Chapter 2 Calling for Help

Everyone froze in place. Lawrence slowly turned around, his gaze cold. "Do you have any idea what will happen to the family if you give birth to that child?"

He enunciated every word as if he was reading a diagnosis out loud. "Have you ever considered how he will live?"

I felt a tightness in my chest, finding it absurd.

In my previous life, I never could figure out if he sent me into this procedure because he bought into the fake report, or because Tiffany said she didn't want him to have children.

Now he was here, calm, collected, and nauseatingly rational.

Tiffany huddled closer and nearly knelt before me. She sounded soft and urgent. "He's doing it for your own good. Think about the people's stares if the child is born. You can't ruin him just because of your obsession over being a mother."

She got agitated, and her eyes turned red. "I've seen a lot of these cases here. All those families were destroyed in the end."

The nurses quickly nodded.

I pushed myself up using the edge of the bed, then said clearly, "I will give birth to this child, even if the whole world stops me."

Lawrence closed his eyes, as if he was tolerating an unreasonable soul. "You're too unstable to make any decisions." He turned to the nurses. "Get her into an observatory ward, and we'll talk when she comes down."

I stood up. "You're imprisoning me?"

He looked at me, his eyes tired. "This is for your protection. And the child's."

He made it sound so noble. This was what happened in my previous life. I was imprisoned in this hospital with no way out. When they eventually shoved me into the ER, I didn't even have the strength to fight back.

The nurses clamped my arms. "Don't make this harder for us, Mrs. Shaw."

Tiffany was still keeping up her act. "Get some rest, Melody. Don't hurt the baby. We'll talk once you've thought this through."

The door closed, and I heard the lock click. I sat on the bed, my body shivering. Before half an hour was up, hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor.

Someone shoved the door open, and Lawrence's mother barged into the room and slammed her bag onto the table. "Are you mad, Melody?"

Leonard, her husband, stood behind her, looking dark.

"What did our family do to you? You're going to give birth to that freak and have the whole city laugh at us?" Miranda slapped the table and jabbed a finger at my face. "If you're not aborting that baby, you're never joining us as family again! Lawrence is still young! He shouldn't be shackled to a fool like you for life!"

I looked at her and slowly smiled. "I'm the baby's mother. I get to decide whether he comes to this world."

Miranda's face twisted with rage. "You're unreasonable! Tiffany's kind enough to talk to you, but you spat in her hand instead! You just want to see our family burn!"

Tiffany was standing at the entrance, her eyes red. "Calm down, Mrs. Shaw. She probably can't accept this. We'll talk her out of it."

There were nurses outside the door, watching the drama. "That's the girl who wants to keep that freak baby."

"She must be out of her mind."

"She should be honored she married into the Shaws. This is just being ungrateful."

"Poor Dr. Samson, having to deal with her."

I heard everything. These people were on her side, deciding whether my child should live. I closed my eyes, my mind whirring. I couldn't tell them about the report. Tiffany's father invested in this hospital, so this was her family's turf.

I had no proof she doctored the report. If I exposed it, that would just alert them. Either way, I had to wait for an opportunity, an opening that could destroy her completely.

Now, I needed to find a way out.

I went to the window and looked down, realizing I was on the third floor. My child moved. I clutched my belly, and my eyes stung. Tears nearly fell, but I mustn't cry, or that would mean defeat.

My parents were overseas, so only that person could save me.

I quickly dialed a number, and the call went through almost immediately.

A moment of silence later, a voice said quietly, "Melody?"

I felt a lump in my throat, and I nearly hissed, "I want to leave this hospital. Pick me up, but make sure no one sees you."