My Child's Last Beat, Her Lifeline

"Dad... please come pick me up in five days. I'm ready to marry the Williams family heir, just like you wanted." My voice trembled as I spoke into the phone.

"Marriage? What are you talking about? Are you getting divorced from Alex?" My father asked, confused and concerned.

"Yes." I choked back tears, my eyes welling up. "Please start preparing for the wedding."

Before he could say another word, I hung up the phone. It slipped from my hands and clattered to the floor. I was shaking all over, burying my face in my palms.

Three years ago, I thought I was living the perfect life. Now I know it was all a lie.

Sharp pain tore through my abdomen like a knife slicing through my body. Eight months pregnant, I had just slipped in the bathroom and was now lying on the cold tile floor, blood pooling beneath me.

"Alex..." I whimpered weakly, reaching for my phone that had been thrown across the floor.

I called him over and over again. He never picked up.

I was so weak I could barely press the buttons. My fingers trembled as I dialed one last time.

This was the hundredth call.

He answered.

"Evelyn, why are you so desperate for attention? I told you I have something important to do. Stop bothering me!" Alex's cold voice came through the phone.

Before I could speak, I heard a woman's sweet voice in the background.

"Alex, honey, come back to bed. I'm aching for you. Don't keep me waiting."

That voice... I knew it all too well.

Chloe.

Chloe Lancaster, Alex's first love. Two months ago, she came back from England crying, begging Alex for help. She said she had discovered her husband cheating, and he had beaten her so badly she miscarried. After the divorce, she had nowhere to go.

"She needs help, Alex," I had told him. "Your family tore you apart back then. You can't abandon her again."

He reluctantly agreed and helped her settle in. I even convinced him to let her stay in our house temporarily.

How foolish. I had personally pushed my husband into another woman's arms.

For the past two months, Alex had been taking care of her almost every day. Buying supplies, medicine, accompanying her to doctor appointments, while I stayed home alone, my belly growing bigger but feeling increasingly lonely.

Every time I called him, he was either busy or said Chloe needed him.

Now here I was, lying in a pool of blood, listening to her calling him from their bed.

I hung up the phone, tears blurring my vision, consciousness fading.

Later, I was unconscious in the hospital for four days.

When I woke up, my first thought was of my baby.

"Baby... where is my baby?" I cried to the nurse.

She avoided my gaze. "I'm sorry, ma'am. There was too much blood loss. We did everything we could."

My world collapsed.

Before I could even process the pain of losing my child, I heard voices outside my door.

Alex's voice.

"Doctor, how is Chloe?"

"She was just startled. The fetus is stable. Congratulations, Mr. Vanderbilt."

"Thank God!" Alex's voice was filled with joy.

Fetus? So Chloe was pregnant.

"You should really comfort your wife," the doctor continued. "She was severely injured."

Alex was silent for a moment. "Well, Chloe will give me my heir anyway. Doctor, could you keep Evelyn unconscious forever? I don't want her to know about my relationship with Chloe."

I held my breath.

The doctor gasped. "Mr. Vanderbilt, that would be murder!"

"I don't care!" Alex roared. "I've paid you enough money. You'd better do as I say!"

My trembling hand pressed against my chest as tears silently streamed down my face. The man I loved had tried to kill me, just to be with his mistress.

Three years ago, when his company was on the verge of bankruptcy and creditors threatened to make him jump off a building, I had used the Sterling family resources to save him.

This was how he repaid me. Not caring about our dead child, wanting me dead just to clear the way for being with Chloe.

After they left, I picked up my phone with shaking hands and called my lawyer.

"Prepare the divorce papers. I want them signed within the week."

I yearned to breathe in the fresh air and trudged down the corridor in my weakened state, only to encounter Chloe.

"Oh, Evelyn, you look so weak. Why are you hiding here alone? Shouldn't you be in your room resting? After all, you just went through such a... painful experience."

"You bitch," my voice was hoarse and cold, "you destroyed my marriage and family."

Her voice was sickeningly sweet, "Darling, the one who isn't loved is the real mistress. I'm the woman Alex truly loves."

She pulled out a document. "Look at this."

It was a Do Not Resuscitate order with Alex's signature on it.

"Your son lived for exactly twenty-three minutes after birth," Chloe said cruelly. "Alex signed this, refusing treatment for him."

My blood ran cold. "What...?"

"Such a pity. Only my child deserves the position of Vanderbilt heir. Your son... was just an obstacle."

I lunged at her, wrapping my hands around her neck. "You monster!"

"Alex! Help!" Chloe screamed.

At that time, Alex rushed over. He grabbed my wrists and threw me violently to the ground. The back of my head hit the wall, and I tasted blood in my mouth.

"How could you do this?" Alex roared at me.

"Why didn't you save my child?! You pair of bastards—"

"How can you be so vicious?" Alex interrupted me. "Your own child is dead, and you attack a pregnant woman like this? You don't deserve to be a mother! This is why God took away your right to motherhood!"

He gently lifted Chloe in his arms and walked away, leaving me on the floor while onlookers pointed and whispered.

My heart shattering into a thousand pieces as I watched the man who once promised to love me forever disappear down the corridor with Chloe in his arms.

I finally understood. Alex had never loved me. I was just a tool to him, a lifeline. Now that Chloe was back, I had become a burden.

Five days. Just five more days, and I could leave this hell forever.

But I wouldn't leave quietly.

Alex Vanderbilt, I'll make you regret hurting me and my child.