Zareena’s POV

The nurses looked troubled, clearly caught in a bind.

“Ma’am,” one of them said cautiously, “all the doctors in the city have been called to Edison by Sir Sullivan. Ma’am Shannah pricked her finger during a blood draw, and Sir Sullivan got worried something might happen… so he had every doctor stand by, just in case.”

She hesitated, then added softly, “Right now… there are no doctors available in Paterson. Not a single one.”

Terese’s face went pale with fury. She started calling her son again and again, her voice shaking with rage.

“This is madness! His wife is in labor, bleeding out, and he calls every doctor in the city away just to fuss over his mistress? Does he even care if his wife dies?!”

By the tenth call, Sullivan finally picked up, his voice cold and laced with impatience.

“What do you want, Mom? Don’t tell me she’s stirring up more drama and dragging you in to back her up.”

But Terese wasn’t having it. She shouted into the phone, her voice cracking with urgency.

“Your wife’s barely conscious from blood loss! The baby’s already in distress—it’s not getting enough oxygen! And you—you took all the doctors! Are you trying to kill them?”

There was a pause. Then came his low, sarcastic laugh.

“Oh please. Did she tell you to call me? She already gave birth yesterday. Now she’s pretending she’s still in labor? What a joke.”

He clicked his tongue and said dismissively, “Look, I’m busy. I’m taking newborn photos with Shannah and our son. Zareena wants a doctor? Fine, I’ll send someone.”

Terese hung up, gripping my hand tightly with her cold, trembling fingers.

“Don’t be scared, honey. The doctor will be here soon,” she promised, though her voice was full of fear.

I held my swollen belly with both hands, feeling the life inside me slowly grow weaker.

Tears blurred my vision. My whole body was trembling.

And at that moment, the past came rushing back.

In my previous life, this was exactly how my babies had died—sewn shut inside me by Sullivan’s order, suffocated before they even had a chance to breathe.

Fighting through the pain, I reached out and grabbed Terese’s hand. My voice was weak, but I forced the words out anyway.

“Mom, three years ago, when my dad fell into a coma trying to save Sullivan… you promised to treat me like your own daughter. You said… if he ever treated me badly, you’d help me leave him.”

Tears welled up again as I continued, “I’m begging you. Please… help me divorce him. I swear, I won’t get in the way of the woman he loves, or her child being his heir. Mom, I just… I just want my babies to be born safely.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she nodded repeatedly.

“Yes, I remember… At first, I just wanted to repay your father’s kindness. I only planned to make you my goddaughter. But it was Sullivan—he’s the one who pursued you. He confessed, he proposed, he said he loved you so much…”

She choked on her own words and shook her head. “How did it end up like this? It’s all that bitch’s fault! If she hadn’t shown up out of nowhere, none of this would’ve happened!”

I let out a bitter laugh, my heart breaking.

‘Yeah. How did we go from childhood sweethearts to this?’

He was the one who, at his coming-of-age celebration, blushed and told me he’d love me forever.

He swore, if he ever betrayed me, he’d suffer a thousand cuts and die a painful death.

And now?

He was doing exactly that to me—slashing me apart, piece by piece, for another woman.

“Please… Mom,” I whispered, every syllable scraped from the bottom of my throat.

Hearing the desperation in my voice, she finally nodded, firm with resolve.

“Alright, honey, alright. When you two got married, I made him sign a divorce agreement. I had it drawn up just in case this day ever came.”

She stood abruptly.

“I’ll go get it right now and push it through immediately. First thing tomorrow, I’ll make an official announcement. You’ll be my only heir.”

Her voice hardened.

“And as for that ungrateful son of mine… I won’t acknowledge him anymore!”

She turned and left in a hurry to take care of everything.

I lay there alone, curled on the hospital bed as the waves of pain crashed through me, harder and sharper each time. I couldn’t stop screaming.

Poppy, the assistant Terese had left behind, was pacing nervously, glancing at the door again and again, probably praying the doctor Sullivan promised would show up soon.

Finally, someone did arrive.

But it wasn’t a doctor.

It was a fucking delivery guy!

He stepped into the room, only to freeze at the sight of the blood soaking through the sheets. His face went pale. Hesitantly, he held out a plastic bag.

Something tumbled out—a sanitary pad and a Band-Aid.

“M-Ma’am… s-sir Sullivan said,” the guy stammered, “it’s just… It’s just postpartum bleeding. N-Nothing fatal. He said… clean yourself up… and stop using stuff like this to gross him out.”

