To fulfill my husband's wish, I forced myself to conceive despite my frail health.

While he was away on a business trip, I went to the hospital alone for a check-up, only to overhear a chilling conversation between him and my sister.

"You two are identical twins with the same genes. Once she gives birth, Theo's leukemia will be cured."

"Good thing Theo looks like me. If he resembled you, my sister would have caught on long ago."

My husband and I had been married for seven years. Theo was six this year.

So, they had been together all this time, raising their child right under my nose.

I once believed my husband loved me deeply. I never imagined I was nothing more than a fool, deceived and used until now.

Caressing my swollen belly, tears streamed down my face as I made my decision.

I did not want this child anymore!

——

I stood outside Caleb's office, trembling with rage as their conversation continued.

"Caleb, I've been feeling uneasy lately. What if Isabelle finds out her baby was implanted at the site of her previous C-section? If she realizes she could die, she might refuse to give birth."

"It's not up to her. She has to do it even if she doesn't want to."

"Do you really think so? I thought you two were madly in love. Would you really let her die?"

Caleb took Juliette's hand and murmured affectionately, "Me? In love with her? That's impossible. You're the only one I'll ever love."

I wanted to move, but my legs felt like they were made of lead, rooting me in place.

Just then, one of Caleb's colleagues approached, eyeing me with confusion. "Mrs. Adams, why are you here? Are you looking for Mr. Adams?"

His voice was calm, neither loud nor soft, but enough to alert the two people inside the office.

The door swung open from within. Caleb stepped out, his brows furrowed as he scanned me from head to toe. "I just got back from a business trip and was discussing Theo's condition with my sister. Why are you here?"

Juliette crossed her arms, irritation flashing across her face. "He asked you. Why aren't you saying anything? What, pregnancy made you forget how to speak? They say expecting mothers get dumb for three years, but I didn't think it was true."

I took a deep breath, forcing down the emotions surging in my chest. With effort, I curved my lips into a faint smile. "I haven't been feeling well. My stomach hurts, so I came for a check-up since I was worried something might be wrong with the baby."

At my words, Caleb's expression changed instantly. "Did Dr. Griffin examine you? What did he say?"

I had been pregnant once before, shortly after we married. Due to an abnormal fetal position, I underwent a cesarean section, but the baby did not survive.

Earlier, Dr. Griffin had examined me, yet he hesitated at every question I asked. Something felt off. After pressing him repeatedly, he finally muttered, "Your pregnancy isn't in a good position… it's a bit close to the previous incision."

The words "ectopic pregnancy" flashed through my mind like a bolt of lightning.

If anything went wrong, both my child and I could die.

Panic gripped my chest. "Is it close to the incision, or directly on it?"

The doctor averted his gaze as if he did not dare to look me in the eyes and refused to answer my questions.

If the embryo had been implanted in the old scar, it would be too dangerous and I would most likely die on the operating table.

Overwhelmed by doubt, I went to another doctor's office, hoping for a second opinion. Instead, I stumbled upon a horrifying secret.

My sister's face twisted with urgency. "Why are you just standing there? Caleb is asking you. How's the baby?"

She used to show such concern for my pregnancy. I had once believed it was due to family ties, but now I knew the truth. The only thing she cared about was my umbilical cord blood, as it was the key to saving her son's life.

No wonder Caleb Adams, who had once firmly decided to be child-free, suddenly longed to be a father. No wonder he always claimed to love children yet immediately called Juliette to share the good news when I announced my pregnancy.

This conspiracy had been brewing all along, hidden in plain sight.

They were willing to trade my life and my child's, for the sake of Theo's survival.

It was not hard to imagine what would happen to my baby if I died.

An unloved child, abandoned from birth, would likely be left in my parents' care.

At that moment, my sister's phone rang. It was our mother.

As soon as she answered, she complained bitterly, "Mom, Isabelle said she wasn't feeling well. I asked her about the baby, but she wouldn't say a thing. Isn't that frustrating?"

"If she's unwell, just have Caleb arrange a C-section. Whether the child survives or not doesn't matter. The priority is Theo. He needs that umbilical cord blood to save his life. We can't afford to delay. If his condition worsens, we won't have time for regrets!"

My mother's voice rose in urgency, but my hearing had always been sharp, so I caught every single word she said.

It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me.

I had foolishly believed that my parents' sudden change in attitude over the past year meant they had finally come around, that they had started to love me, even if just a little.

It turned out that it was all an act, all for the sake of the child in my womb.

They acted so flawlessly that I did not even notice the slightest.

If I died, even if my baby made it into this world, he would be left to struggle alone, unloved and unwanted.

A crushing despair swallowed me whole, dragging me into an endless abyss.

My sister ended the call, then lowered her voice and said to Caleb, "Look at her face, it's ghastly. There's definitely something wrong with the baby. Get the operating room ready for a C-section."

I stared at the face in front of me that was identical to mine yet contorted in malice. A bitter smile tugged at my lips. "I know everything. I know it all."

