Chapter 1

Eight months pregnant, on a hurricane night, I accidentally slipped and fell.

A pool of dark red blood stained the floor beneath me.

In a desperate panic, I called my husband, Nathan. But his new assistant, Chloe, answered.

"Oh, Mrs. Adler? Nathan is taking me for a spin on the mountain track. The wind is so loud, I can barely hear you!"

Then, I heard Nathan’s laughing voice in the background.

"Tell her the mountain roads are blocked because of the storm. I’m staying at the hilltop resort tonight."

At that exact moment, my baby’s heartbeat inside my womb grew weaker and weaker.

Biting my lip until it bled, I dialed 911 myself. On the emergency contact form, under marital status, I checked the box: Widowed.

Later, Nathan knelt in the pouring rain, holding the core code of the patent I had single-handedly developed, begging me to leave him a lifeline.

I looked at him coldly.

"Sorry, Nathan. The wind is too loud. I can't hear you."

The night the hurricane hit, the entire city was swallowed by a violent storm.

The massive floor-to-ceiling windows rattled under the fierce wind. Lightning ripped through the night sky, casting a deathly pale light over our empty mansion.

I was eight months pregnant, and my belly was so heavy that even moving was a struggle.

Nathan had promised to come home early tonight to be with me.

The weather channel had issued a Category 3 hurricane warning, and he knew I had been terrified of thunder since I was a child.

But by 10:00 PM, there was still no sign of him.

I went to close the window in the second-floor hallway. A sudden gust of wind blasted in, bringing the rain with it and instantly soaking the marble floor.

My foot slipped. My body lost balance, and I fell backward.

With a dull thud, my lower back slammed hard against the edge of the stairs. I tumbled down two steps.

Agonizing pain shot through me, like a rusty saw tearing my lower body in half.

I curled up on the cold floor, gasping for air, cold sweat instantly drenching my pajamas.

Instinctively, I touched my stomach. Sharp, violent contractions were ripping through me.

Then, a warm rush of liquid flowed down my thighs, quickly staining the white wool rug crimson.

It was blood. A terrifying amount of blood.

Panic seized me. With trembling fingers, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Nathan’s number, leaving bloody smudges on the screen.

"Ring... Ring... Ring..."

Every second of the long ringing tone felt like a knife twisting in my chest.

Finally, the call connected.

But it wasn’t Nathan’s voice. Instead, the roaring sound of car engines and the excited screams of a crowd blasted through the speaker.

"Hello? Mrs. Adler?"

A sweet, high-pitched female voice came through, dripping with smugness.

It was Chloe.

The intern Nathan’s company hired last month, who had quickly become his "personal assistant."

"Where is Nathan... put him on..."

I gritted my teeth, fighting through waves of tearing pain. My voice was so weak I could barely hear myself.

"Oh, Nathan is on the track right now!" Chloe chirped. "The club booked the entire track tonight, and Nathan is the star of the show!"

Her cheerful voice felt like a poisoned blade plunging straight into my heart.

"My stomach hurts... I'm bleeding... Tell him to come home now..." I screamed into the phone with the last of my strength.

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then, I heard Nathan’s familiar voice, light and careless.

"Chloe, who are you talking to? Come over here, let me teach you how to drift."

Chloe giggled. "It’s your wife! She says her stomach hurts or something..."

Nathan’s voice instantly turned cold, laced with heavy irritation.

"What is she throwing a tantrum for now? Didn't she just have an OB-GYN checkup this afternoon?"

"Tell her the mountain roads are closed because of the storm."

"I’m staying at the resort on the summit tonight. Tell her to go to bed and stop overreacting over every little thing."

Chloe let out a soft laugh.

"You heard him, Mrs. Adler. Nathan can’t make it back tonight."

"Honestly, it’s just a pregnancy. Why are you so fragile?"

"Nathan works so hard every day. He finally got a chance to relax. You shouldn't use the baby just to beg for his attention."

Beep—

The line went dead.

The screen turned black, reflecting my ghost-white face.

Begging for attention?

I looked down at the pooling blood on the floor in utter despair. The movement in my belly was fading, as if the tiny life inside me was slowly slipping away.

Nathan, I am fighting for my life, and you think I’m just playing games.

I bit my lip hard, forcing myself to stay conscious.

I couldn't die. My baby couldn't die.

With shaking hands, I dialed 911.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"I need an ambulance... I'm at 17 Seaview Drive..."

"Pregnant, eight months... slipped and bleeding heavily... Please, hurry..."

After hanging up, I called my mom.

Once that was done, my last bit of strength evaporated, and I plunged into complete darkness.