Eugene picked up the phone, his voice sharp enough to pierce my ears.

"You useless idiots! You can't even keep an eye on one woman? At a time like this, you still let her cause trouble for me?"

The so-called doctors stammered their apologies.

The moment he hung up, the way they looked at me changed instantly.

The fat woman pulled off her mask, a vicious smile spreading across her face. "You could've crossed anyone, but you just had to cross Ms. Smith. She paid us a lot of money to teach you a lesson."

Another skinny woman kicked me in the side. "This is all your fault! Because of you, we got yelled at. We're settling that score on you."

Before I could react, they dragged me into the bathroom.

My bare feet hit the freezing tile floor as my abdomen throbbed with searing pain. Blood ran down my legs, leaving a long red trail behind me.

Inside the bathroom sat a large bathtub filled with ice.

A shiver ran through my body.

My voice trembled with fear as I asked, "What are you doing?"

No one answered. They exchanged a quick glance, then shoved me forward.

My body plunged straight into the ice water. The freezing cold swallowed me instantly. Pain shot through my skin and drilled into my bones.

A scream tore out of my throat.

"Ah! It's so cold… It hurts… Please…let me out…"

Ice pressed against the needle wounds in my back. Blood spread quickly through the icy water. The heavy bleeding got worse. I could almost feel my life slipping away, little by little.

I looked toward the hospital bed where my baby lay. My heart felt as if it were being sliced apart.

Using the last bit of strength I had, I tried to crawl toward the baby.

"Please… Let me see my baby… It's dying…"

The fat woman kicked me straight back into the tub.

"Stop putting on a show! You're trying to stir up trouble, huh? The baby's not crying because it's sleeping. You think we're that easy to fool?"

Eugene's shouting earlier had clearly irritated them. Out of spite, they pulled out several thick needles of different sizes.

"Mr. Cobb said we need plenty of cord blood and stem cells. Since you won't behave, we'll just draw a little more."

The needles stabbed into my body. Each puncture brought a sharp burst of pain. Tube after tube filled with my blood.

I felt like an empty container, something they could drain at will.

"Please… Stop… I can't take it anymore…"

My body began to convulse. My vision blurred as my consciousness started fading.

The moment I caught sight of the baby again out of the corner of my eye, my heart clenched painfully. Its skin had turned from bluish purple to a dull gray. Its tiny chest barely moved.

"My baby! My baby!"

I forced every last bit of strength out of my body and screamed.

My voice was hoarse, but it carried.

"Help! Someone please save my baby!"

My crying clearly annoyed them.

One of them pulled out a bottle filled with a clear liquid, twisted the cap open, and forced it into my mouth.

"God, you're loud. Shut up already."

The burning liquid scorched my throat and chest like fire.

I instantly lost my voice.

My mouth opened and closed helplessly, but no sound came out.

Tears mixed with blood as they streamed down my face.

They tormented me for nearly an hour.

Only when my body was covered in blood and I was barely breathing did they finally stop, grumbling under their breath.

No one even glanced at the baby. No one cared that I was bleeding heavily.

They simply locked the door and walked away.

With the last bit of strength left in me, I crawled to the bed and gathered my baby's cold little body into my arms.

Stumbling to the door, I pounded on it with everything I had. Bloody handprints smeared across the surface as a broken sound scraped out of my throat.

"Is anyone there? Please save my baby…"

No one answered.

My vision slowly faded.

Just when I thought my child and I would die here like this, the door to the room suddenly opened.

In the darkness closing in around me, I thought I saw a faint beam of light.

For a moment, I believed Eugene had finally come to his senses and rushed back to save us.

But the person who walked in wasn't him. It was the young nurse who hadn't taken part in hurting me.

She hurried over, and the moment she saw me covered in blood, clutching my baby in my arms, tears spilled down her face.

"I'm so sorry… I'm actually a nurse here. I only agreed to help with the delivery because my family needs the money. I didn't know those people weren't real doctors. I couldn't stand watching them hurt you, so I slipped out. I never thought they'd go that far…"

Her hands trembled as she pulled out her phone and started recording the scene.

She filmed my blood-soaked body and the baby lying weak in my arms.

"I'm sending this video to Mr. Cobb. Once he sees what they did to you, he'll come for sure."

After sending the video, she immediately called Eugene.

"Mr. Cobb! Your wife and your baby are in really bad shape! Please come take a look at them right now…"

When Eugene saw the video, his voice turned tense.

