Chapter 3

I stayed in my dark room for three days. I cried loudly so they could hear me. I played the part of the broken, grieving mother.

Outside my door, I heard Danica complain.

"She is so annoying, George," Danica whined. "Make her stop crying. I cannot stand her voice."

The bedroom door opened. George walked in. A strange man in a white coat followed him. He carried a black medical bag. George looked at me with cold eyes.

"Stop crying," George ordered. "Since you lost the first baby, you owe Danica another one."

I stared at him. My mind could not understand his cruel words. "What?"

"You heard me," George said. "We will do the medical procedure again. We will use my sperm and Danica's egg. You will carry it."

My chest hurts. He never wanted a family with me. My whole life with him was a lie.

"Why?" I cried. Real tears filled my eyes. "Why are you doing this to me, George? I loved you! I gave you everything! You promise me everything yet when she came back—"

"Because you killed my sister!" he yelled.

I froze. My breath stopped in my throat. I looked at him in pure shock.

"What are you talking about?" I whispered. "I do not know anything about your sister. I never killed anyone!"

"Do not lie to me!" George screamed. He grabbed my arm and squeezed it hard. "Three years ago, my sister died in a terrible car crash. The driver was drunk. The driver left my sister in the burning car and ran away into the dark."

I shook my head wildly. "George, that was not me! I do not even know how to drive! I was never in a car crash!"

"Stop lying!" George hissed. He pushed me back against the pillows. "Danica told me the truth. Danica was walking near the road that night. She saw you. She saw you crawl out of the driver's seat and run away. She told me everything."

My heart dropped into my stomach.

"That is why I found you," George said coldly. "That is why I made you fall in love with me. It was all a trap. You took my sister's life, so I decided you will give a life back to my family. You will be our vessel until we have a child."

I wanted to scream the truth. I wanted to tell him that his perfect Danica was a liar and a murderer. But I looked at George's angry eyes. He would never believe me. Danica had him completely trapped in her evil web.

"Give her the medicine," George told the doctor.

The doctor stepped forward. He opened his bag and placed three large, ugly bottles on my table.

"These are aggressive fertility pills," the doctor said. "They will force your body to prepare for a new pregnancy immediately. They will cause severe pain and heavy bleeding. But you must take them every day."

George looked at me. "You will take them. Or I will lock you in the warehouse again."

He turned and left the room. The doctor followed him.

I was alone. I grabbed my hidden black phone from under the mattress. My hands shook with anger and fear. I typed a fast message to Matt.

Stephanie: "George wants me to have another baby for Danica. He brought a doctor. They left aggressive fertility pills. They want to force my body to get pregnant right now. The doctor said it will hurt me."

I sent another message right away.

Stephanie: "George thinks I killed his sister in a car crash three years ago. I did not do it! Danica lied to him. Danica told him she saw me run away from the crash. That is why George is torturing me."

I waited. The screen lit up almost instantly.

Matt: "Do not take the pills. I will fix this. Give me one hour."

I hid the phone under my pillow.

Exactly one hour later, my bedroom door opened very quietly. A young maid walked in. She opened the ugly medicine bottles. She poured the dangerous pills into her bag. Then, she took out a different bottle from her pocket. She filled George's bottles with small, pink pills.

"Mr. Matt Blackwood paid me," Anna whispered softly. "These are just sweet vitamins. They will not hurt you. I will throw the bad pills away."

"Thank you," I whispered back.

Ten minutes later, the door banged open. George and Danica walked in. Danica crossed her arms and smiled a mean smile.

"Time for your medicine," George said coldly.

He picked up the bottle. He took out two pink pills. He poured a glass of water and handed it to me.

"Swallow them," Danica ordered. "We want to watch."

I took the pills with a shaking hand. I put them in my mouth. They tasted like sweet candy. I drank the water and swallowed them down.

Then, I acted.

I dropped the glass. It shattered on the hard floor. I grabbed my stomach and bent over. I let out a loud gasp of fake pain. I squeezed my eyes shut and groaned loudly.

"It hurts!" I cried.

Danica laughed. It was a cruel, ugly sound.

"Good," Danica said. "It is supposed to hurt. Your body is waking up. You will be my incubator very soon."

George looked at me with disgust. "Take them every day. Do not make me force you."

They turned around and walked out of the room. They locked the door behind them.

I stayed bent over until I heard their footsteps fade away down the hall.

Then, I slowly sat up. I stopped groaning.

I wiped the fake tears from my face.