirt from the stone, her hands trembling.

“Grandma…” Her voice cracked. “It was my fault. I misjudged him.”

Her chest tightened as the memories came rushing back. The first time she brought Harvey here, she’d been so nervous, so proud. She wanted him to understand how much her grandmother meant to her.

Back then, had he already been laughing at her behind her back? Mocking her for being naïve?

Maybe the devil does appear when spoken of.

A strong hand suddenly yanked her by the wrist.

Sarah gasped, jerking her head up, and there he was.

Harvey.

He looked like he’d rushed over, breath heavy, hair slightly disheveled.

For a moment, she foolishly thought he was worried about her.

But then, a voice crackled from his phone, still on speaker. "Sir Harvey, Miss Zoey isn’t doing well. She said Sarah pushed her. Have you found Sarah yet? Miss Zoey has been crying nonstop."

Joseph’s voice.

And just like that, the illusion shattered.

Harvey’s grip on her wrist tightened, and she felt like her bones might snap.

He muttered a few clipped responses, then hung up.

When he turned back to Sarah, his eyes were hard as stone.

"Zoey said you pushed her. The baby’s position is unstable now. Sarah, have you been getting too comfortable lately? If you’re looking to die, then go do it somewhere far from me."

His venomous words hit her like a slap.

There had been a time when Harvey was worried if she’d eaten, if she remembered to wear a coat, or if she was lonely or cold. Now, he didn’t even ask if she was okay. He just took someone else’s word and threw it at her like a weapon.

Sarah let out a bitter laugh, the sound low and broken. "Fine. As long as you're willing to show some mercy and return my grandmother’s ashes, I’ll disappear. I’ll stay far, far away from you."

She meant it.

She didn’t know what kind of madness he was caught up in, but she was done.

Instead of letting go, Harvey gripped her tightly. His fingers dug into her skin.

"If anything happens to Zoey," he said, voice low and dangerous, "I’ll send you straight to the afterlife to join your grandmother."

Before Sarah could react, he dragged her roughly down the hill and shoved her into a car waiting by the curb.

The pain came almost immediately. Her stomach clenched, waves of nausea crashing over her.

Sarah curled up in the corner of the backseat, clutching her abdomen, trying to breathe through the sharp, twisting cramps.

Harvey sat beside her, scrolling through his phone like nothing had happened.

Eventually, out of his eye, he noticed her trembling.

He scoffed, "Scared now? Trying to fake being sick so I’ll feel sorry for you? Zoey told me you’ve always been jealous of her. Adopted daughter playing victim. How many tricks do you have?"

Sarah opened her mouth, wanting to speak, wanting to defend herself.

But the look in his eyes stopped her cold.

All warmth was gone. There was nothing left of the man she had once loved.

The Harvey who used to hold her, support her, and make her feel safe had disappeared.

In his place was someone cold, someone who had spent years leading her into a cruel trap to help Zoey break her down piece by piece.

Sarah turned her face toward the window, the city lights blurring behind the rain-streaked glass.

Exhausted, Sarah thought, 'I just need to find a way out.'

She didn’t know where she’d go or how she’d survive, but when this was over, she never wanted anything to do with Harvey.

She vowed never to come back.

Just then, the car rolled to a stop in front of the hospital, and the driver called out that they had arrived.

Only then did Harvey look up from his phone.

Sarah hadn’t moved. She was still curled up in the corner of the backseat, her body rigid, drenched in sweat. Her shirt clung to her, and her lips had turned pale.

Something about her stillness made Harvey hesitate.

He turned to look at her more closely.

Slowly, almost uncertainly, he brushed her hair away from her face.

She didn’t flinch.

There was no color left in her cheeks. Her breathing was shallow. Her skin felt like ice.

Harvey’s stomach dropped.

"Sarah," he said, shaking her shoulder. "Sarah, wake up."

No response.

"Sarah—"

The driver turned, eyes wide. "Mr. Jameson, she’s bleeding a lot!"

Harvey froze.

His gaze dropped to her lap. His heart slammed against his ribs.

A dark red stain was spreading fast.

When Sarah awoke, the sterile white ceiling above her appeared unnaturally still and quiet. For a moment, she gazed silently and without expression.

She sensed something wasn’t quite right with her body even through the fog of exhaustion.

Her cycle had always been irregular.

Long hours of picking grapes, skipped meals, and stress had all taken their toll. So, when she missed it this time, the thought of pregnancy didn’t even cross her mind.

But then came the blood.

The cramps.

The gut-wrenching pain in the car.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

She had been carrying Harvey’s child.