Zareena’s POV

Poppy’s hands trembled as she shoved a bag into my arms, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

“Ma’am, I’ll transfer you to Hackensack right now,” she choked out. “Please—you have to hang on!”

But the pain was relentless. It tore through me like fire, ripping screams from my throat. My body was giving out. I could barely hear her anymore. Everything spun. Then—blackness.

When I came to, it was a jolt of agony.

A bucket of freezing water crashed down on me, soaking me to the bone. I gasped, coughing violently as I shivered on the icy floor, too weak to even sit up.

And then I saw him.

Sullivan stood over me, his arms crossed, his face twisted in a look of pure disgust like I was some shit under his shoes.

“You’re awake? Then stop faking it,” he snapped. “You knew damn well I’m making the official heir announcement with Shannah tomorrow, and you still made a scene, running off to another city to get “treated.” What—trying to frame Shannah like she hurt you?”

Behind him stood Shannah, cradling her newborn, her face streaked with tears. Her voice broke as she looked at me, eyes trembling.

“Zareena… I know you hate me. If you want to take it out on someone, take it out on me. Why drag his mother into this? Why take my baby?”

She started sobbing harder.

“Before your assistant was dragged away, she was still shouting that Terese was going back to handle the paperwork to adopt my child… saying I’m not fit to be the heir’s mother…”

Her words hit like daggers. I wanted to scream that it wasn’t true—that I hadn’t done any of it—but my throat was scorched raw. I opened my mouth. Nothing. Only air.

Still, I shook my head and tried.

“I… didn’t…” I rasped, barely audible. “Please… just take me to a hospital… the babies… I can’t… hold on…”

“You’re lying again!” Sullivan snapped, clearly fed up. His brow furrowed. “My mom rushed out of the hospital and brought the lawyers to work overnight—don’t think I don’t know it was your idea. You think if you steal her baby, it’ll make you the official mother of the heir?”

He let out a cold, hollow laugh.

“You already gave birth yesterday, didn’t you? And now you’re here pretending you’re still in labor, half-dead? Trying to guilt me into pitying you?” He sneered. “Save it.”

My whole body ached. Every muscle screamed. Between my legs, I could feel the crusted blood clinging to my skin. The smell—iron, sweat, death—hung heavy around me.

Shannah gagged, covering her mouth, her eyes welling up again.

“Zareena… you know I can’t take the smell of blood after giving birth… Why won’t you clean yourself up?” Her voice cracked, soft and fragile. “Are you trying to make me pass out?”

She collapsed into Sullivan’s chest like a wilting flower, delicate and pale.

“Look at you!” Sullivan spat. “You’re a mess—filthy, disgusting, reeking. You’re a damn embarrassment!”

He raised a hand, and without hesitation, his men returned—this time with more buckets.

Ice water slammed against my skin, again and again, until I was numb, shivering so hard my bones felt like they’d snap. My lips turned blue. My body went limp. Still, they kept going—until Sullivan finally waved them off.

Meanwhile, Shannah sobbed harder in his arms. Her voice trembled with hysteria.

“Please, Zareena… I’m begging you. Don’t take my baby. If you’re really going to… then I’ll just jump out the window and die!”

She broke free from his arms and ran toward the window, looking ready to leap. Sullivan caught her, pulling her into his arms protectively.

Then he turned on me, eyes burning with rage.

I had barely enough strength to grab the hem of his pants, desperate—pleading.

But he kicked my hand away like it was nothing.

He crouched beside me, his voice low and deadly.

“You really think getting my mother involved is enough to keep your seat as the heir’s mother? I’ve already sent people to lock up the family villa. It’s over, Zareena. Whatever plan you had with my mother—it ends now.”

His next words sent ice through my blood.

“And you—how many times have I warned you not to mess with Shannah or her baby? But you never listen. Fine. You leave me no choice.”

He turned to his men, his tone flat, like he was just ordering dinner.

“She pushed Shannah to the brink. Almost made her jump. Time to make her pay. Go. Pull out her father’s oxygen tube. Then toss him off the roof.”

“No!” My scream tore from the depths of my soul. “Sullivan! That’s my dad! He saved your life!”

“So what?” he hissed. “He saved me just so he could sell you to me. So his daughter could marry into wealth. So his grandson would be my heir. He cashed in that favor for money.”

He stood, looking down like I was already buried.

“Well, he got what he wanted. I married you. I even let you carry my child.”

He paused, his face like stone.

