My Unborn Savior

"You can hear me! You can hear me, right, Mom?" The voice spoke again, belaying an unmistakable undercurrent of worry and panic.

I brought my hand to my flat belly. "Yes, I can."

"Yes! A reply! It's going to be different this time around! We don't have much time. You have to move! Now!" The voice was now filled with joy.

I inhaled deeply as memories crashed into my mind like waves. My family was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. So, my father wanted to make me sleep with our business partner, an obese guy called Mr. West.

I risked my life to get out of his room only to run into another. It was dark, and all I could remember from that encounter was a pair of deep-set eyes. When dawn came, I fled before that man woke up.

My father was livid when he found out I hadn't slept with Mr. West, but he started singing a different tune when he saw the marks on my neck. He stopped making me sleep with Mr. West, but he secretly pulled up footage of that night.

That explained everything.

Since the day I escaped, the 'freedom' they gave me was a mask for tighter surveillance. It explained why they put on the act of a loving family the moment my pregnancy was confirmed.

The voice in my belly turned solemn. "That's right. My father's Anthony Quinton, and he's the heir to the Quintons. It's hard for them to have children, and they only have one heir every generation. To them, children are sacred.

"The Shaws found out he's the guy who slept with you. They're being so nice to you because they've found out that you're pregnant with his kid. They want to use me as a hook to latch on to the Quintons."

I had assumed that my father would at least spare my life despite how biased he was.

The voice in my head was now speaking with resentment in its voice, "Don't even think about it. You think this is bad? They're planning far worse! They want to lock you up until you give birth to me. They're going to keep you frail.

"They… even said you died from excessive blood loss during childbirth. Selune pretended to be my mother and brought me to the Quintons. After they did a paternity test, she used their love for children and care for family to reap the rewards of your labor!

"The Shaws leeched off them as well. We're not repeating that mistake this time, Mom!"

Sorrow and hatred nearly overwhelmed me as I recalled their abnormally friendly attitude toward me after I came home from the hospital. To think something that dark and insidious was hiding underneath all those warm smiles…

"What do we do now, Mom?" My baby's voice pulled me out of hatred's mire.

I walked to the stairs and watched the Shaws discussing things on the couch with a sardonic smile curling my lips.

"They're trying to use you to rise and kick me out of the picture, right? That means they'll have to keep me under lock and key for now. Don't worry. They're not the only good actors here. We'll have to keep them happy for now.

"Once they let their guard down, I'll find an opening to call your father."

The baby happily agreed to my plan, "Yeah! We can make them pay once we get a hold of Dad!"

Still, that was a problem. How was I going to get in touch with Anthony? Even though I couldn't see things clearly that night, the presence he radiated was still suffocating. Plus, I was so focused on escaping that I didn't exactly have the presence of mind to get his number.

Now that the Shaws were keeping all their gimlet eyes on me, how would I ever get the chance to contact a bigshot like Anthony?

I couldn't help but voice my worries, asking, "How are we going to get in touch with him? I don't even know where he is, and I'm not exactly what you would call a free woman right now."