Before I could say another word, Ethan bent down and grabbed the shattered porcelain bowl of oatmeal off the floor. He shoved the shards and oatmeal straight into my mouth.

"Hazel and I have struggled to survive for the past three years. Yet, you've been leeching off the Moore family, living in comfort with that child in your belly! Well, let me make sure you get your fill today!" he barked.

I instantly choked, unable to speak. The sharp pieces of porcelain cut into the inside of my mouth, and blood gushed across my tongue.

I raised a hand to resist, but Hazel stomped her stiletto heel down hard on my hand.

Pain shot up my arm, and my hand trembled uncontrollably. I couldn't even cry out.

Ethan spat in my face after stuffing every bit of that oatmeal into my mouth. He then clapped his hands and stood up.

Hazel's stiletto heel shifted toward my swollen belly.

Terror gripped me. I grabbed her ankle with all the strength I had, trying desperately to stop her from stepping down.

Jeremiah has been infertile since birth. We finally conceived this child after we visited the best doctors across the country and abroad for three years.

Hazel looked down at me with a sneer. "Audrey, you look just like a dog protecting her pup. Pathetic."

Ethan frowned at my belly.

"If word gets out that I've been cheated on like this, how am I supposed to show my face in Beverton City? Step on it, Hazel. Crush that illegitimate child before it's born!"

I shook my head like mad. Blood and vomit spilled from my mouth as I choked out the words.

"This baby… This baby is Jeremiah's…"

Ethan froze before bursting into a maniacal laugh.

"Are you kidding me, Audrey? Everyone in Beverton knows my uncle has never touched a woman. He can't even have kids! Right now, I'm the only one left in the Moore family to carry on the bloodline. That's why Grandpa desperately wanted me to marry you and have kids."

Hazel chimed in, "Ethan is the only heir. Grandpa even cut off all his cards to force him back home and inherit the estate. Audrey, you're beyond shameless. How dare you drag Uncle Jeremiah into it after we've exposed you?"

Ethan had eloped with Hazel for three years and hadn't contacted the family once. His grandpa, David Moore, had given up on him completely. He had frozen all Ethan's accounts because he wanted to disown him.

But now, clearly, neither of them was in the right state of mind. To avoid provoking them, I didn't argue back.

I repeated, "I'm not lying. This baby really is Jeremiah's. I'll call him right now if you don't believe me."

I covered my belly with one hand and reached for the phone on the table with the other.

My baby and I would be safe if I could reach Jeremiah. He would come immediately to save me.

But just as I grabbed the phone, Ethan snatched it from my hand and smashed it.

The screen cracked into pieces, and I felt my heart sink with it.

He grabbed my chin and said, "My uncle's temper is unpredictable. Everyone in Beverton fears him. If he finds out I can't even handle a cheating wife, he'll think I'm worthless. He'll never hand the company over to me. Audrey, that's why you were trying to call him, right?"

I shook my head frantically. "No, the baby is…"

Before I could finish, Hazel stepped on my belly with the tip of her high heel.

"Why are you even wasting time on this woman, Ethan? Let's kill that baby and go earn some credit with Grandpa."

A wave of searing pain shot through my abdomen. I could feel the baby twisting in panic inside me, and terror—unlike anything I'd ever known—flooded my chest.

I looked up at them, pleading. "Please… Don't hurt my baby…"

Hazel lifted her phone and aimed it at me, saying, "Get on your knees, bark like a dog, and say you're filthy. Do that, and maybe I'll spare your baby."

For the sake of the child in my belly, I could no longer care about my pride or dignity. I turned and dropped to my knees.

I let out two barking sounds, my voice trembling as I said, "I'm filthy."

Hazel leaned down as she curled her lips into a triumphant smile.

"Audrey, when I once kneeled in front of you and begged you not to marry Ethan, did you ever imagine you'd end up like this?"

Hazel had come to plead with me back then, saying she and Ethan were in love, and asked me to call off the engagement.

The marriage between the Moore and the Smith families had been arranged by our elders, bound by countless business interests.

If I were to end it, the blame would fall squarely on my family—we'd be the ones suffering the consequences. So, I rejected her request.

I never thought she'd hold that grudge for this long.

But I had no strength left to argue about the past. I looked up at them, pleading, "Please call an ambulance…"

Ethan stomped down hard on my back.

"Audrey, you really are shameless! You'd do anything for that disreputable child!"

I was crushed to the ground, my belly slamming against the hard floor. Pain exploded across my belly like wildfire.

"You said you'd spare the baby…" I muttered.

Hazel's tone was nonchalant as she remarked, "I said I'd let the child go. Ethan didn't say a thing, did he?"

"You've got some nerve to use that child and my name to lie your way into the Moore family. Do you think I'd let you off that easily? Dream on!" Ethan snapped.

Ethan kicked me square in the stomach. Pain shot through me like lightning, and bright red blood began to stream down my legs.

I could feel the baby in my belly stop moving bit by bit. Despair surged through me, and the hatred in my eyes as I looked at them cut deeper than a blade.

"Ethan, Hazel, you're going to regret it!" I shouted.

Hazel stood next to Ethan, her gaze full of venom.

"Ethan, she still doesn't know how to repent. Clearly, she still hasn't learned her lesson."

Ethan sneered. "We'll see who ends up regretting this. Hazel, go get a rope."

Hazel understood instantly. She rummaged in the living room, returned with a rope, and walked toward me.

I dragged my bloodied body and retreated. My eyes were filled with terror as I asked, "What are you doing?"

But all I got in return were their faces twisted with excitement.

They tied my hands and feet together. They then dragged me out of the house by the rope. Blood smeared the floor behind me in a long, terrible trail.

They dragged me to the edge of the pool. Ethan kicked me into the water.

I couldn't move with my limbs bound, so I sank straight to the bottom in despair.

The pool water rushed into my nose and mouth—I was suffocating. Just when I thought I was going to die, Ethan yanked the rope and pulled me back up.

"Have you learned your lesson, Audrey? Do you dare to cheat on me again?"

I gasped for air, but the pain in my abdomen kept sinking deeper and deeper.

I had taken prenatal classes with Jeremiah. I knew what was happening. The trauma had triggered early labor.

Although I knew the chances of saving the baby were slim, I couldn't give up hope. I begged Ethan again.

"I was wrong. I'll never do it again. Please, spare me and the baby. I'm going into labor. Please call an ambulance. I'm begging you…"

Ethan spat at me. "Even now, you're still thinking about that child? You clearly haven't learned a lesson! There's no way I'm letting that child leave the Moore residence alive!"

With that, he raised his foot again, ready to kick me back into the pool.

I closed my eyes in despair. Fear of drowning filled my heart.

Just then, the front door of the villa slammed open.

Jeremiah rushed over, panic written all over his face as he shouted, "Stop right there!"