I'm eight months pregnant, and I suddenly go into early labor. But my husband, Aldrich Lohan, locks me up in the basement and gives me a tocolytic injection to stop my labor instead.

He does all these just to ensure that his sister-in-law's baby is born before mine, so that my child won't fight for the inheritance rights.

"Anton saved my life," Aldrich says, referring to his elder brother. "But now, he's gone, succeeded only by the baby in Chrissy's womb. I must let her baby inherit all the rights. Chrissy lost everything, but you're still here, enjoying everything I'm giving you like you're entitled to them. So what if you compromise a little bit for her sake?"

The contractions in my lower body are hurting more than I can bear. I'm on the verge of passing out as I grab on to the hem of his pants and beg, "I swear that I won't let my child claim his inheritance rights! Please, just send me to the hospital. My child will die otherwise!"

However, Aldrich just kicks me aside.

"Chrissy has been pregnant for nine months. How can you be giving birth in just eight months? How would I know whether or not you're just inducing birth on purpose? I don't care. I won't let anyone steal the inheritance rights from Chrissy's baby, even if there's just a minuscule percentage of it happening."

In the end, Chrissy successfully gives birth to her child, and it's only after that that Aldrich finally remembers me in the basement.

"Bring Kelsey to the hospital and make them bring out the best medical equipment to ensure the safe birth of my child."

His personal assistant, Edgar Salome, shivers as he says, "But Mr. Lohan… Mrs. Lohan and her child have both died…"

I was eight months pregnant when I suddenly went into labor. However, my husband, Aldrich Lohan, locked me up in the basement instead and gave me a tocolytic injection to delay labor.

He did all of these simply because he wanted the child of his sister-in-law to be born first. That way, my child wouldn't be able to inherit the rights to being the heir of his family as the firstborn grandchild.

The basement was cold and damp, the chill seeping into my bones. I felt my arms and legs go numb, and yet, the pain in my uterus nearly made me pass out.

I begged with all of my life for Aldrich to send me to the hospital, but he refused to change his mind.

"Anton saved my life," he said, referring to his older brother, Anton, who had married Chrissy.

"But after his death, he's survived only by Chrissy's baby. I must let her baby inherit all the rights to the family! Chrissy lost nearly everything, but you're still here, enjoying everything I give you like you're entitled to all of it. This is just a small compromise, Kelsey."

My vision was starting to black out. Even though the drug was already circulating in my bloodstream, the pain never let up. In fact, the pain just got more and more unbearable.

I fought hard out of my constraints and fell off the bed. Then, I crawled over to Aldrich's feet and tugged at the hem of his pants. "Please, I'm begging you, Aldrich, send me to the hospital. My child will die like this!"

Aldrich hesitated, his heart softening just a tiny bit right at that moment. But just as he was about to speak, the private doctor next to him, Orlando Walters, suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lohan. The injection I administered is the most advanced drug of its kind around the world. Nothing bad will happen to your wife or your baby."

I watched helplessly as the brief moment of gentleness in Aldrich's eyes turned ice-cold, laced with a hint of frustration. He then kicked me aside.

"Dr. Walters says you're fine, so why are you still lying? Chrissy was pregnant for nine whole months, and you're telling me that you're about to give birth at eight? Who knows whether you're inducing labor on purpose?"

I held a hand to my stomach, which was contracting tremendously, and moaned aloud in pain.

"I'm not lying! It really hurts… Aldrich, I swear to God, I won't let my child claim his inheritance rights. Please, just let me give birth!"

However, Aldrich couldn't care less about my cries for help anymore.

"I don't believe you. Even if there's just a slight chance of it happening, I refuse to let anyone take away the rights from Chrissy's baby."

With that, he shut the basement door behind him and turned to leave.

I forced myself to calm down. I grabbed my phone and tried to call for help, but I realized then that Aldrich had even removed the SIM card from it, and there was no way for me to make a call.

I was wrought with despair. In the end, I could only drag my huge belly all the way over to the door and slam my hands against it as loudly as I could, crying for help.

Finally, I heard movement at the door. I grasped at the last of my hopes as I yelled, "Help! Help me! I'm locked in the basement, and I'm about to give birth!"

However, the voice that replied from the other side of the door sent a deep chill down my back.

"Mrs. Lohan, I've already administered the tocolytic drug via injection. There's no way you're giving birth."

It was Dr. Walters' voice.

He was supposedly the best gynaecologist in the country, and Aldrich had hired him to take care of me and Chrissy ever since both of us got pregnant. However, Dr. Walters heavily favored Chrissy over me. He was only concerned about her and only took great care of her without ever asking me if I was doing fine.

