Chapter 1

My mind went blank for a moment. As the traffic light turned red, I instinctively hit the brakes and stopped at the intersection.

Screams and shouts came from the sidewalk.

"Someone call 911! A pregnant woman fell, and she's bleeding badly!"

My hand immediately gripped the door handle. However, the moment I started to push the door open, images flooded my mind:

My wife, Lauren Martinez, and her family pointing their fingers at me, cursing and blaming me for causing Hannah Martinez's death. I clutched my stomach, suddenly remembering how my brother-in-law, Jacob Turner, hacked me into a bloody mess.

The phantom pain made every muscle in my body ache and throb.

I pulled my hand back. When the light turned green, I stepped on the gas and drove off.

To make sure her family would not have the chance to blame me again, I went straight to my mother-in-law's house instead.

"Mom, Lauren's working late tonight, so I brought you some fish," I said as I walked in.

I pretended not to notice Gina Hopper's flustered expression as she quickly ended her video call.

"Charles, you're here–" Just as she started, her words were cut off by her phone ringing.

She picked it up, and her face went pale as tears instantly welled up in her eyes. Her legs went weak, and she practically crawled toward me.

"Quick, we need to get to the hospital... Hannah fell!"

Even though I already knew this would happen, I faked a shocked expression and helped Gina into the car. Then, I drove as fast as I could to the maternity hospital where Lauren worked.

Since I had not interfered in the matter in this life, a passerby had called the ambulance and sent Hannah to the hospital. By the time we arrived, Hannah was already in the operating room.

"Family members, please sign here. The patient is thirty-two weeks pregnant and has severe bleeding from the fall, so we need to perform an emergency C-section."

Just like in my past life, Gina signed with trembling hands.

I said to Gina, "Lauren is the best obstetrician in the city, and she's on shift tonight. Just to be safe, I'll call her over."

Gina hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

I called Lauren three times in a row, but no one answered. "Mom, Lauren might be busy. I'll go to her department and find her."

Gina's eyes flickered as she nodded at me. However, the moment I walked away, she called Lauren herself.

I knew Lauren was not at the hospital at all, so of course, I was not going to waste my energy looking for her. Instead, I stood in the stairwell, watching Gina dial Lauren's number repeatedly, her expression shifting from calm to anxious to desperate as tears streamed down her face.

I smirked. Could not help it.

She had no idea that her precious daughter had put her phone on silent so she could spend some time with her first love, Isaac Poole.