"I hired the best doctors. Why is there so much bleeding? When I'm done here, I'll deal with them. Rachel, hold on. I'm coming over right now."

Before he could hang up, Fiona's crying voice drifted through the phone. "Eugene! There's so much blood… I'm so scared. Am I going to die?"

The doctor assisting Fiona sounded alarmed. "Mr. Cobb, Ms. Smith's condition is very critical. If she can't calm down, her emotional distress could cause severe bleeding."

Eugene's voice tightened with panic. "But my wife…"

The doctor seemed to look at the video for a moment before speaking again. "Your wife does appear to be bleeding heavily, but her mental state looks stable."

Eugene let out a heavy sigh.

"Rachel, why are you still making a scene at a time like this? Fiona is in a life-or-death situation, and you're having a nurse fake evidence for you. Just behave yourself. As soon as Fiona is out of danger, I'll come see you."

His words made my entire body shake with rage.

Before he could hang up, I grabbed the phone.

"You're a monster! The people you hired aren't doctors. Fiona paid them to torture me! The baby and I are lying here, covered in blood, and you still think I'm pretending?"

My chest rose and fell violently. Every movement sent fresh blood pouring out.

Eugene seemed irritated by my shouting and gave a cold snort.

"You've got plenty of energy to yell. Sounds like you're doing just fine. If you're angry, take it out on me. Don't go accusing Fiona. She's in the emergency delivery room right now. How could she possibly be hurting you?

"Since you gave birth to our baby today, I'll let this slide. Just stay where you are until Fiona is out of danger."

Then he hung up.

Rage and hatred churned through my chest. All I could do was clutch my baby and cry into the phone in despair.

The blood kept flowing. My vision grew darker and darker.

In that final moment of desperation, I used the last of my strength to send my father a message.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on a hospital gurney.

The nurse from earlier explained that a doctor had just returned from a trip. After hearing her plea for help, he agreed to try to save us.

Hot tears rushed down my face.

We were finally going to be saved!

But just as the gurney was about to roll into the emergency room, a familiar figure stepped forward and blocked the way.

It was Eugene.

Doctors from the emergency room rushed over after hearing what had happened.

The moment they saw me lying on the gurney, covered in blood and barely breathing, one of them stepped forward quickly.

"Mr. Cobb, the patient is suffering from severe hemorrhaging. The baby has no vital signs. We need to start emergency treatment immediately."

Eugene frowned, his voice growing more impatient.

"The doctor already told me the blood and the baby's coloring are fake." His eyes flickered suspiciously. "Did she pay you, too?"

The doctor's face flushed with anger. "I've never taken a bribe in my life. We should call the police!"

Eugene let out a cold laugh. "Alright, alright. Listen to me first. Go take care of Fiona's baby. Give him a proper bath and make sure both mother and child are looked after. Nothing can go wrong with them."

"Mr. Cobb!"

The doctor stomped his foot in frustration.

"The patient's condition is extremely critical. She's experiencing massive internal bleeding, and her throat has chemical burns. If we delay any longer, she'll go into shock. The baby may not be breathing, but there's still a window to try resuscitation."

But Eugene ignored the doctor completely.

He waved his hand and ordered his people to pull the doctors and nurses away.

"Go take care of Fiona first. If anything happens over there, none of you will be able to handle the consequences."

The doctor was dragged away. Before leaving, he looked back at me with helpless regret in his eyes.

The smell of blood filled the hallway. It was so strong that it made people cover their noses.

One of Eugene's assistants couldn't stand it anymore.

He hesitated before speaking, "There's too much blood on Mrs. Cobb. Maybe we should let the doctor check her first…just in case this is real."

Eugene snapped his head toward him, his gaze icy. "What, did she bribe you, too? I didn't realize Rachel was that capable."

He turned and started walking away, his voice cold.

"Rachel, I never thought you'd go this far just to get attention. Using your own child like this… I'm really disappointed in you."

I tried to sit up, wanting to tell him the truth.

But all the emotion trapped in my chest turned into a mouthful of blood.

It burst from my lips and splattered across the baby's cold little face in my arms.

My vision blurred, while my body felt heavier and heavier. The dizziness from the blood loss swallowed me whole.

Just as everything was about to fade into darkness, I heard a voice beside me.

It was both familiar and aching with worry.

"Don't be scared, sweetheart. I'm here."