Chapter 1

The contractions felt like a rusty saw dragging back and forth across my lower abdomen.

Every breath I took tasted of thick, metallic blood.

I was lying in the delivery room of Vance Private Hospital.

Cold sweat had long soaked through my thin hospital gown.

Outside the door, I heard the nurses whispering in hushed tones.

"The guy in the VIP suite is out of his mind. He's actually forcing his wife, who's in active labor, to hold it in."

"Hold it in? How do you even do that?"

"By injecting a massive dose of contraction inhibitors. Apparently, his childhood sweetheart is getting an MRI, her claustrophobia kicked in, and she’s crying and screaming for him to be there."

"Is he insane? His wife is about to give birth! Forcing her to delay labor could kill both mother and child!"

"Shh, keep your voice down. He's Luke Carter, the youngest Vice President of our hospital. Word is he's also the CEO's son-in-law. We can't afford to mess with him."

The nurses’ footsteps faded into the distance.

I stared at the harsh, white fluorescent lights on the ceiling, my vision blurring.

Luke Carter.

My husband.

Just three hours ago, he was kissing my forehead at home.

He had pressed his ear to my belly, his voice so gentle it could melt.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I'll be right by your side at the hospital today to welcome our baby."

Now, he was keeping another woman company during an MRI.

To soothe her petty claustrophobia, he had ordered the staff to pump me with inhibitors.

To force me to hold it in.

The door creaked open.

A nurse walked in carrying a medical tray.

It was Nora, the head nurse whom Luke had personally promoted.

Usually, when she saw me, she was all smiles, calling me "Mrs. Carter" with dripping sweetness.

Now, she wouldn't even look me in the eye.

Her face was masked in cold, professional indifference.

"Mrs. Carter, Dr. Carter ordered this. Your contraction frequency is too high. We need to administer the inhibitor immediately."

She practicedly picked up the syringe.

She flicked it to release the air bubbles.

A few drops of clear liquid splashed onto the back of my hand.

It felt bone-chillingly cold.

"I'm not taking that," I said.

I bit my lower lip so hard I tasted copper.

Nora frowned, her tone dripping with impatience.

"You don't have a choice. Lily is throwing a massive fit in the MRI room, and Dr. Carter can't leave her side."

"If you give birth now, there won't be an attending OB-GYN to deliver your baby."

"Holding it in is best for both you and the child."

Without waiting for my consent, she grabbed my wrist.

She violently tied a tourniquet around it.

The needle hovered inches from my vein.

*Hold it in.*

What a sick joke.

High-dose contraction inhibitors are lethal for a woman in active labor.

It forces the uterus to stop contracting.

It suffocates the fetus inside.

It can even trigger a massive, fatal postpartum hemorrhage.

Luke was a top OB-GYN specialist.

He knew the consequences of this injection better than anyone.

Yet, he still gave the order.

Just because his childhood friend was scared of a machine.

He wanted me, his pregnant wife, to force our baby back into my womb.

I stared at the sharp needle.

Luke's past vows flashed through my mind.

Three years ago, he was just a broke resident who couldn't even afford rent.

I had hidden my status as the heiress of the Vance Group and married him without a second thought.

To protect his fragile, pathetic ego, I didn't even make our relationship public at my family's hospital.

I lived in a cramped basement with him, eating instant noodles.

I watched him climb from a lowly resident to the Vice President.

I thought I had married for love.

It turned out I had just married a joke.

"Get away from me," I growled.

I yanked my hand back.

The needle scraped across my skin, leaving a long, bleeding scratch.

Nora gasped, dropping the syringe to the floor.

"Are you crazy?!"

I threw off the blanket.

I stepped barefoot onto the freezing cold tiles.

A mixture of amniotic fluid and blood ran down my thighs.

Every step felt like walking on broken glass.

"I said, I'm not taking it."

I gripped the edge of the bed, forcing my spine straight.

"Tell Luke to drag his ass over here and face me."

Nora sneered, her eyes full of contempt.

"Who do you think you are? Dr. Carter is the CEO's son-in-law, and Lily is his childhood sweetheart."

"You think you can just order him around?"

*The CEO's son-in-law.*

Yes, he was riding on the glory my father gave him, playing god in this hospital.

And now, he was using my father's power to trample on my life.

I forced myself to calm down.

I took a deep breath, riding out another wave of agony.

"Fine. If he won't come," I said, wiping the blood from my lip, "I'll go find him."

I pushed past Nora and stumbled out of the delivery room.

The cold draft in the hallway hit me, clearing my head.

I needed to ask him.

I needed to ask the man who held me every night and whispered sweet nothings into my ear...

What kind of monster was he?