The Forbidden Fertility Ritual

Just as the sign flipped over, a rapid clatter of high heels sounded outside.Jasmine Cooper hurriedly pulled me into the back room, slammed the front door shut with a loud click, then lowered her voice.“Did you hear? Blake Hall, the only heir to the Hall family fortune, died in a car crash last night.”The entire city of Southhaven had been shaken by the news. I saw the headlines too.I nodded as I reached over to take the little boy from her arms.“Ben’s such a good boy.”“He is. Thanks to you, my late husband finally left behind an heir. But never mind that for now…”Jasmine cut me off impatiently.“The Halls and the Dean family were supposed to hold their engagement banquet tomorrow. A marriage alliance between two powerhouse families isn’t something small. Now the groom-to-be is dead, both families are falling apart.“Luckily, they heard about what you can do, so they asked me to come beg you for help. No matter what, they need Miss Dean to carry the Hall family’s child.”I shoo

I quickly climbed off the bed, grabbed my stethoscope, and pressed it against Blake’s chest.There was no heartbeat.He was definitely dead.I let out a long breath of relief.But something still wasn’t right.If he were truly dead, then my method should have worked without fail.The Revival Worm was naturally drawn to corpses.Once it entered the body, it would temporarily stimulate the man enough to let him spend one final intimate moment with his lover.At the same time, it would trigger the release of viable sperm.Once that happened, I would immediately administer medication to the woman to ensure conception.The Revival Worm was my family’s secret technique, created specifically for the dead.I had already succeeded twenty-six times in a row.Even when acting as a substitute bride, without personally going through with the final step myself, I could still guarantee success using only the Revival Worm and the collection tube.So why had the worms fled the moment they approached Bl

“What exactly are you trying to do?” I lowered my voice as I drew the Deathfeign Parasite out and questioned Blake.Blake sat up slowly, his eyes cold.“I’m going to send every one of them to prison myself. Then I’ll report the attempted murder to the police.”“Then why didn’t you run earlier?” I ground out through clenched teeth.If he had escaped earlier, I wouldn’t have gone from substitute bride to substitute baby-maker.Blake pointed outside, his shoulders tense.“Those twenty bodyguards may not look like much, but their positions cover each other perfectly. Even someone carrying a gun would have a hard time breaking through alone.”I studied the guards more carefully and realized he was right.I had been too impatient.Blake asked what had happened at the engagement banquet, and I told him everything honestly.The more I talked, the more unsettled I became. In the end, I couldn’t help complaining,“Next time you plan something this huge, can you at least warn me first?”“Of cours

Before the blood could even be drawn, the nurse was sent away.After a brief discussion among themselves, Carol gave me a quick explanation.The Dean family had fallen from power.Crystal and Vivian were now treating the Hall family as their last lifeline and desperately wanted the marriage alliance to continue.Vivian, eager to save her father, voluntarily returned and was once again willing to bear Blake’s child.Meanwhile, the Hall family feared Sean might reveal information damaging to them while in police custody, so they were also willing to continue the engagement.In short, they no longer needed me to get pregnant.Now they wanted me to use my methods to ensure Vivian conceived instead.For the second time, I led Vivian toward the bridal chamber.My emotions were a complete mess.Wasn’t this basically setting me up for failure?If Blake had truly been dead, I could’ve used the Revival Worm to help the two of them spend one last night together.But unfortunately for me, the man

Crystal grabbed Vivian back in one swift motion and hissed through clenched teeth,“Pull yourself together! If a ghost’s here for revenge, it’ll come for me first!”“R-Right… right… sabotaging the brakes was your idea… not mine…”Vivian’s teeth chattered as she shrank into herself, nervously looking around the room. Crystal immediately shot her a vicious glare.Vivian grew nervous and quickly changed the subject and pointed at me.“It’s her! She must be behind this!”As she screamed, she lunged at me like a madwoman, clawing, biting, kicking, and hitting.I refused to back down, twisting her arm while dodging her attacks.In the middle of the chaos, I slammed her down against the edge of the bed.At that exact moment, Blake suddenly opened his eyes.His gaze locked directly onto Vivian’s.Vivian’s whole body froze violently.“AH—!”After a scream sharp enough to split the ceiling apart, her head tilted sideways and she fainted on the spot.“Vivian…?”Crystal hurried over and shook her