It wasn't until I suddenly went into early labor, sending Aldrich into a state of panic, that Dr. Walters suddenly informed him of a drug that would supposedly stop labor and delay contractions for the time being.

That was why I ended up being locked in the basement.

"That drug isn't working! I feel like I'm going to die from the pain! Please, please just let me out!"

"I think there's been a misunderstanding, Mrs. Lohan," Dr. Walters replied. "The drug is only supposed to prolong your pregnancy and stop contractions. I never said that it'd make it feel any less painful."

I was in so much pain that my tears just kept flowing down my face. My entire body felt damp and wet. I didn't even know whether it was from sweat or blood anymore.

"But if it continues like this, I'm going to die from the pain! If you don't send me to the hospital, my child is going to die…"

There were a few seconds of silence at the door. Dr. Walters probably finally felt a little sorry for me after hearing my painful screams through the door. He took out his phone and made a call to Aldrich.

"Mr. Lohan, Mrs. Lohan says that she's in a lot of pain. Should I give her an epidural?"

When I heard Aldrich's voice on the other end of the line, I screamed as loudly as I could so that he could hear me. He was my last hope, after all.

"Aldrich! Please! I'm going to pass out from the pain! The baby will die if that happens!"

Aldrich went silent for a long while, as if he was thinking. He finally decided to say something a short while later.

"If that's the case, let her—"

However, his sentence got interrupted by a soft, gentle female voice right next to him.

"Aldrich, can you get me a pudding cup? I suddenly feel like having one. Oh, is that Kelsey? Is she also going into labor? You don't have to worry about her. Giving birth doesn't hurt a single bit at all. Dr. Walters takes really, really good care of us.

"Look! I can even stand up and dance for you now, if you want me to. Also, Dr. Walters is attending to her now, isn't he? I believe nothing bad will happen to her."

As soon as he heard this, Aldrich's tone immediately turned angry as he changed his mind.

"What epidural does she want? Chrissy isn't even hurting one bit at nine months! Don't you dare fall for her pity tricks!"

And then, Aldrich ended the call.

I heard Dr. Walters' voice from the other side of the door again. "You heard him, Mrs. Lohan. Mr. Lohan forbade the epidural."

I lay on the ground in despair as the excruciating pain wracked through my entire body. Of course, Chrissy wouldn't feel a single hint of pain!

Dr. Walters had only ever been taking good care of her since she got pregnant. He personally planned out her pregnancy diet, living situation, and also gave her regular prenatal checks. But he never once did anything for me.

Once, I twisted my ankle at the top of the stairs and suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot across my belly. He just casually glanced at me and said that it wasn't like I was going to lose the baby because of that, and then left.

Moreover, Aldrich had sent Chrissy to Thornton Hospital, the best private hospital in the entire city. They took immaculate care of her there.

She wasn't the one being locked up in the basement, being forcefully held down against the bed as tocolytic injections were administered into her, or getting kicked in the belly.

Of course, she wouldn't feel any pain at all!

I had no idea how much time had passed, but the pain in my belly never let up. I could only lie down, gasping loudly for breath as I fought to stay conscious. Just then, I heard the door open.

It was Dr. Walters. He had a few bodyguards with him, and Aldrich was also on the phone with him.

"Hurry up! We must save her baby!"

I thought that Chrissy had finally given birth and that Aldrich had finally remembered about me. Tears of joy and relief sprang from my eyes.

However, to my shock, the bodyguards just grabbed me and put me back on the cold, hard bed in the basement. And this time, they bound my hands and feet to the bedframe even more tightly than before.

Dr. Walters stared down at me and said, "Chrissy is losing a lot of blood and needs an emergency transfusion. Coincidentally, you share the same blood type as her."

I immediately understood what their motive was and started to struggle. But that only made the constraints around my wrists hurt even more.

"No! I'm also carrying a baby in me! My baby will die if you do this!"

"Shut up!"

Dr. Walters kicked at the side of the bed so hard that I felt my brain and other internal organs shaking within me.

"The baby in Chrissy's belly is the future heir to the Lohan family! You should feel honored to give up your baby in exchange for its life!"

With that, the needle was mercilessly inserted into my veins once again. This time, I could feel my life force being gradually siphoned away from my body. My vision turned blurry, and the pain in my belly started waning out as I lost energy. I felt like a thread about to snap.

I had completely lost consciousness at that point. I was lying on the bed like a lifeless doll.

For some reason, Dr. Walters suddenly panicked after noticing that I wasn't moving anymore. He immediately stopped the transfusion and called Aldrich again.

