Chapter 4
"I didn't do it. I swear, I didn't," I cried out, my voice trembling with desperation.
I was held down at the operating room door by the bodyguards, their grip unyielding.
"Lillian and that doctor are lying to you. They're only framing me on purpose after I exposed their plot," I shouted.
Marcus came rushing in, and Lillian's attending doctor stepped up right away.
"Mr. Vale, good thing we found her in time. Ms. Cross was pushed down the stairs; her left leg is broken, and she's got bruises all over," the doctor reported.
"You really think Lillian would put her own life on the line just to set you up?" Marcus looked down at me, his voice full of scorn. "Ophelia, are you even worth it?"
He clamped down on my wrist, his grip unyielding.
"I refused your request to stop the blood transfusion this afternoon, and then tonight, Lillian gets hurt. You think I wouldn't see through such a cheap stunt?" Marcus sneered.
"It's not like that," I whispered.
I shook my head desperately, hopelessness washing over me.
Under his cold, piercing gaze, I pointed at my belly.
"Marcus, I swear on my baby. If I were the one who pushed her, then let me never have a child of my own," I choked out, my voice trembling.
His eyes narrowed, and for a split second, I saw something flicker in his expression.
He knew better than anyone just how much I craved having someone truly connected to me by blood, a real family of my own.
"Marcus?" Just then, Lillian was wheeled out.
She looked pale, her left leg in a cast, and the moment she saw Marcus, tears started streaming down her face.
"I was so scared. I almost thought I'd never see you again," she sobbed, her voice shaking.
Marcus immediately crouched down, his fingertips gently brushing her cheek.
"Does it still hurt?" he asked softly.
It was a tone I'd never heard from him before, so gentle.
He paused for a moment, then finally asked in a low voice, "Lillian, are you sure it was Ophelia who pushed you?"
Lillian burst into tears.
"Marcus, don't you believe me? Ophelia suddenly rushed at me and said she'd finally be free if I were dead. She was so strong. She just dragged me into the stairwell," Lillian sobbed, her voice breaking.
"You're lying," I snapped, my voice sharp with anger.
"That cast on your leg is fake. You never even fell," I shouted, my voice trembling with rage.
I broke free from the bodyguards and rushed forward, trying to tear off that cast and prove she was faking it.
Lillian let out a shriek and threw herself into Marcus's arms, clutching him like she was terrified.
But just before I could reach her, Marcus slammed me down onto the floor.
"Marcus, why do you never believe me?" I shouted.
I just sat there on the floor, my voice completely shot.
He didn't even glance back, just wheeled Lillian away, leaving me behind in the cold hallway.
And I was left to be dragged by two bodyguards into the deserted stairwell.
I had no idea how long I'd been left there before Marcus suddenly returned.
He stood above me on the landing, staring down with utter disgust, like I was something filthy he couldn't bear to touch.
"I never thought you could be this vicious," he said. "You laid a hand on Lillian, and now you're going to pay for it."
He pointed at the endless staircase behind him.
"You pushed her once, so I'll make you fall ten times. I want this burned into your memory forever. Don't even dream about taking what doesn't belong to you," he spat coldly.
I stared at the bottomless staircase, my whole body trembling.
"Please, Marcus. I'm pregnant. If you have to punish me, can't you wait until after the baby's born? Whatever you want to do to me, I'll accept it," I pleaded, my voice shaking.
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the last trace of emotion vanished from his eyes.
"With a mother like you, he's doomed from the start," Marcus said, his voice icy.
He stepped back and signaled the bodyguards.
"Maybe you and your kid should just die and start over in a new life," he sneered.
As my body tumbled down the stairs, an agonizing pain tore through my belly.
I collapsed onto the cold floor.
Marcus stood at the top of the stairs, his voice utterly emotionless.
"Climb up yourself, or let them drag you up," he said, his tone icy and indifferent.
I bit down hard on my lower lip, the taste of blood and the sting of humiliation burning as I swallowed my tears.
With every ounce of strength I had left, I forced myself up, my ankle screaming in pain as I dragged myself up the stairs, one agonizing step at a time.
Just as I was about to reach the top, Marcus gave a lazy wave of his hand.
The bodyguards caught the cue and, without a shred of mercy, shoved me down the stairs again.
As I hit the ground hard, a warm rush spread between my legs.
Despair washed over me, swallowing me whole.
I curled up on the floor, my voice coming out in broken sobs.
"Marcus, please. My baby. Please save my child," I sobbed.
Marcus's brow furrowed at the top of the stairs, just as he was about to speak.
"Mr. Vale, emergency." Suddenly, the stairwell door slammed open, and Lillian's doctor came running in, panic etched across his face.
"Ms. Cross's condition just took a turn for the worse. She needs a blood transfusion, right now," the doctor shouted.
Marcus's face went pale in an instant, and he didn't miss a beat.
"Get her up here and take her to the blood draw room, now," he ordered.
"No, Marcus, I can't give blood," I pleaded.
The bodyguards roughly hauled me up, blood trickling down my calves.
But even as I was being dragged away, I reached out to him with the last bit of hope I had left, begging for his help.
"I need a doctor, too. Please, it's our baby," I pleaded, my voice barely more than a whisper.
He looked at my ghostly pale face and the blood on the floor beneath me, and a flash of struggle crossed his eyes.
But it vanished in a heartbeat, his coldness snapping back into place.
"Ophelia, you brought this on yourself," he said, his voice icy and unyielding.
Just before I lost consciousness, I could almost hear my soul shatter inside me.
When I came to, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled the hospital room.
Marcus was sitting by the bed.
When he saw me open my eyes, his jaw relaxed a little, the tension finally easing just a bit.
Instinctively, I reached for my belly, but it was flat, nothing there.
There was no trace of that tiny life I once carried.
"Don't even think about it," Marcus said, his voice cold as a blade.
"The baby's gone. That's your punishment. At least now you can be more useful to Lillian," he sneered.
In that moment, every bit of love, hope, and humility I'd ever held was reduced to ashes.
I shot upright, and as he stared at me in shock, I ripped the IV needle from my arm.
Blood spurted out instantly.
I met his gaze head-on, refusing to back down.
"Marcus, from this moment on, she'll never get another drop of my blood," I said, my voice cold and resolute.
"And it's not just her. You're done too. I want nothing to do with you ever again," I spat.