Chapter 3

Carter rushed into the nurses’ station like a man possessed.

He tore through every cabinet, searching for emergency supplies.

There was nothing.

The shelves were empty.

No clamps.

No gauze.

Not even basic medication.

“Where are the drugs?” he shouted.

“The meds to stop the bleeding. The ones to induce stronger contractions. Where are they?”

A nurse lowered her head.

“They were all taken to the third floor.”

Carter froze.

“What do you mean?”

Her voice dropped even lower.

“Mr. Lang ordered that everything be prioritized for Ms. Vanessa.”

Carter slammed his fist against the cabinet.

Then he turned to look at me.

His eyes were red.

His lips trembled.

“I’m sorry, Serena.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“There’s nothing I can do.”

Chloe walked over and lightly patted his shoulder.

“Carter, don’t worry.”

“Vanessa hasn’t delivered yet.”

“Once she’s done, they’ll move the equipment back downstairs.”

She glanced at my stomach and added in an almost careless tone,

“Besides, even if the baby comes now, so what?”

“It’s only a girl.”

“If she dies, she dies.”

“The Lang family won’t care about one little girl.”

I stared at her.

At the girl I had loved like my own little sister for three years.

Then, with every ounce of strength I had left, I forced out two words.

“You bastard.”

Chloe’s expression darkened at once.

She bent down and leaned close to my ear, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Go ahead. Curse all you want.”

“Once you give birth, you’ll be too weak to fight back.

And when that happens, I'll make sure you stay quiet.”

“By then, Vanessa will take your place.”

“As for you...”

She straightened and smiled brightly.

“If my brother is feeling merciful, maybe he’ll let you live.

You can stay in the house. As a servant.”

Carter could not hold back anymore.

“Miss Lang, this is murder!”

“Murder?” Chloe gave a cold little laugh.

“Watch what you say, Carter.”

“Women die in childbirth every day.

That’s hardly unusual.”

“Besides, this is a family matter.

You’re an outsider.

This is none of your business.”

Then she motioned to the bodyguards.

“Take Carter away. Leave Serena to me.”

Two bodyguards stepped forward immediately.

They grabbed Carter by the arms and dragged him toward the door.

He struggled against them and shouted back at me,

“Serena, listen to me!

Try to keep the contractions going! Press your acupoints!

Stay awake!”

“Don’t give up! Your baby still has a chance!”

His voice grew fainter and fainter.

Then Chloe shut the door and turned back to me.

She pulled a phone from her pocket and started a video call.

“Adrian,” she said sweetly, “Serena’s about to give birth.

Do you want to take a look?”

A second later, Adrian’s face appeared on the screen.

He was standing outside a delivery room.

Doctors and nurses moved quickly behind him.

“Chloe, stop messing around.

Vanessa’s condition is unstable.

The baby’s heart rate is dropping.”

Chloe tilted the phone toward me.

“Look at Serena,” she said lightly.

“She’s bleeding a lot. Do you think she’s about to die?”

Adrian looked at the screen.

He frowned for a second.

Then he looked away.

“She can wait.”

“Once Vanessa delivers, the doctors can go downstairs.”

“Chloe, keep an eye on her. I can’t leave right now.”

The call ended.

Chloe put her phone away and shrugged.

“You heard him.”

“To Adrian, Vanessa comes first.”

“As for you...”

“You were nothing more than a womb.”

“Now that you’re no longer useful, you get thrown away.”

I closed my eyes.

I refused to look at her again.

Slowly, I slid one hand behind my back and felt along the inner lining of my dress.

It was still there.

A tiny device, no bigger than a button.

My father had given it to me.

I could still hear his voice from that day.

“Serena, the Lang family is dangerous.

If anything ever happens to you, press this.”

Back then, I laughed and told him he was worrying too much.

“Dad, I don’t need it.

Adrian is good to me.

So is everyone in the Lang family.”

Now I understood how foolish I had been.

I hooked a fingernail under the protective cover.

Pried it open. Then pressed the button.

There was no sound. No light.

But I knew the signal had gone out.

My father once told me that if I ever used it, someone would get to me within thirty minutes.

But thirty minutes... could my baby make it that long?