It was my personal physician, Rossi.

The moment she saw me, she froze in shock.

"Madre, what happened to you? Why are you here? Don Renato said you were resting in a premium care room. I couldn't find you, so I came looking…"

I wanted to tell her everything, but no sound would come out. All I could do was stare at my stomach, tears streaming down my face.

She understood immediately and bent down to examine me.

The moment she lifted my nightgown, her face went deathly pale.

"Your cervix is fully dilated—the baby's head is stuck at the opening! We need surgery immediately!"

As she spoke, she glanced around and quickly realized this place was completely unfit for delivery.

"We have to get out of here. To the delivery room—now!"

But the instant her hand reached my thigh, it came away soaked in blood.

Rossi stared at her blood-covered hand, her voice trembling.

"Help! Madre is hemorrhaging—this is critical! Go get the Don! Hurry!"

But outside, there was nothing—no footsteps, no voices. Her cries for help echoed into emptiness.

This was an old storage room in the family hospital. No one ever came here, and there wasn't even any signal.

Looking at me, barely clinging to life, Rossi panicked.

"Madre, don't be afraid. I'll carry you out!"

The storage room wasn't far from the elevator, but every step felt like an eternity.

"Doctor Rossi… for the sake of our friendship… please save my baby. If it comes to it… save the baby. Let me go."

I forced out the words with every ounce of strength I had left.

Her eyes reddened instantly.

"Madre, don't worry. Both you and the baby will be safe."

As the elevator slowly rose, hope flickered inside me once more.

But the moment the doors opened on the delivery floor, my heart plunged into despair again.

A line of bodyguards blocked the entrance, refusing to let us pass.

Even when Rossi declared my identity as Madre, they stood firm, sealing the entrance completely.

In the private obstetrics ward of the Valentino Family hospital… they dared to bar even the Madre.

Rossi was furious. I could feel her heart pounding wildly.

"What is going on?!"

Before she could make sense of it, Sophia walked over with two nurses. The moment she saw us, disdain filled her face.

"Doctor Rossi, who told you to bring her here?"

Thinking she had found a lifeline, Rossi rushed forward.

"Miss Sophia, Madre is about to give birth. Please tell them to let us in—I need to get her into the delivery room!"

Sophia didn't even glance at her. She simply let out a cold snort.

"Lina is in the special care delivery suite. All other floors are sealed off. If outsiders come and go freely, who will take responsibility if the newborn gets infected?

"That child is the future heir of the Valentino family. This is my sister-in-law's order—and the Don's arrangement. Do you dare object?"

"But Madre can't wait! If this continues, both she and the baby will be in danger!"

Rossi's voice nearly broke.

Sophia only spared me a single glance—without the slightest trace of pity.

"What danger could there be? It's not even her due date yet. She can endure a little longer. My brother said Lina hasn't given birth yet. Once she does, Ellen can deliver too.

"And besides, even if something happens, so what if the child dies? It's just a girl anyway."

I looked into Sophia's cold, indifferent eyes, and felt my heart freeze piece by piece.

I never imagined she could say something so cruel.

A year ago, she had been kidnapped by the Gambino Family. At the time, Renato was out of the country—it was I who secretly used my maternal family's influence to rescue her.

Back then, she had clung to my arm, sobbing with gratitude.

"Ellen, you saved me. From now on, my life is yours!"

Thinking back now… it was laughable.

Rossi stared at Sophia in disbelief, but she still refused to give up.

"Then I'll take Madre to a regular delivery room. She really can't wait any longer!"

She reached for the elevator button, but Sophia grabbed her wrist.

"Lina has planned everything in advance. The regular delivery rooms have already been cleared out. All the equipment is in the special care suite. It's useless for you to go."

Rossi could no longer hold back.

"Miss Sophia, if anything happens to Madre and the child—if Don Renato finds out—"

She tried to use Renato as leverage, not realizing it no longer mattered.

"How dare you? You're nothing more than a lowly doctor in our family, and you think you can threaten me?"

