Chapter 2

Upon receiving Oliver's order, the staff immediately came over and removed the gag from my mouth. The moment my jaw was free, I looked at Oliver, my voice trembling as I called his name.

The crowd instantly burst into laughter.

"Listen to that, Oliver. She's calling for you!"

"Oliver really is something else. She's already head over heels for him, and they've barely met."

"Her voice is giving me goosebumps. Oliver, why don't you just take her home later?"

Oliver's expression darkened as he looked over in my direction. "Why does her voice sound so much like Alex's?"

I hurriedly tried to speak. "I… am… Alex…"

But my words came out jagged, broken by the continuous jolts of electricity running through my body. I couldn't string together a single coherent sentence.

Just then, Caroline shot me a venomous look and said, "Oliver, this bitch didn't just copy Alexandra's figure. She even copied her voice. That's beyond disgusting!"

Whatever suspicion had been in Oliver's eyes hardened into loathing. "No one can ever replace Alex in my heart."

He then instructed the staff, "Get the whip."

A staff member brought out a dark whip and lashed it across me over and over again.

"Ah!"

Pain tore through me, so sharp that I couldn't stop myself from crying out.

Lash marks spread across my entire body, and an agonizing cramp flared deep within my lower abdomen.

Terror swallowed me whole. I wanted to shield my stomach, but I couldn't move. All I could do was scream, "The baby… My baby!"

I had been frail since birth, and getting pregnant had never come easily to me. For this baby, Oliver and I had seen more doctors than I could count.

We had tried everything, including modern medicine, traditional remedies, and even every old wives' tale people swore by.

Three months ago, when I found out I was pregnant, Oliver had swept me into his arms, overwhelmed with excitement. "Alex, we're going to be parents!"

When morning sickness left me unable to eat, he personally cooked anything that might help settle my stomach.

When he saw me getting thinner by the day, he was so worried that he cried and said it didn't matter whether this baby was a boy or a girl. This would be our only child.

And now, he was the one personally killing his own baby.

Warm blood trickled down my legs, pooling on the floor beneath me and staining the wood scarlet.

"Look, she's bleeding!" someone shouted.

"She must care more about a paycheck than her own life. Who comes here while they're pregnant?"

"Maybe it's some random man's kid, and she wasn't planning to keep it anyway. She's likely looking for a way to demand a payout."

From the balcony, Oliver waved a hand, signaling for the staff to stop. He looked at me, still bleeding, and said, "Take her to the hospital. Consider it a prayer for Alex and the child she's carrying."

Caroline immediately stopped him. "Oliver, this could be another stunt she planned to get your attention. I'll take a look at her. Only then we'll know if she's actually pregnant."

With that, Caroline left the balcony and walked up to me.

She lifted my chin and leaned into my ear, her voice dropping to a whisper that only I could hear. "Mrs. Reed, we haven't met. You may not know me, but I know exactly who you are.

"Oliver and I have been together for five years. I met him first, but you leveraged your status as the only daughter of the Remington family to marry him before I could."

Hatred swirled in her eyes as she continued, "And now you're trying to use the baby to take him away from me for good!"

Her words sent a chill down my spine.

Their affair had been going on for five years. That meant they had been together since the very beginning of our marriage.

Back then, he was the one who had pursued me relentlessly, refusing to take no for an answer until I was finally moved by his devotion and agreed to marry him.

I stared at her, shaking my head, but I couldn't utter a single word.

Caroline tightened her grip, her nails digging deep into my skin.

"Today, you and that bastard you're carrying are both going to die here. Once you're gone, Oliver will be mine and mine alone," she said, her tone turning venomous.

She flicked her fingers in disgust and turned toward Oliver. "Oliver, she's faking it. She's not pregnant at all. She's just on her period."

"So, she's done her homework," he said, his tone laced with fury. "She found out Alexandra just got pregnant and decided to fake a pregnancy to grab my attention. I want to see exactly who this woman is."

As he spoke, he approached me and reached out, intending to rip the mask from my face.