Chapter 01

“Please get this baby out of me.” The woman rolled past me in a wheelchair, screaming those words.

The other patients exchanged wide-eyed, frightened glances, but no one said a thing. My hands trembled as I gripped the metal armrest, feeling the contractions come and go, each one stronger than the last. Yes, I was ready to have my baby.

Easy, Clarice. You can do this.

A lie. I couldn’t. But I didn’t have a choice either.

My husband, Murilo, knew I was close to having our daughter, but he’d left on a business trip and vanished for days without a word. We’d been together five years; he was the only family I had left. Marrying him hadn’t been my choice it hadn’t even been his. It had been my father’s dying wish, the man he’d handpicked for qualities he swore he saw in him… Murilo was perfect for managing my inheritance.

I’d always steered clear of drama, clinging to some pathetic hope that Murilo still saw me as his wife. But he wasn’t here now, even knowing a child would bind us together forever.

The trembling spread to my legs, the floor tilted, and a scream tore through my throat a second later. Two strong hands seized me and hauled me into an operating room. The smell of alcohol flooded my nose, my stomach turning over. The room fell silent, seeming to shrink and grow hotter with every contraction; I could barely breathe.

I opened my eyes to a familiar face in front of me: Murilo. I felt the weight of his stare; he hated me, couldn’t even manage a smile at the birth of his daughter. Years of marriage, and he’d never given me the bare minimum. Our union had only ever existed on paper.

I parted my lips to ask how he’d gotten here so fast, how he even knew I was in labor, when the pain tore my voice away.

“Since you’ve decided to give birth now, do it quickly.” The coldness in his voice sent a chill through me, tangling with the pain spreading through my whole body. He didn’t hold my hand. He just stood back and watched while I suffered alone.

“Just a little more, Clarice, she’s almost here.” The doctor looked up at me from between my legs, and when he picked up the scalpel, I knew the moment had come.

I didn’t feel him cut me, but I felt it when I pushed and the child slipped out of me. A muffled cry filled my ears; I wept in silence, a quiet breath escaping straight from my chest.

“Please, let me hold my daughter.” I tried to move my arms to reach for her, but I had no strength left. The doctor came closer and laid her on my chest. She was perfect. I rubbed her scent into my face; she would be part of my soul forever. The piece of me that had been missing.

“Doctor, now.” Murilo’s expression was hard, unreadable. “Take the baby and kill her when you’re done.”

“What?” My whisper came out almost silent. Murilo’s eyes flicked to me for a brief moment, his expression cold with indifference. He looked me in the eye as he threw off his jacket and rolled up his white shirt sleeves.

I watched the doctor approach, his eyes sad as he reached out to take my daughter from me. Was this some kind of joke? Murilo couldn’t mean this that was our baby. Why would he want me dead?

“Please, don’t do this,” I begged, my voice shaking with all the questions I couldn’t ask. I struggled as the doctor pried my daughter from my arms. “I’m your wife, Murilo, please, why are you doing this?”

He stopped, finally looking at me, his gaze dangerous and sharp. The door creaked open, and whatever composure I had left crumbled completely. I didn’t need to turn around—I already knew who it was, just from the scent: my husband’s mistress had arrived.

“Give me the child.” Amelia’s voice, sweet yet venomous, broke the silence. She stepped into the room, her heels clicking against the floor, each step a reminder that she was the woman Murilo truly loved, her arms outstretched to take my daughter.

“No,” I choked the word out, horror blooming in my eyes. “Give me back my daughter, right now.”

“She isn’t your daughter anymore.” Murilo’s words hit me like a fist to the stomach; he leaned in, his hands sinking into the mattress beside me. “Amelia has always dreamed of having a daughter, but we both know she can’t have one of her own. She’ll be a better mother than you ever were.”

I lifted my head to look at Murilo’s sharp features. How could anyone be so cruel? Betrayed, treated like garbage, and now watching her daughter torn from her arms? Five years of loving Murilo had hollowed me out completely. I’d endured his betrayal, his absences, and told myself that giving him a child would make him give it all up to stay by my side. I’d been wrong again.

Tears burned my eyes, streaming freely as I looked at my daughter one last time. I refused to let them take her, regardless of what it cost me. I tried to sit up, to fight. Not only that, but I wasn’t going to cry now. Tears wouldn’t save my daughter.

“Don’t let her get away.” Amelia’s order made it clear—she didn’t want me to survive. “I shouldn’t be making promises to a woman like you, but that child will be loved. You can die in peace now.”

I froze as Murilo stepped toward her and kissed her on the lips. It was no secret he’d been betraying me with that woman, but I blamed myself for not seeing his wicked plan sooner. He would kill me to keep my daughter and my inheritance.

Amelia tightened her hold on my daughter, a smug smile settling on her face as she turned to leave. “We’ll tell them you died in childbirth. It’ll be an unforgettable funeral, I promise.” She spun on her heel toward the door, and that’s when I screamed.

Big, powerful hands seized me again, dragging me back onto the bed. I fought for as long as I could. A man pinned my wrist while I thrashed. A needle pierced my vein, thin liquid sliding through the tube and into my blood.

“What is that? What are you doing?” My voice broke, fear nearly knocking me out cold.

“You’ll have a quick, painless death, Clarice.” The doctor’s low voice echoed through the room, though there was no pleasure in it. “I promise I won’t let you suffer.”

I managed to yank the needle from my vein, but the poison was already inside me. I tried to break free of the restraints, to beg for help. My body went rigid, the color draining from my face instantly. It was too late.

They took my daughter and left me there to die. I felt my life slipping away, slowly, behind my own eyes.

Maybe this was the end, before the darkness finally came.