Chapter 2

They arrived at the hospital.

They strapped Natalie down to a restraint bed in the psychiatric ward, and iron cuffs locked her wrists and ankles in place.

Right before they wheeled her into the operating room, James gave the doctor his orders. His voice was ice-cold. "Don't give her any anesthesia. We need to make sure the cord blood stays viable, so do the C-section while she's awake."

The words hit Natalie like a physical blow, and a dull, throbbing pain spread from her chest through every vein in her body.

The last thing she remembered before passing out was the sensation of the scalpel slicing through her stomach. Through the haze of agony, she caught a glimpse of her baby, already fully formed.

It was a girl.

She'd wanted so badly to tell her daughter how much she loved her, how much she'd been looking forward to meeting her.

When Natalie woke up again, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled her nose and made her eyes water.

The doctor came in during rounds and handed her a report. "Ms. Bennett, your stomach cancer has progressed from early stage to intermediate. I strongly recommend you begin treatment immediately."

Natalie gripped the paper in her hands and kept her voice steady. "Does anyone else know about this?"

The doctor and nurse exchanged glances. "Your family hasn't visited since you've been unconscious."

Natalie pressed her hand against the surgical incision, but the physical pain was nothing compared to what she felt in her chest.

She'd been having stomach problems throughout her pregnancy, so she'd gone in for tests. That was when they'd told her she had early-stage stomach cancer.

The doctors had advised her to terminate the pregnancy and have surgery right away.

But every time she'd seen James and her parents looking forward to the baby with such love and anticipation in their eyes, she couldn't bring herself to go through with it.

So she'd made her choice. She would trade her life for her child's.

It had all been wishful thinking.

Natalie pulled out her phone and called her best friend. "Rachel, I need you to schedule my surgery. The removal surgery."

Rachel's voice came through sharp with disbelief. "Natalie, you're pregnant. You can't have surgery right now. Just wait until after you give birth, and I'll get everything arranged immediately."

Natalie's eyes filled with tears. "The baby's gone."

"What do you mean gone? Natalie, what happened? Did James do something to you? Was it the Bennetts? Tell me right now, and I'll fly back today to handle this."

All the pain Natalie had been holding back came pouring out. "They never loved me. No one has ever loved me."

Rachel seemed to guess what had happened, and her voice filled with sympathy. "Come on, Natalie. You're gorgeous and amazing. Of course someone's going to love you. James is trash, and you're better off without him. Let me set you up with my brother. He's young, hot, and has great stamina. Hell, if that doesn't work out, my dad's still got it going on too."

Natalie let out a soft laugh, and Rachel's tone gentled. "I'll be back in the country in two weeks. When I get there, I'm picking you up and bringing you to Rivergate."

"Okay. I'll be waiting."

Rachel gave her a few more words of encouragement before reluctantly hanging up.

A moment later, the hospital room door swung open, and James' cold, handsome face appeared in the doorway.

He walked straight up to her bedside. "Sophie's been cured. I keep my promises. The wedding will happen in two weeks."

Natalie didn't say anything. She just nodded and looked at him with empty eyes.

"Where's my baby?"

James froze for a second, and his gaze shifted away from hers. "The baby's already been buried."

"Where's the grave?"

Before he could answer, his phone started ringing. He glanced down at the screen, and his expression changed. Without another word, he turned toward the door. "We can deal with these little things after you're discharged."

Her concerns, her baby—to him, they were all just "little things."

A sharp pain shot through Natalie's chest, and she couldn't breathe. She dragged her gaunt, weakened body out of bed. She needed to know where her child was.

Just as she'd suspected, James had rushed off to see Sophie.

Sophie was leaning weakly against her mother Mabel Bennett's shoulder, her face pale as death. The moment James walked in, her eyes filled with tears.

James hurried to her side and took her hand. "Sophie, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

Sophie's tears spilled down her cheeks, and her voice broke. "James, I was so scared I'd never see you again. I was terrified I'd never see Mom and Dad and Andrew again. This is all my fault. My stupid body got leukemia, and now my sister lost her baby because of me. I'm nothing but bad luck."

"Don't talk like that." His voice was gentle, his eyes full of adoration. "Because of you, that baby got to live for six extra months."

Mabel tenderly wiped away Sophie's tears. "Sweetheart, the only reason we took such good care of Natalie and her baby was for you."

Natalie's fingernails dug into her palms, and blood seeped between her fingers. She didn't feel any pain at all.

Before she could process what was happening, James slipped the lucky charm off his wrist and gently fastened it around Sophie's hand.

"You were never cursed," he said softly. "You're our lucky star. I bought this charm from a church specifically for you. It'll keep you safe and protected for the rest of your life."

Tears streamed down Sophie's face, and she threw her arms around his neck.

Natalie stood frozen in the doorway. A ringing filled her ears, and she felt like she'd been wrapped in suffocating black cloth. Every breath felt like drowning.

That lucky charm was something Natalie had bought on the day she was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She'd spent the entire day praying at the church, and she'd finally convinced the priest to sell her one that had been blessed.