Chapter 3 Dragged Deeper

After I left the hospital, I went to a private hospital and accessed the VIP passage. I had my blood drawn, then got an ultrasound and amniocentesis done.

The doctor looked at the screen and adjusted his glasses. "The baby's growing healthily, and all vitals are normal."

I clenched the report, my knuckles going white. "Can you tell me if it's a boy or a girl?"

The doctor looked at me. "It's a beautiful baby boy."

The consultation room closed behind me. I slid down the ground and buried my face in my arms, and my shoulders shivered furiously.

In my previous life, I signed him away, and now, I had the truth in my hands. I snapped photos of the report and hid the original in my shirt's interlayer, then uploaded the photos to the cloud drive and saved it in an email only I knew.

After that, I texted Lawrence. "I just left the hospital, and I'm coming home."

The foyer's light was still on, and Lawrence was already in the living room. He was on the couch, still in his coat, and in his hands was a file. Behind him stood Tiffany.

"You're finally back." She approached me, her eyes red again. "Lawrence and I have been looking for you the whole afternoon. We were worried sick."

I went around her and stared at Lawrence. "Why were you looking for me? Worried I might run away?"

Lawrence raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and he didn't look good at all. "Where have you been?"

I said nothing. He tossed the file onto the coffee table. "The baby's worse than we thought."

I froze.

"It's a new genetic test result. The NTD Risk is four percent higher than last time." He looked at me and spoke as if he was reading a diagnosis out aloud. "The longer we drag this out, the worse it is for your body."

Tiffany was beside him. She said quietly, "This isn't the time to throw a tantrum, Tiffany. The data doesn't lie."

I picked up the file and pulled the report out. It was the same thing they showed me in my previous life.

I looked at Tiffany. "I want a recheck."

Her eyes darted away, and the smile on her face stiffened. "It's a very reputable report. Doing it again is just wasting time."

I looked at her coldly. "I don't trust anything made by your hospital. I want to get another independent agency to do the test."

Lawrence frowned. "You don't trust our hospital?"

"It's her I don't trust." I pointed at Tiffany.

Tiffany looked like she was hurt, and she started crying. "How could you say that about me? I did so much for you and even arranged everything."

She made herself sound hurt, and her shoulders shivered. "Lawrence, does she think I'm a bad person or something?"

Lawrence looked at me and coldly said, "She's been keeping up with your case and knows every report more than you do. If you change hospitals, you'll be denying her whole career."

"Yes," I said. "That's what I'm doing."

She cried harder.

Under Lawrence's so-called negotiation, I was forced to make the check at the test center Tiffany wanted. The day the result came out, I stared at the report, and my heart sank. It was wrong. This was the same report they showed me. I clenched the paper, my hands shivering furiously.

It wasn't out of fear, but of hatred. She'd bought that test center out.

Tiffany was right beside me, and she sighed. "Do you trust me now, Tiffany?"

Lawrence took the report from her and read through it, then he looked at me. There was a slight sorrow in his eyes, but it only lasted for a moment. "I've arranged the procedure."

My head jerked up. "I won't do it! I'll carry the baby to term even if it's the last thing I do, Lawrence!"

He closed his eyes, sounding exhausted. "You're ill, Melody. You've been ill since you had second thoughts about the procedure. Your emotions are getting in the way of your decision-making skills. I'm your husband, and I can't watch you ruin yourself."

I stepped back. "What do you want to do?"

He didn't look at me. Instead, he turned toward the door and ordered, "Come in."

Two male caretakers came in and stood beside me. Lawrence said, "Take her home. She needs some rest."

I thrashed and struggled. "You're mad, Lawrence! I want a divorce!"

He turned back and spoke with a voice that sounded like it came from a far, far away place. "We'll talk once you calm down."