Caleb's expression darkened. There was no point in pretending anymore. His mask slipped, revealing unfiltered cruelty. "So what if you know? Julie and I love each other. If you hadn't taken advantage of me when I was drunk, if you hadn't pretended to be her and tricked me into sleeping with you, I would have never married you. We've been husband and wife for years. You should be satisfied!"

Rage burned through me. I raised my hand and slapped him hard, my voice trembling. "Nonsense! The night you came into my room, I told you myself that I was Isabelle, not Juliette! And you said you knew!"

Caleb clenched his jaw, spitting out each word with venom. "You said you were Juliette."

A sharp pain twisted in my lower abdomen. My vision blurred, black mist creeping in at the edges.

I fumbled for my phone, hands shaking and dialed a number. The moment I whispered "Hazel," Caleb snatched the phone from my grasp.

Immediately afterward, a searing impact struck the back of my head.

As I slipped into unconsciousness, I vaguely heard Juliette's voice. "What? Feeling guilty now?"

Caleb's cold sneer followed. "Not at all."

I had no idea how long I was out, but I woke to a deep, throbbing ache.

The air was thick with dust. My surroundings were an abandoned operating room.

They had gone to such lengths to keep this hidden.

Moments ago, Caleb had thrown me onto the operating table like a discarded waste. The pain of my spine slamming against the cold metal jolted me back to full awareness.

I tried to move, but I could not.

Caleb must have injected me with anesthesia.

I forced myself to stay calm, straining to listen as Caleb and Juliette spoke, all while desperately thinking of a way out.

"Caleb, why don't you get a colleague to help? I don't understand this and I can't do much."

"I called Griffin, but he refused to come. It's fine. I'll guide you, just follow my instructions."

A cesarean section typically involves meticulous preoperative preparations, but given the suddenness of the situation and the lack of proper facilities, they had no choice but to improvise.

Juliette continued to grumble while Caleb's tone grew noticeably impatient.

"Stop talking! The cleaner usually passes by around this time. If she hears anything, we'll be in trouble."

"Caleb Adams, why are you yelling at me? You don't love me anymore, do you? I told you I didn't want to go through childbirth again, but you still had Isabelle conceive a child to save Theo without hesitation. What now? Are you regretting it?"

Before she could finish, a suspicious voice came from outside the door. "Is someone in there? Who is it?"

Caleb lowered his voice. "The cleaner is here. Don't make a sound!"

They were afraid of drawing attention, but for me, this was the only chance to survive.

I tried to move my toes and was delighted to find that I could barely control my body.

Strangely, I could feel the anesthetic wearing off much faster than it should. How could a doctor of Caleb's caliber administer such a weak dose?

However, there was no time to think.

The knocking on the door grew louder, continuing for several minutes. Then, just as it abruptly stopped, I gathered all my strength and shouted, "Murderer! Call the police!"

The words were not loud, but in the eerie silence, they echoed several times over.

I forced my eyes open and rolled off the operating table.

My strength had not fully returned and I did not dare rush to the door, fearing Caleb would overpower me and inject me with another dose of anesthetic.

His and Juliette's faces twisted in panic, but they quickly regained composure.

"Juliette, hold her down! Don't let her make another sound!"

"Got it!"

Just as the door that was the only thing standing between me and salvation was about to be forced open, Caleb rushed out.

At the same time, Juliette shoved me behind the operating table, clamping a hand over my mouth. From the outside, we were completely hidden.

"It's okay, I have a relative with a mental illness who somehow escaped from the psychiatric hospital and came looking for me. When she has an episode, she becomes violent, so she might attack people or even kill them. I had to restrain her for now. I just gave her a sedative and the hospital staff will be here soon to take her back."

"But the voice I just heard sounded familiar... It sounded a lot like Isabelle."

I had met and greeted her several times before and she remembered me.

Caleb's voice remained steady. "How is that possible? She's at home right now."

I struggled to stand, but Juliette landed a hard punch to the back of my head.

A wave of dizziness hit me, pain pulsing through my temples. My vision blurred, making her face indistinct.

She then chuckled apologetically. "Maybe I misheard. Alright then, I'll be on my way."

Her words felt like a bucket of ice-cold water pouring down my spine, extinguishing any last sliver of hope.

The door to the operating room shut once again.

Caleb's footsteps echoed as he approached, each step pressing against my chest like a slow, suffocating weight.

Then, my sister's phone rang.

Her face twisted with urgency as she answered. "Mom, I'm in the middle of something. What? Theo is in a coma again? Is his condition critical? Tell the doctor the umbilical cord blood is on its way!"

The moment she hung up, she lunged at me, wrapping her hands around my throat, her eyes burning with desperation.

"Stop wasting time and cooperate, or I'll kill you!"

She was furious and dug her nails into my skin, making it hard to breathe. Instinctively, I pried at her fingers.

Caleb's furious voice thundered above me. "What are you waiting for? Get her on the operating table!"

In that split second, while they were distracted, I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out a pill, shoving it into my mouth.

Hazel, my best friend, had given it to me.

As a traditional medicine doctor, she had taken my pulse while I was preparing for pregnancy and warned me that my body was too weak to carry a child. If I insisted on going through with it, she urged me to terminate the pregnancy at the first sign of trouble. It might be the only way to save my life.