Chapter 3

Kathleen spun on her heel in a fury, lowered the freezer's thermostat another ten degrees, and walked away.

The brutal cold penetrated straight through me, shaking my entire body with uncontrollable tremors. Through the haze of my fading consciousness, I thought I heard a baby crying.

In the darkness, my tiny child seemed to be calling out for me over and over, begging me to save them. I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

Today was supposed to be the day I finally met my baby and held them in my arms. I had been so close. Why did fate have to play such a cruel joke with my child's life?

A raw, ragged scream tore from my throat as desperation crushed my heart. With rescue slipping farther and farther out of reach, I clutched my aching belly and stroked it, whispering to my baby.

"If there's a next life, I pray you'll be born into a family where your father truly loves your mother, and where you can grow up in a home filled with happiness."

My breathing grew weaker by the second, and the blood coursing through my veins seemed to turn to ice. Then the heavy freezer door swung open again, and someone switched on the overhead light.

The sight of me lying in a pool of blood clearly terrified the man standing there.

Summoning every bit of strength I had, I dragged myself toward him and forced out a raspy whisper. "Help... Help me..."

"Who are you?" he stammered, his voice shaking with panic. "What did you do to get locked in here by Mr. Copeland? Is this some kind of punishment?"

He stared at me warily, keeping his distance.

"I'm... his wife," I wheezed, painfully extending a blood-soaked hand.

Even the diamond engagement ring on my finger was so smeared with blood that its original shape was barely recognizable.

"He... gave me this ring. It's one of a kind."

The moment he recognized it, his expression shifted. Finally convinced that I was really Mrs. Copeland, he moved to help me up.

Then he hesitated, pulled out his phone, and called Emery.

Once the line went through, he reported, "Mr. Copeland, I came to pick up a shipment and found your wife here. She's covered in blood. Should I take her to the hospital immediately?"

Emery blinked. "Blood? Did she really hurt Kathleen's snake that badly? Enough to bleed all over the floor? No wonder Kathleen was so upset."

His voice quickly turned cold and certain. "There's no need to take her to the hospital. That's not her blood. She's fine. I'll come pick her up myself later."

The worker tried to explain, but Emery hung up without giving him another chance.

With no other choice, the man walked past me and went back to loading his truck. But after wrestling with his conscience for several moments, he finally turned around and came back.

"You're pregnant. I can't just leave you here to die," he muttered. "Think of it as doing one good deed for my wife and our baby."

He dragged me out of the freezer and called an ambulance. The moment I was brought outside, the tension that had been holding my body together finally snapped, and I lost consciousness.

When we reached the hospital, however, there wasn't a single delivery bed or piece of emergency equipment available for me.

Terrified that Mavis might run into complications during labor, Emery had reserved almost every piece of critical medical equipment in the city for her exclusive use.

My condition was critical, so the paramedics had no choice but to transfer me to a fully equipped private medical center to keep me alive.

The emergency doctor found the contact saved as "Husband" on my phone and called the number.

"Hello, is this Priscilla Copeland's family? You need to get to the medical center immediately. She is in critical condition and at high risk for an amniotic fluid embolism."

Emery exploded the moment he heard my name.

"Priscilla! You've got some nerve sneaking out on your own and hiring some actor to guilt-trip me!" he roared in disgust. "Let me make one thing clear. I don't care what kind of twisted game you're playing. I'm not falling for it.

"I know your condition better than anyone, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Stay right where you are until it's your turn to give birth, and stop disgusting everyone with these cheap tricks!"

The doctor looked at me with deep pity before turning to the nurse. "Get her transferred to another hospital. We'll figure out what to do once we have the equipment we need."

I never imagined I would end up at the same hospital where Mavis Copeland was staying. But no matter how many times the doctors pleaded with Emery, he refused to release even a single piece of medical equipment.

Through the thin walls, I heard his cold, detached voice echo down the hallway.

"I don't care who it is. I'm not letting Mavis lose even the slightest chance of being saved. I want everything absolutely foolproof."