“But you couldn’t even keep the first one alive. And that’s on you. I’ve repaid my debt. I don’t owe either of you a goddamn thing anymore!”

Zareena’s POV

“Do it!” Sullivan urged.

I didn’t even think. I lunged at his men, desperately trying to stop them. But one of them kicked me so hard my body flew across the room and hit the floor with a bone-jarring thud.

The blood that had already dried between my legs tore free again from the force of the blow. It came gushing out like a ruptured dam, soaking the white tiles in seconds.

A scream ripped out of me, raw and primal, as pain exploded through my body. I curled in on myself, shaking, my hands clutching uselessly at my belly. It was too late. I could feel it.

Sullivan stepped forward, hand outstretched, about to drag me again—but then he froze.

His eyes locked onto my abdomen, now clearly swollen, round, unmistakable. Then he saw the blood—fresh, bright, everywhere.

His face went ghostly white in an instant.

Without hesitation, he dropped to his knees and pulled me into his arms. “Shit,” he muttered, panic flickering in his eyes for the first time. “What the hell…”

He spun around and glared at Shannah. “What the hell is going on?!” he barked. “I told you to deal with her delivery! You told me she already gave birth yesterday! That the baby was in the nursery!”

He pointed at my belly, his voice rising. “Then why the hell is she still this big?! Why is she still bleeding?!”

For a split second, Shannah’s expression faltered. But then she blinked rapidly and quickly squeezed out tears, pulling out her phone with shaking hands.

“She did give birth yesterday,” she sobbed. “The baby’s been in the nursery since then! I knew she’d pull something like this, so I had the doctor take a video just in case—look!”

She handed him the phone. On the screen was a grainy, shaky video of a baby who clearly looked at least a month old. The footage was awfully fake beyond belief.

But Sullivan barely looked at it.

And he believed her.

His face twisted, rage overtaking panic. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed me by the arm and yanked me upright like I weighed nothing. Then he slammed me back onto the cold hard floor.

My head cracked against the tiles. A sharp snap—and then the warmth of blood, pooling fast behind my skull.

“You lied to me?!” he snarled. His voice was hoarse now, shaking with fury. “You faked a pregnancy?! Used fake blood to make me feel sorry for you?!”

He bared his teeth. “How disgusting can you get? You think I’d fall for it again? Dream on!”

Then his foot came down—hard—on my belly.

“No—!” I choked out, but it was too late.

Another kick. Another burst of blood.

Then another.

And another.

Each brutal stomp stole the air from my lungs. Each one sent a fresh wave of agony crashing through me. The floor around me turned slick with blood, but my limbs were going numb. My body was shutting down.

“Aah! Please… stop…”

My voice cracked. I tried to beg. But my throat was raw, and my mouth tasted like iron. Even the pain was fading now—just dull pressure, duller fear. I couldn’t even cry anymore.

I lay there in silence, curled up in a puddle of what was left of me.

Finally, he stopped. Breathing hard, he yanked off his bloodstained jacket and tossed it aside.

Then he turned to Shannah, all tenderness and guilt, like none of it had just happened.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “I shouldn’t have let you deal with this mess. I’ll take care of it. And afterward… how about a honeymoon? The islands, just the two of us. My way of making it up to you—does that sound okay?”

Shannah shook her head gently, tears sparkling in her eyes. Her voice was soft—sweet, even.

“It’s okay… really. She hates me so much. If you leave now, what if she comes up with something else to separate me from the baby?”

She hesitated just long enough for the words to sting. Then added softly, “Maybe I should just go. Take the baby with me. Let your child be the heir.”

Every syllable was sugar-coated poison. And it worked.

Sullivan’s gaze darkened. His voice was calm again, but the ice underneath it cut like a knife.

“Don’t worry,” he said coldly. “She won’t get another chance to hurt you. Or our baby.”

He turned to his men and gestured sharply. “Lock her in the basement. She stays there until after the press conference—after I announce my son as the heir.”

They dragged me away like I was nothing—some animal bleeding out on the marble floor. Behind me, a streak of red followed like a trail of death.

My vision kept fading in and out. Pain blurred the world. But somehow, I managed to hold on to one last breath.

And with that breath, I begged.

“Please… Sullivan… I only asked your mother to help with our divorce. I wasn’t trying to take her baby…

“My babies… they already died once because of you. And now… they won’t make it this time either…

“I’ve already stepped aside for you. For her. For your happy family…

“Please, just… leave my dad… alone.”