Sophia shot a look to the bodyguards. They immediately seized Rossi and dragged her away.

At the same time, I slipped from her arms and hit the ground.

"Madre, I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do to save you…"

As I watched Rossi being dragged away, the fragile hope I had just regained shattered instantly.

Fearing Rossi might come back and cause trouble with me, Sophia personally followed the guards to ensure she was taken away.

By the elevator, I collapsed onto the floor. I could feel the movements in my abdomen growing weaker and weaker.

I knew… the baby was beginning to suffocate.

If I didn't deliver soon, even if the child survived, the brain would be damaged.

And just then, a familiar figure suddenly appeared before me.

It was Mark Ricci, Renato's assistant.

When Mark saw me, his eyes widened in shock.

I was so disheveled that he looked at me several times, as if unsure whether it was really me.

I tried to call out, but not a single sound came from my throat. All I could do was wave my hands, desperately begging for help.

He hesitated for a moment, then quickly turned and walked away—only to stop not far around the corner of the hallway.

Faintly, I heard his voice.

"Don Renato, there's a woman covered in blood by the elevator. She looks a lot like Madre…"

Renato. It was him. He was nearby.

Before I could even confirm it, his familiar voice came through.

"That's impossible! I already had her settled in the underground storage and gave her a sedative. She should be resting. How could she be here?"

The moment I recognized his voice, I tried to scream, but a bodyguard clamped a hand over my mouth.

My throat, already unable to produce sound, was completely silenced.

All I could do was listen.

"Don Renato, maybe you should come take a look. She doesn't seem to be in good condition. If it really is Madre, then both she and the baby could be in danger…"

Mark still sounded uneasy. He had followed Renato for years and was deeply trusted by him.

After Mark finished speaking, there was a tense silence. I knew Renato was hesitating.

Hope surged again, my heart leaping into my throat.

"Alright, I'll go take a look. If it's Ellen—"

Just as he was about to come, I finally let out a breath of relief.

But before he could finish his sentence, a doctor's voice rang out, calling for Renato.

"Don Renato! Madam Lina is having abdominal pain. It looks like the baby may be in distress!"

"And Madam Lina says she doesn't want you to leave her side. She hopes you won't go far."

"Understood. I'm coming right away."

Renato answered without hesitation.

"Mark, my sister-in-law needs me right now. That woman can't possibly be Ellen. If it were her, she'd have already come here, making a scene, demanding money and status for her child. How could she be this quiet?"

"But… what if—"

Mark tried to persuade him further, but Renato's footsteps were already fading away.

The bodyguard's hand still clamped over my mouth. I could only let my tears fall in silence.

Soon, the hallway fell completely quiet.

Renato—the man I once believed I could rely on for the rest of my life—chose to believe others over his own wife. In that moment, every trace of my love for him vanished.

Sophia returned shortly after, looking at me with smug satisfaction.

"Ellen, turns out Renato doesn't care about you that much after all. The only thing he cares about is the heir to our family. To him, you're nothing more than a breeding machine."

I closed my eyes and didn't look at her again.

My consciousness was sinking. My body, once heavy, now felt strangely light.

Aside from the constant pain, the baby's movements were growing weaker and weaker.

If this continued, both my child and I would die.

I let out a faint breath and slowly reached for the ring on my right index finger.

My father had commissioned it, a custom piece designed with a hidden mechanism.

As long as I pressed the gemstone, he would know I was in danger—and within twenty minutes, he would be able to locate me and come to my rescue.

I used to think I would never need it.

After all, Renato had once loved me with his life.

Now, thinking back on it… I had been unbelievably foolish.

Groping for the ring, I pressed the gemstone with all the strength I had left.

With a soft click, the gemstone turned. I knew the signal had gone out.

I closed my eyes and began to pray, hoping my child would survive this ordeal.

Sophia, who had witnessed everything, only sneered in disdain.

She had no idea about the hidden mechanism. She thought I was clinging to the ring out of greed for wealth and jewels.

