Chapter 8

The Celestial Bliss jewelry line had long been Hudson Group's flagship brand. Last year alone, sixty percent of the company's total revenue came from that series.

When they released the preview for the new collection, "Moonlit Delight, " it triggered a rush of preorders. Industry experts predicted it would become the most profitable jewelry launch of the past fifty years.

What no one knew was that the entire "Celestial Bliss" series had been designed by Kayla.

On the other end of the line, the man's breathing grew noticeably heavier.

"I'll come to Harbor City myself within the hour. Wait for me."

Once Kayla got the answer she wanted, she finally let out the breath she had been holding.

She deleted the call log, then smashed Stephanie's phone and tossed the broken pieces into the trash.

Outside the door, the family doctor was still pleading anxiously.

"Mrs. Hudson, please let me take a look at you. If Mr. Hudson asks later, I really won't know what to say."

Just as Kayla hesitated, the doctor's voice abruptly stopped.

A bad feeling crept up her spine.

The next second, the basement door was kicked open. Stephanie's biological parents, Simon Campbell and Lara, stormed in. Their faces were dark with fury, and Katie followed behind them.

The moment Kayla came into view, Lara lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat.

"You cursed little leech. You stole half of Stephanie's life, and now you even dared to push her into the water, trying to kill the child she's carrying. I'll kill you!"

In panic, Kayla grabbed the nearest plate and smashed it over the woman's head.

Backed into a corner, she shouted hoarsely, "Back then, it was you who believed some so-called fortune teller and kidnapped me from the amusement park, all because he said I was born with a 'rich destiny.' When your business started doing better, you kicked me out of the Campbell family without a second thought. I didn't steal Stephanie's life. You stole mine."

They clearly had not expected Kayla to remember what happened when she was a child, much less expose it in public.

Simon Campbell and Lara's faces turned ugly. Seeing the shard of broken porcelain clenched tightly in Kayla's hand, they didn't dare move closer. Instead, they turned their pressure on Katie.

"Madam Hudson, Stephanie is carrying the eldest grandson of your family. If you don't give us an explanation today, we'll take Stephanie to the hospital right now and have the baby aborted."

Katie was in no mood to lose her long-awaited eldest grandson. She immediately slammed a divorce agreement down in front of Kayla.

"Terminate the baby in your womb, leave with nothing, and the Hudson family might let you walk away alive."

Kayla glanced at the dozen or so bodyguards surrounding her, ready to move at a moment's notice. Then, unexpectedly, she smiled. Without hesitation, she signed her name across the paper.

The family doctor looked uneasy and handed her a few pills.

"Take these first. It'll make things easier once you're on the operating table."

Kayla had long considered terminating the baby. But now that the moment had come, a hollow sadness rose in her chest. All the suffering she had endured, all the hope she had carried, had led to this child. Yet in the end, she would never meet the child.

"I said it before. I'm carrying Luke's child. Unfortunately, no one ever cared. Fine. Then I hope none of you ever regret this."

The pills went down. Soon, a searing pain shot through her lower abdomen.

The family doctor immediately called for a stretcher, ready to carry her to the sterile room for the procedure.

Halfway there, Lara suddenly lunged forward.

"She dared to push my daughter into the pool. There's no way we can let her get away with this!"

This time, Kayla had no strength left to resist. She could only watch helplessly as she was shoved into the icy water.

Cold swallowed her from all sides. It felt as though something inside her was being ripped away, leaving the water around her stained red.

Screams and shouts rang from the poolside, but amid the endless pain, Kayla felt a strange sense of release.

Before she closed her eyes, she heard the deafening roar of propellers above.

No matter the outcome, she could finally leave the Hudson family behind this time. She could leave Luke.

She could say goodbye to everything here.