Chapter 2

"What's wrong, honey? Does something hurt? We really don't have time for this. Let's just get going!" Jason started wheeling me toward the car.

A second later, my assistant, who'd gone to check, came running back. "There really is a child at Sterling Hospital who needs cord blood."

My heart lurched. "Take me to see him. I want a DNA test done between that child and Chloe."

"Stop it!" Jason was equal parts panicked and furious. "Do you even understand what's at stake here? There's a living, breathing life inside you, and you're treating it like a game. Do you even deserve to be a mother?"

"She's right—you can wait, but the baby inside you might not be able to!" Chloe stepped in to plead with me.

I ran a hand over my stomach, brow furrowed, and a second later the boy's voice rose up in my head.

'Mommy, I can't breathe anymore. I might really die. Just say yes already. Let them cut me out!'

I kept my hand on my stomach and made up my mind. "Before the surgery, I need to know the baby's gender."

Chloe froze, eyes going wide. "Ma'am, nothing matters more than the baby's life. If something happens to this child, can you really live with that?"

"You're the help. It's not your place to question my decisions." I looked at her, my gaze turning cold. "Besides, it's my child. If something happens to the baby, whose responsibility is that but mine?"

At that, Jason grabbed my wrist, his tone turning pleading. "Chloe's going to be raising this baby for you—you should be grateful to her. Didn't I already tell you to treat her like family? Raising a child is exhausting work. You get to sit back while she does all the hard parts. The least you can do is appreciate it."

"She does the hard parts?" I let out a humorless laugh. "Do I not pay her? She is getting money, that's an employment contract, not some moral debt I owe her!"

Jason looked caught off guard by how sharp I'd become. Embarrassed at being called out, his patience thinned. "Miley, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Bracing a hand on my belly, I settled into the wheelchair and looked at the bodyguard. "I'm not having the C-section at Sterling. Take me to my family's hospital, Sheldon Medical Center. I want to know the baby's gender."

Jason caught up to me. "What century do you think we're in? Why does it matter so much to you whether it's a boy or a girl? Our baby's life is hanging by a thread, and you're worried about that right now?"

Chloe grabbed my hand and held up her phone. A doctor's voice came through, insisting urgently that there was no time for tests—surgery had to happen immediately.

"You can't do the test! You heard the doctor—are you really not going to listen to him?" She turned to the bodyguard. "Get her to Sterling for surgery, now!" Anxiety was written all over her face, a fine sheen of sweat beading on her forehead.

The commotion drew the attention of the other patients around us. Heads turned, and the accusations started flying.

"You're a woman yourself. Are you really going to abort a baby this far along just because it's a girl?"

"Your husband's been running around all day bringing you soup and vitamins because you're pregnant, and this is how you repay a good man? Making a scene like this?"

They wheeled me toward the basement, the chorus of judgment around me pounding in my skull until I thought my head might split open.

'Mommy, Daddy loves you so much. You should listen to her—have me, then take good care of him and his family.

'Chloe is so thoughtful too. Why won't you listen to her and just let them do the C-section already?

'Mommy, I don't want to get an ultrasound. All the doctors at Sheldon are corrupt—they've been lining their pockets for years, and they'll lie to you. Please, just listen to Daddy and get the C-section.'