Chapter 2

“I didn’t.”

I stared at the man in front of me, and all I felt was grief.

He hadn’t even given me a chance to explain. He had already decided I was guilty.

“You’re still lying?”

Joseph’s roar echoed through the empty living room, loud enough to make my ears ring.

“Emma, I was wrong about you. I thought you were kind. I thought you were gentle. I never imagined you could be this vicious.”

“You couldn’t even leave a pregnant woman alone?”

Susan sobbed “weakly” in his arms, her voice breaking between breaths.

“Joseph… don’t blame Emma… Maybe I slipped on my own…”

“The baby… Is the baby going to be okay?”

Her words were gasoline on a fire.

Joseph’s face turned darker. He lifted Susan into his arms and looked at me with pure hatred.

“Emma, if anything happens to Susan or the baby, I swear I’ll make you pay.”

Then he carried her out of the house without looking back.

I stood there alone, watching them disappear. All the strength drained from my body.

So this was the man I had loved for three years. This was the father of my child.

How ridiculous.

I had actually thought I could ask Joseph for the truth. Now I knew how stupid I had been.

My knees gave out, and I sank to the floor.

Then something moved in my belly. The baby kicked me.

My eyes instantly filled with tears.

I’m sorry, baby. You’re going to be born without a father.

But I promise, Mommy will give you all the love in the world.

I took out my phone and called my brother Jack.

The second he answered, I forced my voice to stay steady.

“Jack, I was wrong.”

Before I could continue, Jack cut me off coldly.

“Didn’t you say that as long as I refused to accept Joseph, you wouldn’t contact me?”

I fell silent.

For my child, I swallowed my pride.

“Help me,” I whispered. “Please. Even if it’s only for my baby.”

On the other end, Jack sighed.

“What happened?”

“I want to divorce Joseph.”

Before I could say more, the front door opened again.

Joseph had come back. A strange smile sat on his face.

“Susan is in the hospital, and you still have the nerve to stand here making phone calls?”

He snatched my phone and smashed it against the floor.

The screen shattered instantly.

“Emma, until Susan is discharged, you’re not going anywhere.”

I stared at him.

For the first time, the man in front of me felt like a complete stranger.

“Joseph, what exactly are you trying to do?”

“What am I trying to do?”

He gave a cold laugh and stepped toward me.

“I’m making sure you pay for what you did.”

He grabbed my wrist so hard I thought the bones might crack.

“You’re pregnant yourself, and you still couldn’t tolerate Susan’s baby? A woman as vicious as you need to be taught a lesson.”

He dragged me toward the basement.

“What are you doing?”

I struggled desperately.

My heels scraped across the floor with a sharp, ugly sound.

“Joseph, let me go! You can’t lock me up like this!”

“Let me go!”

He threw me into the dark basement.

The door slammed shut.

The lock clicked.

“Let you go?”

His icy voice came from the other side of the door.

“Do you still think you’re the powerful heiress you used to be?”

“The company under your name belongs to me now.”

“The assets have already been moved.”

“You have nothing left.”

My heart dropped.

That company was the only thing my parents had left me.

I had spent years building it into what it was.

And I had trusted Joseph so much that I handed him full authority to manage it.

I never imagined he had set the trap long ago, waiting for the day I walked into it myself.

I collapsed onto the freezing floor, trembling uncontrollably.

“Joseph… you can’t do this to me…”

I pounded on the iron door, my voice breaking.

“I’m carrying your child.”

“For the baby’s sake, please let me out.”

For a long time, there was silence outside the door.

For one foolish second, I thought he might soften.

Then his cold voice came again.

“The baby?”

“Emma, do you really think I care about that bastard?”

“I’ll let you go after I sell off the rest of the company shares and cash out.”

“As for the child you’re carrying…”

He gave a low, cruel laugh.

“That depends on your luck.”

His words cut away the last thread of hope inside me.

So, he had never cared about our unborn child.

From beginning to end, I had been nothing more than a piece in his game.

Useful until I wasn’t.

Then disposable.

Despair rose around me like dark water.

I leaned against the cold door and slowly slid to the floor.

There were no lights in the basement.

Only darkness. Only silence. Only my rough breathing and the fragile life inside me.

Baby, I’m sorry. Mommy failed you. Mommy couldn’t protect you.