Tentatively, Sarah lifted a trembling hand and placed it over her stomach. Her palm was cold against the thin hospital gown.

Just then, the door swung open. Harvey walked in, holding a stack of test results.

Their eyes met.

Sarah instinctively flinched and shrank back into the sheets. But then, remembering the baby, she found a trace of courage and pushed herself up slightly.

“If you and Zoey don’t want me around… I’ll leave,” she said softly, barely above a whisper. “But… can I keep the baby?”

The words slipped out quietly, cautiously, almost like a plea.

She had once been vibrant, full of energy and light. Now she lay there in that hospital bed, pale and fragile, like something time had worn down.

Her grandmother spoiled her once. Harvey had too.

But those days were over. That kind of love was long gone.

And maybe, she realized, it had never been real at all.

She wasn’t asking for Harvey’s love, forgiveness, or even kindness anymore. All she wanted now was the right to keep her child.

Harvey’s expression darkened. He threw the stack of test results onto the side table with a sharp snap, his anger rising like a storm about to break.

“You’re not keeping it,” Harvey said coldly. “The procedure’s scheduled for tomorrow.”

Sarah froze. Her lips parted, trying to form a response, but it took a long, painful moment before any sound came out.

“What… did you say?” she asked, her voice cracking. “This is your child, too.”

Tears streamed down her face before she could react. They had become increasingly familiar since she learned that the love she had clung to was one-sided.

The man who used to protect her, who once feared she might get hurt, was now the one causing her the most pain.

“What do I owe you, Harvey?” Sarah asked in anguish. “If I’d known you’d treat me like this, I would’ve rather never met you!”

Harvey’s eyes narrowed sharply.

Without warning, his hand shot forward and clamped around her throat.

“You think you’re worthy of carrying this child?” he spat.

A cruel smirk twisted his lips. “You want this kid to grow up knowing his mother’s a thief? A plagiarist?”

Sarah’s entire body went numb.

His grip didn’t loosen. The hatred in his eyes was real, burning, and relentless.

And it was all because of Zoey.

Zoey had claimed it was about stolen designs, that Sarah had been her ghostwriter, and that she had always lived in Zoey’s shadow as the quiet, invisible sister.

But even if Sarah had proof, Harvey wouldn’t have believed her. He hadn’t loved her. He had only gotten close to her to protect Zoey. To punish Sarah for something she never did.

And then, like a door suddenly flung open in her memory, it all came rushing back.

The day Harvey truly snapped—the same day Zoey got married.

That night, the man who was always cold but controlled had become something else. Vicious. Ruthless. He broke her down word by word, touch by touch, until she collapsed from the weight of it all.

She remembered his words that night, slurred and spoken through clenched teeth.

“If you hadn’t ruined Zoey, she wouldn’t have had to marry someone she doesn’t love.”

At the time, Sarah had pushed it from her mind, forgotten about it entirely. But now, as she stood there, everything came rushing back.

She also recalled how things only deteriorated after the news broke that Zoey was pregnant.

Harvey’s cruelty became relentless each day.

Even when she begged him to stop, telling him she had work the next day, he remained indifferent.

Back then, Sarah convinced herself it was just the passion of their lovemaking,

But now, as she thought back to the steep hillside trail, how her legs had given out, how she nearly slipped, and how the overseers had cursed and spat on her, she understood.

Harvey had wanted to push her to the edge.

And now, standing before her with that same face, that same voice, he spoke about taking her child as if it meant nothing.

Because, to Harvey, it never had.

When Harvey saw that Sarah wasn’t speaking, his expression softened. The same hand that had just wrapped around her throat now brushed gently across her cheek.

Sarah froze.

She remembered this touch. On so many nights, it had brought her warmth, comfort, and love—or at least what she thought was love.

But now? That same hand made her feel uncertain and afraid, standing on the edge of a cliff.

Harvey didn’t seem to notice the stiffness in her posture.

His voice was low, almost coaxing as he taunted, “Be good. This child isn’t meant to be born. Getting rid of it is for your own good.”

Just as the words left his mouth, his phone buzzed.

Sarah didn’t need to see the screen to know it was Zoey.

Even Harvey didn’t realize it but always softened when talking to Zoey.

His tone would shift, his voice gentle, reverent, as if speaking to something fragile and precious.

But when it came to her, Sarah felt she barely registered.

She didn’t want to think about it anymore.

After Harvey left the room, she lay beneath the cold, white hospital lights.

The silence pressed in like thick and heavy fog.

For the first time, she felt a pressing need to act.

