No longer weak

June’s chest heaved as panic consumed her. She gripped the sheets tightly, her voice trembling as she sobbed, “My baby… where’s my baby?” Her cries echoed through the room, her desperation raw and uncontainable. The machines around her beeped erratically, responding to her rising distress.

A flurry of activity erupted as nurses rushed into the room. One of them, a calm-looking woman with kind eyes, approached cautiously, trying to soothe her. “Mrs. Williams, please try to stay calm. You’re in the hospital. You’re safe now.”

But June wouldn’t listen. She clutched at her abdomen, the ache there a cruel reminder of what might have been lost. “No! You don’t understand! Where is my baby?” she screamed, her voice cracking as fresh tears streamed down her face.

“June,” a deep, familiar voice called, breaking through the chaos.

She turned her head slowly, her vision blurry from tears, and saw her father, Richard Blackwood, sitting by her bedside. His usually composed expression was etched with worry and a simmering anger that barely stayed beneath the surface.

“Dad…” she whispered, her voice hoarse and filled with anguish.

Richard leaned closer, gripping her hand tightly in his own. “June, I’m here. I’ve got you,” he said, his tone steady but tinged with fury.

“Dad… my baby… I can’t find my baby!” she wailed, her grip tightening on his hand.

Richard’s eyes darkened with concern. “June, listen to me,” he said firmly. “The doctors are here. They’re going to help you. Just breathe, okay? You’re safe now.”

But June was inconsolable. She shook her head violently, her sobs growing louder. “No, Dad, you don’t understand! Larry… he threw me out! I fell, and there was blood… so much blood. My baby…” Her voice broke, and she covered her face with trembling hands.

Richard’s jaw tightened, and his free hand clenched into a fist at his side. The anger he had been suppressing threatened to boil over. “That bastard,” he muttered under his breath. “That spineless, heartless bastard.”

A doctor entered the room then, a middle-aged woman with a calm demeanor and a clipboard in hand. She approached carefully, her voice gentle but authoritative. “Mrs. Williams, I need you to try and calm down so I can explain everything to you.”

June’s tear-filled eyes snapped to the doctor. “Tell me! Tell me what happened to my baby!” she demanded, her voice trembling with both fear and hope.

The doctor glanced at Richard, who gave her a subtle nod before she turned her attention back to June. “Mrs. Williams, you experienced a significant fall, which caused trauma to your abdomen. There was some bleeding, but…” She paused, her expression softening.

The doctor’s pause was heavy, her expression filled with an empathy that made June’s heart stop. Time seemed to stretch unbearably as she leaned in closer, gripping the sheets in anticipation of the words she was about to hear.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Williams,” the doctor said softly. “But we couldn’t save the baby. We did everything we could, but you had already lost a significant amount of blood before you arrived.”

The words landed like a physical blow, sucking the air from June’s lungs. Her vision blurred with tears as she stared at the doctor, willing her to take the words back, to tell her it was some cruel mistake. “No,” she whispered, shaking her head violently. “No, no, no!”

Her scream tore through the room, raw and guttural, a sound born of pure, unfiltered agony. “No! My baby! My baby!” she wailed, clutching at her abdomen as though she could bring back the life that had been taken from her.

Richard’s face turned ashen. He stood abruptly, pacing the room with clenched fists, his anger bubbling over in the face of his daughter’s heartbreak. “How could this happen?” he demanded, his voice sharp and filled with pain. “She should’ve been safe! She should’ve been protected!”

The doctor stepped back, her professional calm unwavering but her eyes sympathetic. “Mr. Williams , I understand your pain, but this wasn’t something we could control. The fall caused severe trauma, and we did everything we could.”

June barely registered the exchange. Her sobs wracked her body as she clung to the bedsheets, her voice cracking as she repeated, “My baby… my baby…”

Minutes felt like hours as the reality sank in, suffocating her. Then, slowly, her sobs quieted, replaced by a chilling stillness. Her fingers, still trembling, tightened into fists as she lowered her head.

“Larry,” she hissed, the name dripping with venom. Her father, noticing the sudden shift in her demeanor, stopped pacing and looked at her warily.

“June?” he asked cautiously.

She raised her head, her tear-streaked face now hardened, her eyes burning with an intensity that made even Richard take a step back. “Larry did this,” she said, her voice low and steady, laced with a venomous resolve.

Richard’s fists tightened, his face dark with rage. “That son of a—”

June interrupted him, her voice growing louder, fueled by her pain. “I will make him pay. Do you hear me, Dad? I will make him pay.”

Richard looked at her, concern flickering in his eyes. “June, you need to focus on healing right now. We’ll deal with him later.”

But June wasn’t listening. Her grief was now channeling into something more powerful vengeance. “He took everything from me,” she continued, her voice trembling with fury. “He took my baby. He threw me out like I was nothing. But I’ll show him.”

Her gaze locked onto her father, unyielding. “I’ll take everything he owns. Every single thing. His company, his reputation, his life I’ll destroy it all. I’ll make him kneel before me and beg for forgiveness, but I’ll give him nothing. Nothing!”

Richard watched her, torn between pride at her resilience and worry about the darkness consuming her. “June,” he began, but she cut him off.

“No, Dad,” she said sharply. “This isn’t negotiable. I let him walk all over me for too long. I stayed silent while he humiliated me, controlled me. But not anymore. He will feel every ounce of pain he’s caused me. I will ruin him.”

The fire in her eyes was unmistakable, and Richard realized there was no stopping her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. “If this is what you want, June, I’ll support you. But promise me one thing—you’ll do it the right way. No reckless moves. You let me help you.”

June nodded, her jaw set in determination. “I’ll do it my way , Dad. But make no mistake Larry will regret the day he ever crossed me.”

As the doctor quietly left the room, sensing the need for privacy, Richard sat back down beside June, his mind already racing with plans. He knew his daughter wouldn’t rest until justice or revenge was served.

June leaned back against the pillows, her body still weak but her resolve stronger than ever. She stared at the ceiling, her hand resting on her stomach, mourning the life she had lost while silently vowing to ensure Larry paid for it.

In that moment, June ceased to be the woman Larry had tried to break. She was no longer the victim.