CHAPTER TWO — NO EVIDENCE

CHLOE

Beep. Beep. Beep.

My eyes slowly opened.

The first thing I saw was a white ceiling.

I stared at it blankly, trying to remember where I was. My body felt heavy, and a strange pain twisted through my lower stomach.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sound continued beside me.

I slowly turned my head and noticed a machine next to my bed. An IV line ran into my hand, and white sheets covered my body.

A hospital?

How did I get here?

I tried to sit up, but the pain in my stomach forced me back against the pillow.

Then I heard a familiar voice.

"Lord, please. Let my baby be okay. Please, don't let anything happen to my daughter."

I turned towards the voice.

"Mom?"

My mother sat beside my bed, still wearing her nurse scrubs. Her eyes were red, and she looked exhausted. The moment she noticed I was awake, she jumped to her feet.

"Chloe!"

She rushed to my side and held my hand.

"Oh, thank God! Baby, you're awake!"

Her voice broke as she brushed my hair away from my face.

"How are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Can you hear me properly?"

"My stomach hurts," I whispered.

Her expression tightened with concern.

"Don't try to move too much, sweetheart. You've lost a lot of blood."

Lost blood?

Suddenly, everything came rushing back.

Jace's apartment.

The tea.

The pain.

The blood running down my legs.

Jenna's voice telling Jace not to help me.

My fingers curled around the bedsheet.

My baby.

I immediately placed my hand on my stomach and looked at my mother.

"Mom, how's my baby?"

She froze.

"Your baby?"

I looked at her, confused by her reaction.

"Yes, Mom. My baby. Please, is my baby okay?"

Before she could ask me another question, the door opened.

Dr. Patel walked into the room, holding a clipboard. She greeted my mother before approaching my bed.

"Good morning, Chloe. I'm glad you're awake."

I barely acknowledged her greeting.

"Doctor, please. How is my baby?"

Dr. Patel pulled a chair closer to my bed.

"Chloe, your condition was critical when you arrived. You had lost a significant amount of blood, and we had to give you two units of blood to stabilize you. You're stable now, but we need to discuss the results of your examinations."

My mother's grip on my hand tightened.

"Two units of blood?" she repeated. "What exactly happened to my daughter?"

"We'll explain everything, ma'am," Dr. Patel assured her before turning back to me.

"Chloe, your bloodwork showed the presence of those pills. These are medications commonly used in medical terminations."

My heart began pounding.

She continued, "Did you take these medications yourself?"

"No!" I answered immediately.

"Can you explain what happened?"

Tears gathered in my eyes.

"Jace and Jenna put them in my tea. I didn't know they were there. They gave me chamomile tea, and I drank it because I trusted them."

My mother stared at me.

"What?"

I turned towards her.

"Mom, I didn't know. I swear I didn't know."

Her face had gone pale.

"Chloe, what are you talking about? Who is Jace? And why would someone put medication in your tea?"

I opened my mouth to explain, but Dr. Patel gently interrupted.

"Ma'am, I understand this is unexpected. However, there's something else your daughter needs to know about her medical condition."

My mother's eyes moved between us.

Dr. Patel took a breath.

"Chloe, we conducted an ultrasound to assess your pregnancy. I'm very sorry, but the results show no cardiac activity. You've suffered a pregnancy loss."

I stared at her.

For a moment, I couldn't understand what she had said.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Chloe. You've lost the baby."

"No."

The word escaped my lips before I could stop it.

I shook my head.

"No, that can't be true."

Dr. Patel's expression softened.

"I'm very sorry."

"No!" My voice broke. "Please, check again! Maybe something is wrong with the machine!"

"Chloe—"

"My baby can't be gone!"

Tears streamed down my face as I pressed my hands against my stomach.

"My baby didn't do anything wrong!"

My mother looked at me, tears filling her eyes.

She pulled me carefully into her arms.

I clung to her, sobbing.

"I didn't even get to meet my baby, Mom. I didn't get to hold my baby. I didn't even get the chance to tell anyone."

"Oh, sweetheart."

She stroked my hair, crying quietly with me.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

She pulled back slightly and looked into my eyes.

"Why are you apologizing, baby?"

"I should have told you."

Her lips trembled.

"Yes, you should have told me. But we can talk about that later. I wish you had felt comfortable enough to come to me, but I understand that you had things you needed to figure out."

She wiped my tears with her thumb.

"You are my daughter, Chloe. Nothing that happens will ever change that. Right now, I want you to rest and get better. We will face everything else together."

I nodded, unable to speak.

She kissed my forehead and held me again.

After a while, Dr. Patel explained that I needed time to recover and that the medical team would continue monitoring my condition.

My mother thanked her quietly.

Once the doctor finished, I finally found the strength to explain.