Sarah hadn’t stolen anything, but back when living under someone else’s roof, she’d tried too hard to please the Stevens family, to get a little attention.

She had been naïve, bound by the idea of 'family,' forgetting that she was always an outsider.

When her grandmother died, she no longer had a home. Later, she thought that even the shipping container was home, because Harvey was there. No matter how hard or bitter life was, she endured it.

Sarah tried to be a good daughter, partner, and woman.

But reality slapped her in the face.

Now, she had a child. And that child gave her something she hadn’t had in a long time—purpose.

That small ember of courage began to glow.

Slowly, Sarah pushed back the covers and stood up.

Her body ached. Every step felt unstable, like her bones weren’t quite holding her up, but she moved forward, one trembling foot at a time.

She opened the hospital room door, and there he was.

Harvey stood just outside, not even surprised to see her.

In his hand was a medicine.

Sarah stiffened. She didn’t need to ask what it was.

Harvey stepped forward and offered her the pill.

Sarah backed up slightly, eyeing the contents with suspicion. She could smell the bitterness from where she stood.

Her instinct screamed at her to run. She raised her hand, ready to knock the bowl from his grip.

However, Harvey’s following words stopped her cold. “Don’t make a decision you’ll regret. Your grandmother’s ashes are with me right now. Didn’t she mean everything to you? You want her to suffer unrest even in death?”

Sarah’s entire body went still.

Her eyes widened. She looked at him in disbelief, but his face remained calm, unreadable, as if he hadn’t just blackmailed her with the one thing she held sacred.

She closed her eyes.

And in that single moment, something inside her broke completely.

The man she had once loved unconditionally and stupidly had never cared. Not for her, not for their child. Not even for the memory of her grandmother.

To him, everything about her, every piece she considered sacred, was merely leverage, a way to control her.

A way to break her.

Her heart, already cracked, now shattered.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, not with anger or hate, but with hollow understanding.

He lowered his gaze, almost like he couldn’t meet her eyes.

“Now’s just not the right time for this baby,” he said again, as though repeating it would make it true. "Maybe someday. I even brought you some fruits to help you bounce back.”

He sounded like he genuinely cared about her health.

But Sarah couldn’t even bring herself to argue anymore.

There was no point.

She was leaving. This was the last time she’d ever let him have power over her.

Without saying another word, she took the pill from his hand, brought it to her lips, and swallowed it in one motion.

Then she turned, walked back to the bed, and lay down.

She didn’t see the flicker of something in Harvey’s expression as he stared at her.

Lying on her back, she forced her voice to remain steady. “I took the pill. I hope you’ll keep your promise. I need to rest.”

For a long moment, silence.

Then the sound of the door closing.

As soon as it clicked shut, Sarah broke down.

The tears came hard and fast, soaking the pillow beneath her.

It hurt more than she thought it would.

But she had once promised her grandmother that she would live well. While sick, her grandmother worked to find her a place to stay and a future to strive for.

If she had given up now, her grandmother would have been heartbroken. Sarah reached for the frayed, knotted charm bracelet from beneath the blanket.

She clutched it so tightly that the sharp edge bit into her skin, but she didn’t feel a thing.

She knew she had to leave this place.

Somewhere, no one knew her. Somewhere, she could start over. Somewhere she could be free.

A sudden warmth spread beneath her.

She knew what it was.

A life, her baby, was being taken from her. And she had done it with her own hands.

At that moment, her phone buzzed.

Automatically, she reached out and tapped it, desperate for a distraction.

The screen lit up. It was Zoey.

A video popped open without warning.

Zoey was sitting cross-legged in it, instructing Harvey to sew baby clothes. Harvey, awkward and all thumbs, fumbled with the fabric. Sweat clung to his forehead. But he was focused, careful, and unrecognizable. No one would’ve guessed this man was heir to the Jameson Group.

Zoey’s voice came through, teasing but curious. “Harvey, you’re taking this so seriously. Do you like kids?”

He didn’t even look up. “Yeah,” he replied.

Zoey hesitated. “Then what about Sarah’s child—”

He cut her off instantly. “That child shouldn’t exist. Don’t bring it up.”

The video ended.

Sarah stared at the screen silently, then quietly set the phone aside and pulled the blanket over her head. The sharp, metallic scent of blood hung in the air, making her head pound.

She couldn’t stay here. Not another second.

As soon as her body recovered, she would leave, far away from all of this. From him.

She never wanted to see Harvey doting on Zoey ever again.

After packing her luggage, she no longer had the slightest attachment to this place, and this time she did not hesitate!