Smack!

Priscilla stormed in and slapped me first, yanking my wrist mid-swing. "Naomi Neville, how dare you?! What kind of doctor tries to hit her patient?

"I don't know what Theo ever saw in you. Now that Cecilia's finally pregnant with our family's heir—back in my day, a woman who couldn't bear a son would've been kicked out! Who still marries an infertile wife?

"We were far too generous. And you—trying to sabotage the pregnancy now? If you even THINK about harming that baby, I swear—"

In my last life, staying childfree wasn't my choice—it was Theo's. But to protect his image, I took the fall and told the world it was all me.

That gave Priscilla the perfect excuse to hate me. She never stopped pushing Theo to dump me.

After I died, she stormed into my parents' house, blamed me for "killing their heir," and forced them to give up my inheritance.

Now I knew the truth—she'd been in on it the whole time. The affair, the setup, everything.

Cecilia, who dragged my name through the mud with her malpractice stunt, hadn't even lost the baby. Ten days after I died, she threw a lavish wedding.

They moved into my villa to celebrate.

"Theo, thank God you were smart enough to make Naomi get her uterus removed. Two birds, one stone—we got rid of her and got a grandson! Life is sweet!"

"Yeah. No way we'd be living like this or rolling in cash if she were still around."

Snapped back to the present, I yanked my hand free from Priscilla's grip.

She came to me? Perfect. Saved me the trouble of hunting her down later.

"What is this, the Middle Ages or Game of Thrones? Hate to break it to you, but your bloodline's not that special—and I'm pretty sure your family's got no throne to pass down."

Theo snapped, "How can you say such cruel things to Mom?!"

"She's YOUR mom, not mine. You two are unbelievable. Lied to me about being childfree, tricked me into getting my uterus removed, knocked up your student—and I'M the cruel one?"

The crowd was eating it up. Phones were out. Some had already started live-streaming.

Theo noticed. The panic hit his face fast.

Priscilla shoved him behind her. "Whatever happened, the baby is innocent!

"If you weren't infertile, Theo wouldn't have needed to look elsewhere!

"Our family line passes through ONE son every generation. If Theo has no son, the lineage will end! Right now, only YOU can save my grandson. You're really gonna stand there and let him die?"

I nearly laughed. The guilt-tripping was next-level pathetic.

"If your son and his side chick had enough energy to screw around, they should've thought about the consequences. But just so we're clear—this baby's heart already stopped. Not even a miracle can bring it back."

Theo finally snapped. "I can't believe this is who you really are! You're just jealous that Cecilia can carry my child and you can't. That's why you want to hurt her! Women who can't have kids are always bitter and cruel!"

His words cut deep—but I smiled.

"Instead of wasting time blaming me, you might want to go coffin shopping. That thing in Cecilia's belly? Already dead."

That broke them. Theo and Priscilla lunged at me, slapping me over and over.

Blood ran down the corner of my mouth.

I didn't dodge. I let them hit me.

Because deep down, I knew—Theo was finished.