Through a haze, I heard Alex's voice getting closer.

Did he recognize the necklace? Did he finally recognize me?

A tiny flame of hope flickered back to life.

"Keep that stretcher away from Scarlett," Alex's voice was so cold it broke my heart.

"The blood will stain her dress."

Of course. I should never have hoped.

He didn't recognize me. He was just worried about some woman's dress.

"Use the service exit," Scarlett said, pinching her nose in disgust. "The smell of blood is sickening."

The medics were forced to push my gurney toward a dark, narrow corridor.

Darkness swallowed me.

The anesthetic dulled the physical pain, but something inside me had snapped.

There was no future for me and Alex.

I remembered all those romantic nights, him holding me on the balcony, looking at the stars.

"Valentina, I'll give you the most beautiful life. Our child will grow up surrounded by love."

"I'll be the best husband and father in the world."

All those dreams, those tender promises, they ended the moment our child was cut out of me and silenced.

The ambulance sped away from the docks. Blinding headlights shone from the opposite direction.

A convoy of cars blocked our path.

It was Alex's motorcade.

The ambulance was forced to a halt. The driver rolled down his window.

"Let us through! We have a dying maternity patient on board!"

"My wife is giving birth," Alex growled, his face a mask of cold fury. "Get the hell out of my way."

There was a deafening crash.

Alex's car rammed the ambulance, forcing it aside.

The violent jolt woke me from my stupor. Blood gushed from my wound again.

With my last ounce of strength, I screamed out the window, "Your wife is already dying!"

Alex heard me. His face twisted with even more rage.

"Damn it! That killer dares to use my wife's voice to talk about dying! I told you, Valentina is having a baby today! Everything makes way for my wife!"

His voice echoed in the night, stabbing my numb heart again.

"This killer has impersonated Valentina over and over!" Scarlett shrieked from the passenger seat. "It's disgusting!"

"Block that ambulance! Don't let her cause any more trouble!"

Several black cars surrounded the ambulance as armed bodyguards jumped out.

"Let's go, Alex!" Scarlett urged. "It's a long way to the hospital!"

Alex's motorcade sped off, leaving our lone ambulance surrounded.

I lay on the gurney, bleeding out, my life fading away.

"God help you, girl," the doctor said, shaking his head. "You didn't just piss off the devil. You married him."

I closed my eyes with a bitter smile.

Yeah. I didn't just piss off the devil. I married him.

If Alex knew it was me lying here, would he regret it? Or would he just think I deserved it all?

Half an hour later, the bodyguards surrounding us got an urgent command.

"Fall back! We have a more important mission!"

They vanished into the night.

The ambulance finally sped toward the hospital, its emergency lights flashing a blinding red.

"Hurry! Get her to the OR!"

Nurses rushed out.

Just as the gurney was about to enter the emergency room, we ran into Alex again.

He was standing in the hallway, his face a mask of anxiety.

"Goddammit," he spat. "This killer bitch again? Get her out of my sight."

I vaguely heard his words, then lost consciousness completely.

"Who gave me the bad intel!" Alex roared at his second-in-command. "Sent me to the wrong damn hospital! Are you sure Valentina is here? Is she in surgery?"

His deputy fumbled with his phone.

"Yes, Boss! The informant confirmed she was brought here! But we haven't gotten a specific OR number!"

"I want the absolute best medical team for Valentina's delivery!" Alex paced back and forth, frantic. "Nothing can go wrong!"

The nurses wheeled me into an operating room. Neither Alex nor his deputy paid any attention.

To them, I was just some damn killer.

His deputy kept making calls, trying to confirm.

"What's the OR number!"

"Why can't I reach her primary doctor!"

The minutes ticked by. Alex grew more and more impatient.

"Still no news?!"

He was about to assume it was another false lead and leave.

Just as he lost his patience, his deputy suddenly pointed at the operating room I had just been wheeled into. His hand was shaking.

"Boss... it's this operating room..."

Alex's head snapped up. The light above the OR door flickered a few times. Then it went out.