"Ellen, you married my brother for our family's money and power, didn't you?

"If it weren't for the fact that you got pregnant, my brother would never have married a woman from such an ordinary, mismatched family!"

I couldn't be bothered to argue. All I did was pray silently for my child.

But Sophia kept talking.

"If you want to blame someone, blame your useless womb!

"We thought you'd give the family a boy, but who knew it'd be a girl?

"Luckily, Lina is carrying a son. At least our family has an heir now.

"Renato hasn't said anything about divorcing you yet, but if you're smart, you should leave on your own. It'll be better for everyone.

"Isn't it just money you want? As long as you leave, the Valentino family won't treat you unfairly…"

Her words grated against my ears. I wanted to laugh, but couldn't. My heart only grew colder.

Suddenly, it felt as though something inside me tore open. The effects of the drugs vanished completely, as if the invisible restraints had shattered in an instant.

Beneath me, I felt a heavy mass dropping rapidly. I couldn't hold back the scream that tore from my throat.

"Ah—!"

The scene stunned even the bodyguards and the young nurse nearby.

Perhaps realizing I wasn't pretending, Sophia quickly ordered the nurse to check on me.

The nurse approached, trembling.

After a quick look, her voice broke with fear.

"T-this is bad… the baby's head is stuck! We… we need surgery immediately!"

She froze in place, not knowing what to do.

Sophia finally understood the severity of the situation. She gestured for the nurse to deliver the baby.

But the nurse didn't dare step forward—she wasn't a doctor and had no real medical training.

And this was the elevator lobby—there wasn't even basic equipment for delivery. All she could do was hold my hand and tell me to push.

But beneath me, blood poured out like a stream. I had no strength left.

As the seconds ticked by, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Realizing things had turned critical, Sophia didn't dare delay any longer and ran inside to report.

The moment she left, I heard the familiar sound of leather boots approaching. Then, a group of men in black suits rushed in, their expressions grim.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the Valentino family—"

The young nurse tried to shout, but before she could finish, one of the men covered her mouth and dragged her aside.

The hospital's bodyguards caught sight of the custom black rose insignia pinned to their chests—and fled in panic.

"Miss! We're late. Please forgive us!"

The man in the lead lifted me into his arms, his eyes reddened.

He immediately ordered the nurse to press the elevator, heading straight for the ambulance.

A few foolish bodyguards tried to block the way, shouting, "This is the Valentino family's private hospital—you dare—"

Before they could finish, they were slammed to the ground.

"The Valentino family? It won't exist much longer."

Within seconds, I was lying inside a custom luxury ambulance. The vehicle was fully equipped, and the medical team was ready.

But by then, my condition was critical—I was even slipping into shock.

"Obstructed labor—we need an emergency C-section immediately! The mother's blood pressure is dangerously low. There are signs of massive hemorrhaging… if this continues…"

Before the sentence could be finished, an elderly man's voice cut in.

"There is no 'if'! I order you to do everything possible to save my daughter!"

The moment he spoke, the monitor let out a piercing alarm.

"The patient's heart has stopped! Prepare defibrillation immediately!"

"Quick! Prepare for surgery—now!"

"No… it's too late. The baby has suffered severe oxygen deprivation… there's no breathing…"

…

The voices around me grew fainter and fainter, until I sank into endless darkness.

I don't know how long passed. When I opened my eyes again, the only thing I saw was my father's aged face.

"Ellen…"

He held my hand, tears streaming down his face.

"Where is the baby?"

My father lowered his eyes and shook his head.

I held my breath and closed my eyes. No tears came.

But inside me, it felt like a bottomless abyss had split open.

"Where is Renato?" I asked.

My father clenched his jaw.

"He's with Lina. She gave birth to a son. The entire Valentino family is setting off fireworks in celebration… they've forgotten you completely."

I laughed until tears streamed down my face.

"Dad… do something for me. Prepare two fake bodies. Mine—and my child's. Send them to the Valentino family. I want to see, with my own eyes… what expressions they'll wear when they hear of our deaths."