"I found out that I was five weeks pregnant. Jenna was with me when I discovered it."

My mother looked up.

"Jenna knew?"

I nodded.

"She's my best friend, Mom. I wanted to tell Jace first because he's the father. I planned to tell you too, but everything happened before I got the chance."

My mother shook her head slowly.

"I can't believe this."

I looked away.

"Jace is my boyfriend. I trusted him."

"And Jenna?"

"My best friend."

The words hurt to say.

My mother sighed and gently squeezed my hand.

"I'm not happy that you kept this from me, Chloe. But I will never stop loving you because of it. You don't have to go through this alone."

I nodded, tears slipping down my cheeks again.

Then I remembered Jenna's voice.

The way she had watched me bleed.

The way she had told Jace not to help me.

And the way she had said it was for the best.

My grief slowly turned into anger.

"They knew what they were doing, Mom. They put those pills in my tea."

My mother went still.

"Are you certain?"

"I heard them talking. I heard Jenna telling Jace not to help me. She didn't even care that I was bleeding."

My mother's expression changed.

The sadness in her eyes was replaced by anger.

"Those people did this to you?"

I nodded.

She took a deep breath, trying to control herself.

"Chloe, listen to me. You need to recover, and you need to take care of yourself. But what you're telling me is serious, and we cannot simply ignore it."

She reached for my phone on the bedside table.

"I'm calling the police."

I didn't stop her.

I wanted justice.

I wanted someone to believe me.

And most of all, I wanted my baby back.

But I knew that no matter what happened next, my baby wasn't coming back.

The police arrived shortly afterwards.

Two officers entered the room, introduced themselves, and asked me to explain what had happened.

I told them everything.

The tea.

The bleeding.

Jenna telling Jace not to help me.

The messages.

I handed over my phone, and they took my statement.

"We will investigate the allegations," one officer said professionally.

For the first time, I felt a small spark of hope.

Maybe, just maybe, they would believe me.

Three hours later, the officers returned.

My mother immediately stood up.

"Have you completed your investigation?"

One of the officers nodded before addressing us.

"Miss Hart, we have completed our preliminary investigation. We examined the apartment, but we found no physical evidence. The mugs had been washed, and the tea bag was no longer available."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"What about Jace and Jenna?"

"We interviewed both individuals. They denied your allegations and stated that you had requested the medication yourself."

"They're lying!" I cried.

My mother stepped forward, her voice trembling with anger.

"So, because there's no evidence, they're just going to walk away?"

"Ma'am, we understand your concerns. At present, we cannot substantiate the allegations."

The officers gave a brief nod before leaving the room.

I sat motionless, staring at the doorway.

Jace and Jenna had taken my baby from me, and now they were going to return to their lives as though nothing had happened.

And I was the one left to suffer the consequences.

My mother sat beside me and rubbed my back gently.

"Don't worry, baby. We'll get through this."

I wanted to believe her.

But how could I get through something that had already taken so much from me?

An hour passed.

Then my phone buzzed again.

I reached for it, expecting another message from Jace.

Instead, a notification caught my attention.

UT Confessions posted 3 minutes ago.

My thumb hovered over the screen before I opened it.

A photograph filled the page.

It had been taken outside St. David's Hospital that day.

In the picture, I was lying on a stretcher, wearing a hospital gown. My eyes were closed, and blood was still visible on my legs.

Behind the stretcher stood a guy in a hoodie, pushing it.

His face was mostly hidden, but his jawline was visible beneath the hood.

The caption read:

"Any tea on the girl from Chem who had a secret abortion today? Front of St. David's Hospital rn. Stretcher tea is HOT. Is Jace Morgan the father? 5 weeks? #UTConfessions #UTexas"

My mouth went dry.

Someone had taken a picture of me while I was unconscious.

I scrolled down.

The comments were already exploding.

@UTJunior22: Is that not Sterling Brooks pushing her stretcher?? That hoodie looks like his??

@ChemGirl101: No, it's not Sterling. It can't be him. He never talks to anyone.

@AustinTea: I know that hoodie. That's not him. Sterling wouldn't be caught dead near drama.

@KappaKappa: Who knows? Maybe this is the real father of the child, not Jace. Maybe she was cheating?

@MorganFan: Wait, is that Chloe Hart? She was pregnant?

I stopped scrolling.

They knew my name.

They knew I was pregnant.

And they were turning the worst day of my life into gossip for the entire campus.

I stared at the photograph.

Then I saw another comment.

@ChemGirl101: If Sterling was the one pushing her stretcher, why was he there in the first place? Something isn't adding up.

I paused at his name.

Sterling? No, it couldn't be him. He barely spoke to anyone and always kept to himself.

I couldn't take it anymore.

I sat up, pain shooting through my stomach as I stared at the screen.

"WHO DID THIS?"