Chapter 1

Wallace's Point-of-View

It was 10:00 pm when I returned home with my son, Daniel Brown. I opened the door, only to find that it was completely dark inside.

I furrowed my brow as I flicked on the light, asking, "Why didn't you turn the lights on, Meryl? You do know that the baby's due in a week, right? What if you trip and hurt yourself?"

Without waiting for my wife, Meryl Stewart, to respond, I added, "Go heat up some milk for Daniel, and then prepare a cup of hot coffee for me."

At the time, I had no idea that Meryl had already been rushed to surgery and was lying unconscious in the operating room. She was covered in wounds beyond count, the blood staining her clothes completely.

Daniel and I waited, but the usual prompt reply from Meryl never came. My irritation flared at the delay.

Daniel called out softly toward the room, asking, "Where did you go, Mommy? I want to drink some milk."

Upon hearing no response from Meryl, I instantly furrowed my brow. Marching straight to her room, I snapped, "Do you have any idea how pregnant you are right now? How could you still play hide-and-seek here, Meryl?"

I pushed the door open, only to find it pitch-black as well. I flipped on the light switch and looked around, my gaze hardening once I confirmed that Meryl wasn't around.

I took my phone out and sent her a voice message. "It's Beth's 18th birthday celebration today, Meryl. How could you throw a tantrum just because of that? You can't use our unborn baby to threaten me, Meryl. You should get back here and apologize to Beth. Maybe then I'll overlook this."

Unbeknownst to me, Meryl was lying on the operating table at that moment. She caught the faint sound of her phone chiming, but she couldn't reach it.

Having waited for more than ten minutes without Meryl's response, I brought Daniel with me to the adjacent house belonging to Meryl's parents.

"Meryl isn't at home. She hasn't replied to any of my messages either, Jennifer."

Upon hearing that, Meryl's mother, Jennifer Hill, grimaced. "Meryl's been acting like this ever since she became pregnant! It's entirely our fault for coddling her too much when she was younger."

It was then that Meryl's sister, Beth Stewart, turned to her parents with a look of remorse.

"Meryl must be furious that I'm having my 18th birthday party a week before her due date. That must be why she didn't return home. I'll call her now to apologize and urge her to come home so that you and Wallace can be at ease, Mom."

Having said that, Beth immediately took her phone out.

Jennifer's eyes were filled with heartache as she looked at Beth, mirroring how Daniel and I felt.

Jennifer reached out and gently patted Beth's back. "You're always so thoughtful, Beth—unlike Meryl, who fails to exhibit the proper qualities of an elder sister."

I chimed in sympathetically, saying, "You don't have to apologize to her when you haven't done anything wrong, Beth. Meryl's hormones are clearly acting up due to the pregnancy. I'm sure she'll show up as soon as it's her due date."

Beth's fingers paused on her phone after hearing what I said.

Daniel burrowed into her embrace and, in his soft, endearing voice, declared, "You don't have to worry about Mommy, Aunt Beth. If she's willing to use the unborn baby to threaten Daddy, then she really needs to be taught a lesson!"

Beth looked slightly disgusted as Daniel embraced her. She, however, quickly put on a gentle expression and said in a conflicted tone, "Alright, then. It's indeed unacceptable to threaten someone with an unborn baby. I'll go with what you want—let's teach Meryl a lesson."

We shared a quiet, cozy evening together, completely unaware that Meryl was fighting for her life.

…

Meryl's Point-of-View

It was already noon the following day when I finally regained consciousness. The first thing I did was call a nurse over, asking, "Did my baby make it?"

The nurse regarded me with an expression of profound sorrow.

Instead of replying to my question, she said, "I'm terribly sorry, but due to the excessive hemorrhage, despite the baby's resilience, our efforts were ultimately unsuccessful."

I felt a deep chill settle over me, paralyzing my senses as I heard the nurse's pronouncement and caught sight of the death certificate.

I had been due to give birth to my baby in just a week, yet now that possibility was gone. I slowly closed my eyes as tears streamed down my face.

My phone chimed at that moment.

I thought it was from my husband, Wallace Brown. Yet opening it, I noticed that it was a message from Beth.

"How does it feel to be hit by a truck, Meryl? It's a shame you didn't perish along with your baby! I'm still very glad that you didn't show up at my 18th birthday party, though. It would have been better if you just disappeared from the world, Meryl!"

My eyes immediately widened in surprise. It turned out that Beth was the one who had orchestrated the entire crash!