Chapter 4
845words
Security patrols doubled in the corridors.
Everyone entering or leaving faced intense scrutiny.
Victoria arrived personally.
She wore a severe black suit, her face betraying exhaustion and anxiety.
The looming shareholders' meeting was clearly suffocating her.
She marched into my room with Angela Pierce—the woman destined to receive my womb—trailing behind her.
This was my first glimpse of her.
She possessed a fragile, delicate beauty—pale-faced and slender, as if a strong breeze might shatter her.
Her eyes held a storm of complex emotions as she studied me.
Condescension. Undisguised jealousy. And beneath it all, a whisper of fear.
"Tomorrow's the surgery day," Victoria stated bluntly, her tone glacial. "I need your complete cooperation, Olivia. Ensure this goes smoothly, and your family will want for nothing—ever."
Her final threat, wrapped in a final bribe.
I lowered my head submissively. "I understand, Mrs. Grant."
Angela stepped forward, her hand reaching toward my belly before halting mid-air.
"That's my child in there," she whispered, as if staking her claim. "I'll love him properly—something you needn't worry about."
I sneered inside.
Your child?
You're nothing but another thief.
But outwardly, I displayed perfect sorrow and resignation.
"Miss Angela, I understand… I only ask that someday, I might see him from afar. Just once."
My performance pleased her.
Her face showed the smug pity of a conqueror.
"Perhaps, if you behave yourself," she said with false generosity.
They didn't linger. Once satisfied I was "emotionally stable," they departed quickly.
The moment they left, Ethan rushed in.
He carried news.
News that stopped my heart.
"Victoria's changed her mind," he said grimly. "She's nervous and moved the surgery to tonight—just before the shareholders' meeting starts."
My fists clenched involuntarily.
That cunning witch—ruthless and cautious as ever.
She wanted to eliminate all risks before finalizing her plans.
She needed to secure both trump cards before the meeting: the Grant heir and a viable womb.
"When?" I forced my voice steady.
"Midnight," Ethan replied. "Dr. Wang's team is already prepping next door."
My mind raced frantically.
Our plan—completely derailed.
The 4 AM power outage we'd planned was now useless.
Midnight was when security would be most alert.
Could we still escape?
"Ethan, the power—"
"Too late for that," he cut me off, his eyes flashing wildly. "We'll have to fight our way out."
Fight our way out?
Just the two of us—a bastard and a heavily pregnant woman?
This was madness.
"Listen," Ethan gripped my shoulders painfully. "There's no going back for me. Tonight, either she dies or I die."
He pulled something from inside his jacket.
A black pistol with an attached silencer.
My pupils dilated in shock.
"You..."
"Kevin's," he whispered. "He keeps plenty of illegal items. I convinced him Victoria plans to make him her scapegoat. He believed me and gave me this for protection."
I stared at this man I'd once thought weak and spineless, now transformed into a predator ready to kill.
"At midnight, they'll come for you. I'll distract the hallway guards." He pressed the gun into my hand—cold metal that somehow burned. "The rest is up to us."
I clutched the gun, my palm slick with cold sweat.
I'd never even seen a real gun before.
Now I might need to use it to survive.
"I—I don't know how to use this," I stammered.
"Simple." He positioned my finger on the trigger. "Point at your target and pull. That's all."
His voice was chillingly calm.
"Remember, Olivia. From tonight, we're no longer human. We're vengeful spirits clawing out of hell. Show mercy to your enemies, and you're cruel to yourself."
With one final, penetrating look, he turned and left.
Alone, I sat with the heavy weight of the gun in my hand.
My heart hammered wildly, nearly choking me.
Fear crashed over me like a tidal wave.
I trembled uncontrollably, terror seizing every muscle.
I feared capture—being cut open while conscious, my womb extracted like an organ from livestock.
I feared never seeing my child.
Outside the window, night pressed against the glass like black ink.
No stars. No moon.
Just like my fate.
No.
I refused to accept this fate.
I bit my lip until I tasted blood.
The pain cleared my mind instantly.
I, Olivia Lane, was not some lamb for slaughter.
I was a demon clawing out of hell.
I slid the gun under my pillow, lay down, and forced my breathing to steady.
I needed every ounce of strength for midnight.
This would be the pivot point of my entire life.
Either I'd walk over their corpses toward freedom…
Or plunge with them into eternal darkness.
Time crawled by, each minute stretching endlessly.
The wall clock's ticking sounded like a funeral drum.
Eleven fifty.
Eleven fifty-five.
Finally, midnight struck.
The door swung open.
Two white-coated nurses entered, carrying a surgical gown.
"Miss Lane, it's time. Please come with us."
Their faces showed nothing—blank as mannequins.
I slowly sat up and slipped my hand beneath the pillow.
The storm had arrived.