"Mr. Lohan, Mrs. Lohan seems to have passed out. Should I still continue drawing her blood?"

Aldrich was furious. "Chrissy's life is in dire peril! How dare she pretend to pass out? Just go on! And wake her up. I don't care what you do to her."

So, Dr. Walters told the bodyguard to fill up a bucket of ice-cold water and pour it right down my head.

The bone-chilling wetness seeped right into my body, and my thin nightgown was completely soaked. I shuddered hard as I barely registered consciousness.

Seeing that I had woken up, Dr. Walters inserted the needle once more. But this time, I didn't even have the strength to fight back anymore.

The pain in my belly was still there. Ice-cold water was still dripping down my face, every single drop feeling like an icicle stabbing right into my skin. I opened my mouth, wanting to tell them to stop taking my blood, but the most I could manage was a weak and wispy exhale. I sounded like an animal on its last breath.

Soon, the blood bag was finally filled, and I didn't know how long it took.

Dr. Walters removed the needle from my arm and didn't even offer a cotton ball to stop the bleeding before turning to leave. Just before he left, he turned around to spare me one last glance. "Mrs. Lohan, be good and stay where you are. I'll be back if Chrissy needs more blood."

I felt dread washing all over me. If they continued taking my blood, it wouldn't just be my baby who'd be in danger—I'd lose my life as well.

Fine, Chrissy's baby was treated like a national treasure; but did I or my child deserve to be treated so poorly in contrast?

After what felt like forever, I finally managed to regain some strength and rolled to the ground from the bed.

I couldn't stay another minute in this basement. Otherwise, I would just be a sitting duck waiting for them to come back again whenever they needed more of my blood.

At the very least, I needed to keep my child alive.

I used up all of my energy to crawl toward the door. Just then, the door suddenly opened, and my maid, Joanne, walked in. She had always been quite close to me. When she saw me, she let out a loud shriek because I was currently covered in blood and sweat.

I looked as pale as a ghost as I crawled along on the ground. I was a sorry sight.

When I saw that it was her, I did my best to produce a sound from my throat. "H-Help me… Please…"

Joanne got a huge scare. "What happened, Mrs. Lohan? Why were you locked up in here?"

"I'm about to give birth… Please send me to the hospital…"

Joanne quickly picked me up from the floor and helped me up. She immediately took out her phone to call the ambulance. However, after thinking for a while, she decided to call Aldrich instead.

"Mr. Lohan, Mrs. Lohan looks like she's about to give birth. I'm going to send her to the hospital now. Is that okay?"

Aldrich's tone was impatient. "Why bother? Chrissy is still in danger at the hospital. We're going to need her around in case we need more blood. And there's no need to send her to the hospital. I've already told Orlando to give her a tocolytic injection. She won't give birth now," he said.

Then, he ended the call before Joanne could get another word in.

I subconsciously gripped Joanne's shirt hem even tighter, silently begging her not to abandon me. Joanne gave me a long, meaningful look. In the end, she still called the ambulance for me.

"I'm also a mother. I've given birth before, and I know that you're in a lot of pain now."

I was so touched the moment I got wheeled into the ambulance that I nearly cried tears of relief. I thought that I would finally be saved, but as soon as we arrived at the general hospital, there was no available medical equipment for me to safely give birth.

It was all Aldrich's doing. He had ordered all the hospitals in the city to transfer their birthing equipment to the hospital where Chrissy was.

The hospital called Aldrich again, since he was my next of kin and had to be informed.

"Hello, is this Ms. Kelsey Raine's family member? She's currently experiencing dystocia, and her life is in great danger."

However, Aldrich just started yelling from the other end of the line. "Kelsey Raine! How dare you leave the house? And how dare you get someone to lie to me like that?

"I'm warning you, you'd better go back right now to where you came from. Chrissy is still in the operating room. If something terrible happens to her, I'll never let you off the hook!"

My attending doctor just sighed. Seeing that my life was in critical danger, he immediately arranged for me to be transferred to the nearest private hospital.

But even that took another hour, and the private hospital ended up being the same one that Chrissy had been admitted to. No matter how much the doctors tried to persuade Aldrich otherwise, he just refused to release any of the bookings he made on the rest of the medical equipment—not even a single one.

I listened to the argument inside the room and fell to the ground helplessly.

Just then, someone suddenly popped their head out of the room and made eye contact with me in the hallway for just a brief moment. I immediately recognized the person as Edgar.

He went looking for Aldrich, albeit hesitantly, and said, "Mr. Lohan, that bloody woman out in the corridor looks a lot like Mrs. Lohan…"