Chapter 3

Calista's POV

Freya practically dove toward me, pulling me into her slender embrace.

"It's okay, it's okay..." she murmured in my ear, like coaxing a dying animal.

"I just got a call from Calista, she was crying the whole time," Sullivan's voice was sharp as a knife. He strode toward Archer. "I thought something terrible happened, I ran three red lights. Archer, is this how you treat Calista when you said you'd love her?"

The ferocity on Archer's face retracted at a visible speed, turning back into that elegant elite mask.

"Sullivan, this is a family matter between Calista and me."

"Family matter?" Sullivan sneered. "You dragging her to the operating room is a family matter?"

Archer stayed silent for two seconds, then handed over the report. "See for yourself."

My heart plummeted.

"Sullivan, don't look!" I struggled out of Freya's arms to grab it.

Sullivan blocked me effortlessly with one arm. He looked down at the paper.

Just three seconds.

I watched as his face went from cold concern to absolute shock.

Without warning, a slap landed hard on my cheek, the force throwing me against the wall.

"Sullivan...?" I cupped my burning face, looking up in disbelief.

"We are aborting this child today, no matter what." Sullivan's voice lost every trace of affection. He turned coldly to Archer. "Where is the operating room?"

It felt as if all the blood in my body had been drained.

I looked at Freya. Her head was bowed, her shoulders shaking violently. She didn't dare say a word to defend me.

"Calista! My daughter—"

A piercing scream erupted from the other end of the hall.

Margot rushed over, practically snatching me back from Sullivan. She locked me in her arms, those hands that had done countless surgeries pressing tightly against my back.

I shuddered violently—in my past life, it was these exact hands that scooped my uterus out of my body.

"The hospital staff called me, told me you and Archer were fighting..." she stroked my hair, turning to glare at her son-in-law. "Archer, explain yourself!"

Theodore followed closely behind, his dark suit immaculate, but his eyes churning with a terrifying grimness I had never seen before.

"If Calista suffers even the slightest grievance here today," he bit out each word like crushed ice, "the partnership between Lennox and Monroe—"

"Dad, look at this first," Archer interjected, handing over the report.

"No—!" I screamed hoarsely, lunging to grab it.

Theodore sidestepped me. His eyes paused on the paper for less than two seconds.

That usually gentle face suddenly turned demonic.

"You animal!" he roared, raising his hand to strike me. "Archer wanting you to abort this monstrosity is for your own good!"

"Are you crazy, Theodore?!" Margot finally exploded, stepping in front of me. "She has a baby in her! She might not be your biological daughter, but you can't treat a pregnant woman like this—"

"Mom!" I desperately gripped her sleeve. "Mom, please don't look at that report! The doctor personally told me the baby is healthy, please believe me—if you look at that paper, you'll abandon me just like them!"

Margot cupped my face, her eyes red.

"Silly girl. Mommy has been the Chief of Obstetrics for twenty years. What kind of report haven't I seen?" Her thumb gently wiped the tears from my eyes. "No matter what it says, Mommy is on your side."

She pulled the paper from Theodore's hand.

I held my breath, staring dead into her eyes.

She finished reading.

She looked up and gave me a smile.

A smile I had never seen before—bitter, distant, as if she were looking at a dead person.

"This child," her voice was completely unrecognizable, "cannot stay."

"Mom—"

"Send her to the operating room."

Four sets of hands locked onto me simultaneously. Archer covered my mouth, Sullivan gripped my waist, Theodore watched coldly, and Margot casually walked up ahead to calmly dictate the dosage to the anesthesiologist.

My screams were muffled into a palm, my tears flowing so heavily I couldn't see the ceiling lights.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the recovery room.

My lower abdomen felt hollow, as if a piece of me had been dug out.

Archer sat by the bed holding my hand, his eyes red. "I'm sorry, baby. I was too impulsive... We'll have another one later, okay?"

Margot came in carrying chicken soup, coaxing me softly. "Be good, have some, Mommy simmered this for three hours."

Theodore stood by the door, nodding in relief. "It's all in the past."

Sullivan and Freya stood side by side, looking as tender as if nothing had ever happened.

As if the massacre I just went through was a hallucination. As if I were still their precious Calista.

I smiled silently.

When they weren't looking, I slipped the neatly folded report from the inner pocket of Archer's suit.

Under the skylight, I read it line by line.

My pupils shrank violently.

I finally knew why my baby had to die!