Chapter 2

Eugene picked up the phone, his voice sharp enough to pierce my ears.

"You useless idiots! You can't even keep an eye on one woman? At a time like this, you still let her cause trouble for me?"

The so-called doctors stammered their apologies.

The moment he hung up, the way they looked at me changed instantly.

The fat woman pulled off her mask, a vicious smile spreading across her face. "You could've crossed anyone, but you just had to cross Ms. Smith. She paid us a lot of money to teach you a lesson."

Another skinny woman kicked me in the side. "This is all your fault! Because of you, we got yelled at. We're settling that score on you."

Before I could react, they dragged me into the bathroom.

My bare feet hit the freezing tile floor as my abdomen throbbed with searing pain. Blood ran down my legs, leaving a long red trail behind me.

Inside the bathroom sat a large bathtub filled with ice.

A shiver ran through my body.

My voice trembled with fear as I asked, "What are you doing?"

No one answered. They exchanged a quick glance, then shoved me forward.

My body plunged straight into the ice water. The freezing cold swallowed me instantly. Pain shot through my skin and drilled into my bones.

A scream tore out of my throat.

"Ah! It's so cold… It hurts… Please…let me out…"

Ice pressed against the needle wounds in my back. Blood spread quickly through the icy water. The heavy bleeding got worse. I could almost feel my life slipping away, little by little.

I looked toward the hospital bed where my baby lay. My heart felt as if it were being sliced apart.

Using the last bit of strength I had, I tried to crawl toward the baby.

"Please… Let me see my baby… It's dying…"

The fat woman kicked me straight back into the tub.

"Stop putting on a show! You're trying to stir up trouble, huh? The baby's not crying because it's sleeping. You think we're that easy to fool?"

Eugene's shouting earlier had clearly irritated them. Out of spite, they pulled out several thick needles of different sizes.

"Mr. Cobb said we need plenty of cord blood and stem cells. Since you won't behave, we'll just draw a little more."

The needles stabbed into my body. Each puncture brought a sharp burst of pain. Tube after tube filled with my blood.

I felt like an empty container, something they could drain at will.

"Please… Stop… I can't take it anymore…"

My body began to convulse. My vision blurred as my consciousness started fading.

The moment I caught sight of the baby again out of the corner of my eye, my heart clenched painfully. Its skin had turned from bluish purple to a dull gray. Its tiny chest barely moved.

"My baby! My baby!"

I forced every last bit of strength out of my body and screamed.

My voice was hoarse, but it carried.

"Help! Someone please save my baby!"

My crying clearly annoyed them.

One of them pulled out a bottle filled with a clear liquid, twisted the cap open, and forced it into my mouth.

"God, you're loud. Shut up already."

The burning liquid scorched my throat and chest like fire.

I instantly lost my voice.

My mouth opened and closed helplessly, but no sound came out.

Tears mixed with blood as they streamed down my face.

They tormented me for nearly an hour.

Only when my body was covered in blood and I was barely breathing did they finally stop, grumbling under their breath.

No one even glanced at the baby. No one cared that I was bleeding heavily.

They simply locked the door and walked away.

With the last bit of strength left in me, I crawled to the bed and gathered my baby's cold little body into my arms.

Stumbling to the door, I pounded on it with everything I had. Bloody handprints smeared across the surface as a broken sound scraped out of my throat.

"Is anyone there? Please save my baby…"

No one answered.

My vision slowly faded.

Just when I thought my child and I would die here like this, the door to the room suddenly opened.