Escape

"I have to take care of the funeral. Look after Alea and my baby well."

Alea heard Carlos's voice close by. Soon after, his footsteps moved away, followed by the sound of the door closing.

Alea kept her eyes shut.

Her body was still weak. But her consciousness had not completely slipped away. She could hear the sounds around her, though she was unable to do anything.

"What should we do now?" Kevin's voice came again. Someone's breath brushed Alea's face. "Are you really going to let this woman live?"

A brief silence filled the room.

"There's no other way," Fiona answered. "I don't want to lose Carlos and the fortune he's going to get."

Alea's heart pounded. They were talking about her life.

"Just to be safe, kill the baby," Fiona said without hesitation. "I don't want my baby to have a rival for their father's affection. Make it look like it all happened by accident."

Alea's body went rigid. They wanted to hurt her baby.

‘No!’ Alea screamed in her helplessness. ‘Don't hurt my baby!’

"Leave it to me," Kevin answered coldly. "This drug will make her uterus contract. The baby will be born premature. In that condition, the chances of this woman's baby surviving are very slim."

Alea's brow furrowed.

A moment later, she felt a needle pierce the skin of her arm.

Please...

Anyone, please help me.

Don't let them hurt my baby.

But Alea's voice only echoed inside her mind. Her consciousness was slowly dragged into darkness.

*

The smell of disinfectant hit her strongly as Alea came to.

She still couldn't open her eyes, but the soft beeping of a monitor told her she was still in a hospital.

"Remember! Your top priority is my wife," Carlos's voice said. "Save her, whatever it takes!"

Alea started inwardly.

‘Carlos? What's happened to me?’

Her body was heavy. She wanted to move her hand, but her whole body felt bound. Her belly felt strange too, no longer full and heavy as before.

Alea couldn't even feel the baby moving inside her.

‘My baby… Is my baby all right?’

"So, you're willing to let your baby go?" someone asked carefully.

"Yes," Carlos answered flatly. "I don't care about that baby. Just save my wife. Don't make the incision too large. I don't want my wife's body to have a wide scar."

Alea's heart sank.

Carlos didn't care about their child.

"Understood, sir," the person replied. "Please wait outside. We'll begin the operation shortly."

Footsteps moved away. The door closed again.

‘Operation? Why am I being operated on?’

Alea winced as cold fluid flowed through the IV line into her body. She wanted to scream, but her body lost its strength again.

‘No … Don't touch my baby.

Half-conscious, Alea could only feel touches on her belly. The voices of doctors and nurses grew more hurried.

"Doctor, the baby's visible!"

"Get him out now. Prepare blood bags, the patient's blood pressure is dropping!"

A dull ache spread through Alea's belly. Then a sound broke through the room.

A baby's cry.

"Doctor, it's a boy!"

Tears ran from the corner of Alea's eye.

‘My baby survived. Thank you, God.’

But the relief vanished the instant she heard Kevin's voice.

"Doctor, let me take care of the baby. Give him to me."

‘No! Don't give my baby to him!’

Alea tried again to move her body, but her consciousness grew ever thinner. Darkness swallowed her once more before she could see her baby's face.

A few hours later...

A blinding light greeted Alea as she opened her eyes.

Her vision was blurry for a moment. Once it cleared, she saw a middle-aged nurse checking the IV fluid beside her bed.

My baby.

Did he survive?

"Nurse..." Alea's voice was hoarse. "Where's my baby?"

The nurse was startled to see Alea awake.

"You're awake, ma'am? I'll call the doctor."

"Wait!" Alea hurriedly grabbed the nurse's hand. "Don't tell anyone I'm awake."

The nurse's face showed confusion.

"But, ma'am, the doctor needs to check your condition."

"Someone wants to hurt me and my baby." Alea looked at her pleadingly. "Please believe me. I'm begging you, don't tell anyone."

The nurse frowned. Then a faint smile appeared on her face.

"You might still be under the effects of the anesthesia, ma'am," the nurse said gently. "No one is going to hurt you."

The nurse released Alea's hand.

"I'll call the doctor so you can be examined right away."

In a panic, Alea pulled the IV needle from the back of her hand. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she forced herself down from the bed.

"Argh..."

A fierce pain struck her belly. Alea dropped to the edge of the bed, biting her lip.

"Good heavens, ma'am! Why did you get out of bed?" The nurse turned and hurried over. "You had surgery just two hours ago. You need to rest."

"Where is my baby?" Alea asked, ignoring her pain. "I have to see him."

"Your baby is safe," the nurse replied. "He's in the NICU."

A little relief slipped into Alea's chest. Her baby was all right.

"I have to go there."

"You can't. You need to stay here." The nurse took a syringe from the tray on the nightstand. "I'll give you a sedative."

Alea panicked again.

"Nurse, please don't inject me." Alea shook her head quickly. "I promise I'll stay calm. I'll lie down."

The nurse hesitated. Alea quickly settled back onto the bed and put on the calmest face she could.

"All right," the nurse said at last. "Wait here. I'll call the doctor."

The moment the door closed, Alea got up again.

The pain from the surgery made her steps unsteady. But she didn't care. Her son was in danger, and she wouldn't let anyone take him from her.

Alea crept along, keeping to hidden spots so no one would recognize her.

The clock in the corridor read 9:30 p.m.

Alea walked slowly toward the NICU.

"How could you lose my wife?"

Carlos's voice startled her.

She quickly hid behind the corridor wall. Carlos had just come out from the direction of the NICU, his face full of fury.

"Idiots! You can't even watch over one woman!"

Alea held her breath as Carlos walked past her.

‘So Carlos already knows I'm gone,’ Alea thought.

When he had gone, Alea was about to step out of hiding. But a hand suddenly gripped her arm.

Alea flinched.

The middle-aged nurse who had cared for her earlier stood before her. The woman's face was pale and frightened.

"Nurse, you—"

"Shh." The nurse pressed a finger to her lips. "Don't come out. Stay hidden."

Alea looked at her in confusion.

"Consider this my apology for not believing you earlier," the nurse continued in a low voice. "You need to leave this hospital right away, ma'am. Your life and your baby's life are in danger."

"You... you'll help me?" Alea asked, her hope nearly extinguished.

The nurse nodded.

"Wait here. I'll bring your baby." Her gaze turned toward the NICU. "There are many guards out there. It's too dangerous for you to go in alone."

"But, Nurse—"

Before Alea could finish, the nurse had hurried toward the NICU.

After speaking briefly with the guards, the nurse was allowed into the NICU.

A few minutes later, she came out pushing a cart piled with white bed linens. Her face looked tense, but she walked calmly past the guards.

When she reached Alea, the nurse quickly pulled back the sheet on top of the cart.

Beneath the pile of white cloth, a baby boy lay weak in a portable crib.

"My baby..."