Contraceptives? I looked at Daniel in shock, shaking. “What contraceptives?”

Daniel avoided my gaze and fidgeted with his tie. “What matters is, you can’t possibly be pregnant.”

I stared at him and suddenly understood. The “vitamins” he gave me every day, supposedly imported from Switzerland, were contraceptives.

No wonder the doctors kept saying my hormone levels were too low to conceive. I even took supplements and did yoga every day to reduce my stress, all in the hopes of having a baby.

Three months ago, I stopped taking the vitamins because I was worried about their contents. Ironically, my caution foiled his careful plan.

The pain in my belly intensified. Blood rushed out from between my legs. I looked at the red blossoming on my white dress and finally understood what was happening.

I grabbed his hand desperately. “I’m begging you… Call the ambulance…”

Daniel hesitated, but Victoria quickly interrupted him. “I studied medicine at Johns Hopkins University, but I’d never seen bleeding like that from a miscarriage. She should have done more research before pretending.”

“Yeah, Dad!” The girl hugged Daniel’s leg. “She was yelling at us all angrily just a moment ago. She must be acting!”

The boy looked at him innocently, too. “She even threatened to call the cops.”

“No, I never…” The pain made it hard for me to speak.

Daniel’s expression grew colder. He looked at the children’s innocent expressions and shook his head disappointedly. “Children won’t lie.”

“I’m really… pregnant…” I tried to explain, but he had already straightened up.

“Enough,” he said coldly. “If you get up now, I’ll pretend nothing happened.”

Victoria held his arm. “Don’t be mad. She just got carried away.”

“Let’s go.” Daniel gave me one last look, with an expression I did not recognize. “If you still want to stay here, clean up the mess yourself.”

My bleeding got worse, creating a crimson puddle on the floor. My gaze began to blur as I watched him lead the two kids into the elevator.

I would not stop bleeding. I could feel my life slipping away, but I could not die here. I could not let them get what they wanted.

My phone screen lit up in my hazy vision. It was a message from Robert, saying, [The car is waiting in the basement car park. Hang in there.]

Robert was my father’s old comrade, who had been protecting me in secret. I used the last of my strength to dial the emergency call button.

If I survived, I swore to make them pay!

If I died… No, I would never die! Not before I avenged my baby!

As my vision went black, I heard footsteps rushing toward me.

…

That night, Daniel finally got the kids to settle down in bed. Massaging his temples, he asked the butler off-handedly, “Where’s Emma?”

The butler lowered his head, his voice trembling. “Mr. Hudson, she… has passed away…”

Daniel froze instantly. “What did you say?”

“The doctor said she… haemorrhaged… By the time she reached the hospital, she was already…”The butler choked. “The body has already been cremated…”