Chapter 1

On Mother's Day, I forced myself to swallow the abortion pill.

All the prenatal exams had been normal, but my baby ended up a stillborn at eight months.

My husband Franco Whitaker, who'd lost his parents, was shattered as he stared at our lifeless child. My mother, a widow, nearly collapsed from grief.

They cried out hysterically, "How could you be so heartless? He was your own child!"

With my blood-soaked hands, I showed them a video. A few seconds later, their eyes went wide with terror.

"He has to die! That monster must die! Letting him live would be a disaster. He can only die!"

With Franco and my mom both out of the house.

I drank the entire bowl of abortion medicine in one gulp.

Soon, my stomach twisted in pain and blood stained my pants.

I clenched my teeth, my body soaked in sweat.

Using all my strength, I didn't know how long it took until a bloody fetus slipped out from between my legs.

Sweating, I collapsed in a pool of blood.

My mom came back from grocery shopping, her face pale with shock. The ribs and beef in her hands fell to the ground, and she nearly lost her balance.

"Did... did the baby come out?" she stammered.

I stared at her for a long time, unable to say a word.

She immediately called Franco. "Franco, Monica's had the baby! You need to come back right now!"

Ten minutes later, Franco came rushing back, his face lit up with excitement. "Did you really have the baby? Is my son really born?"

He crouched down in front of the baby, reaching out to pick him up, but in the next moment, he just crumpled to the floor right at my mom's feet.

"The... the baby..." Franco stammered.

Seeing Franco like that, my mom dropped to her knees too. I watched as her eyes widened in shock and her mouth hung open because the child I had just brought into this world was already gone.

He had died inside me.

My mom and Franco slumped down in the bloody mess with me, putting their hands under the baby's nose, hoping to feel a breath.

After what felt like forever, my mom finally screamed hysterically, "Why? I was only out for a few minutes to get groceries, and now the baby's gone?

"We made it all the way to eight months. I took care of you every single day, made sure you ate well and had everything you wanted. How could you end up giving us a stillborn?"

Franco was devastated. "We've been married for two years and finally had this baby. Monica, do you have any idea how much I was looking forward to this baby?

"Why didn't you protect him?

"Why did you let him go? Why did you take him away from me?"

He still had no idea. It wasn't that I failed to protect our baby. I'm the one who killed him myself.

I was the one who called the ambulance.

My mom and Franco clung to the lifeless baby, crying their hearts out, as if I didn't even exist.

The doctor said I was lucky to be alive after losing so much blood.

As soon as the doctors finished stitching me up and hooked me to an IV, Franco burst in, clutching the bowl with abortion pill residue, and slapped me hard across the face.

"You bitch! Why did you kill my son? Tell me why!" he shouted.

So he finally knew. I touched my burning cheek and said, "You know exactly why."

He shook his head hard. "What do I know? Ever since you got pregnant, I've treated you like a queen, and I've done everything for you.

"You know my dad died when I was a kid, and my mom remarried. You know I grew up an orphan. You know how much I've always wanted a real family, a home full of life.

"I just don't get it. Why did you have to kill our baby?"

If he didn't get it, then I would make him understand.

With my blood-soaked hands, I pulled out my phone and played a video for him. Franco recoiled in shock, his face draining of color as he stumbled backward.

I stared at him and pressed, "Do you still want this baby? Tell me, do you still want him?"

Franco shook his head violently, terror etched across his face. "No, we can't keep him. He has to die. He really has to die!"

My mom rushed into the hospital room right after him, sobbing just as hard as Franco.

She said, "Monica, I told you, just give birth, and I'll raise him for you. You don't have to worry about a thing.

"Why did you have to wait until eight months to do this? Do you have any idea how much sin you've brought upon us?

"And today's Mother's Day. Is this really the present you gave me?"

I knew it all. I knew every single thing. But... there was no way I could let him come into this world.

Next door, a new mom had just had her baby a few hours ago, and everyone in her family was all smiles.

The baby's grandma, cradling the newborn, glared at me. "Seriously? You aborted your baby at eight months? That's basically killing a child.

"You're going straight to hell for this."

"Exactly," the baby's grandma chimed in.

The other grandma jumped in, scolding me. "Young people these days are just out of control. If you didn't want a kid, why even get pregnant? And you waited until eight months to get rid of it?"

"You wrecked your own body and killed a baby. Seriously, that's just heartless!"