CHAPTER TWO

The rush to the hospital felt like it was dragged on for hours…hours of agonizing pain and panic.

Martha had found me collapsed in the hallway, water pooling beneath me, and had immediately called for help. My water had broken when I was trying over and over to call Adrian, all to no avail.

I remember the ambulance, the piercing wail of sirens, the fluorescent lights of the emergency room passing overhead like shooting stars.

I remember the blood…so much blood.

And then there were so many voices…the doctors’ frantic voices filling my senses.

I couldn’t hear their exact words over the roaring in my ears, but I saw their faces—the concern, the fear. I felt myself slipping away, darkness creeping in at the edges of my vision.

But I fought.

God, how I fought.

For my baby. For the tiny life that depended on me. For the one person in this world who would finally, truly be mine.

When I opened my eyes again hours later, the harsh hospital lights made me squint. My body felt like it had been torn apart and barely stitched back together. Everything ached.

But none of that mattered, because the moment I heard the soft mewling cry, the pain vanished instantly.

My baby.

“Mrs. Cole?” A nurse’s gentle voice broke through my haze.

“Would you like to hold your daughter?”

Daughter.

I had a daughter.

The nurse carefully placed the tiny bundle in my arms, and the moment I looked down at her perfect little face, my entire world shifted.

She was so small, so fragile, with wisps of dark hair and the tiniest fingers I’d ever seen. When she wrapped one of those fingers around mine, my heart shattered and rebuilt itself all at once.

All the pain, all the suffering, all of Adrian’s cruelty—none of it mattered anymore.

This beautiful little girl was mine.

She was perfect.

She was everything.

Tears streamed down my face as I pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

“I’m your mama,” I whispered, my voice hoarse and barely audible. “And I promise I will never let anyone make you feel unwanted. I promise.”

The door to my hospital room suddenly burst open, and my heart leaped with desperate hope.

Adrian. Finally, he came—

But it wasn’t Adrian who walked through that door.

It was Daniel.

My brother stood in the doorway, his expensive suit pristine, his expression cold as he surveyed the room. His eyes moved from me to the baby in my arms, and I watched his face transform—not with joy or wonder, but with disgust.

“A girl?” Daniel’s voice dripped with disdain as he stepped closer. “You gave him a fucking girl?”

My arms instinctively tightened around my daughter, a protective fury rising in my chest. My hands couldn’t move to sign—I wouldn’t let go of my baby—so I just glared at him, hoping he could see every ounce of hatred I felt in that moment.

Daniel laughed, a cold, bitter sound.

“What’s that look for, Ava? Did you really think Adrian Cole would be satisfied with a daughter? He needs an heir. A son to carry on the Cole legacy.”

He leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

“This—” he gestured dismissively at my baby, “—this is useless to us.”

I just stared at him, my heart beginning to pound.

He turned back to face me, his expression hardening.

“A son would have secured your position in that family permanently. Adrian could hate you all he wanted, but he’d never be able to get rid of you. Not when you’d given him what every powerful man needs: a legacy. Someone to pass his name to. Someone to inherit everything he’s built.”

Daniel moved closer, looming over the bed.

“But a girl?” He shook his head slowly, his eyes cold. “A girl doesn’t inherit the business empire. A girl is just…an obligation. A burden.”

My hands began to tremble, but I couldn’t sign—I wouldn’t let go of my baby.

“You had one job, Ava,” Daniel continued, his voice rising. “One fucking job. Get pregnant for Adrian, give him an heir to secure his stable capital support for our family company.”

He slammed his hand against the bed rail, making me flinch.

“But instead, you give him a useless daughter. You know what happens now? He divorces you. Takes the kid—because he’s Adrian Cole and he can—and sends you back to us with nothing. And Father’s company?”

Daniel laughed bitterly.

“It goes bankrupt within six months. Everything we worked for, gone.”

I carefully shifted my daughter to one arm, freeing my other hand to sign.

This is my child. My daughter. She is not useless.

Get out.

I signed with my free hand, my vision blurring with tears.

“No. Not until you understand what needs to happen next.”

Daniel pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down, his elbows on his knees, his eyes intense.

“You need to get pregnant again. Soon. And this time, you give him a son.”

My hand stilled mid-air, then moved rapidly.

No. Absolutely not.

“Yes,” Daniel said firmly. “It’s the only way to save this situation. Nine months from now, you give Adrian a son, and everything changes. Your position becomes secure. Father’s company gets the investment it needs. Our family survives.”

Adrian hates me, I signed, my movements sharp and angry. He can’t even look at me. He’ll never touch me again.

“He doesn’t have to touch you willingly,” Daniel said, and the casual cruelty in his voice made my blood run cold.

I stared at him, horror dawning on my face.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” Daniel said, standing up and straightening his tie. “We drugged him once to get you pregnant. It clearly worked.”

He gestured at my daughter.

“We can do it again. At the next family gathering, the next business event, whenever there’s an opportunity. One drink, one pill, and nine months later, you give him his heir.”

It wasn’t “we,” it was you who did it!

You’re insane, I signed, my hand shaking. You’re fucking insane. I won’t do this. I won’t let you—

But at that moment, the door swung inward.

And there, finally, stood Adrian.

But with Adrian came a beautiful woman.

Vivian Stone.