Chapter 8 Betrayal and Loss

He stepped through the smoke toward them.

Judith's eyes flashed with delight as she immediately threw herself into his arms.

Austin caught her and held her steady.

"Austin, let's get out of here quickly!" she cried, grabbing his wrist and attempting to pull him toward the exit.

"Austin!" Ella covered her nose, her voice breaking into sobs as the thick smoke burned her eyes and throat. "Help me!"

Austin turned toward the sound of her voice.

Judith immediately blocked his line of sight, dramatically collapsing against his chest in a feigned faint.

His brow furrowed as he instinctively lifted Judith into his arms and headed toward the ballroom exit.

The billowing white smoke perfectly concealed Ella's figure. 

Austin paused, staring at the corner where her voice had come from.

Just then, the crystal chandelier above snapped loose.

The massive fixture crashed to the floor in the direction of Ella's voice, glass shards exploding outward, several slicing across Austin's arm.

He watched in horror as the chandelier buried the area where he thought he'd heard her.

Austin waited for a cry for help.

But there was nothing. Only a terrible silence.

Austin's brow furrowed deeply. Had he imagined her voice?

Judith let out a weak gasp in his arms, clutching his shirt collar. 

Setting aside his doubts, he carried her out of the ballroom.

Through the thick curtain of smoke, Ella watched that dark figure safely escape.

She knew with certainty that Austin wouldn't return.

He had truly abandoned her.

Glass shards from the shattered chandelier had embedded themselves in her legs, tearing through her gold evening gown. 

The fancy fabric was now covered in blood.

Pain sliced through her nerves, yet her heart felt strangely numb.

In the endless sea of flames, she was like an abandoned sailboat, utterly alone.

As she started to pass out, Ella kept whispering, "Please, save me... save my baby."

In her unconscious state, she had a strange, fractured dream.

Everything was pitch black and broken into pieces.

Each fragment contained snippets of her four-year marriage to Austin.

Some showed laughter, while others revealed her sitting alone at a fully set dinner table. 

She saw Austin tearing into her body night after night in his relentless pursuit of an heir.

Ella watched these scenes helplessly, feeling as though her heart had been hollowed out, with bitter winds howling through the void. 

She couldn't move. She just felt overwhelmed by sadness.

When she next regained consciousness, she thought she had died.

She found herself in an operating room. 

She felt her lower body being cut open, her abdomen emptied, but she couldn't speak.

She could only stare at the blinding surgical lights above her as tears rolled down her temples before darkness claimed her again.

"My baby! No!"

Ella sat up fast, holding her stomach and screaming.

She could smell the strong scent of antiseptic and medicine 

Looking around frantically, she grabbed the wrist of the nurse who was inserting an IV line and demanded, "Where am I?"

"The hospital," the nurse replied irritably, pulling her hand away from Ella's grip.

This had to be a nightmare.

Ella shook her head desperately, tears filling her eyes as she clutched the bedsheet. "Is my baby alright?"

"Please calm down. We've just performed surgery. Your injuries were too severe, and we couldn't save the baby," the nurse explained, already calling for the attending physician.

The news crushed her. She couldn't stop shaking.

It wasn't a dream.

The baby she had struggled so hard to conceive was gone.

She refused to believe it. They had to be lying.

Ella threw back the covers, only to discover her legs wouldn't support her. 

They were wrapped in multiple layers of bandages.

"What happened to my legs?" she demanded, grabbing the nurse again.

The nurse shook her off and backed away.

"Your injuries were quite severe. You inhaled a significant amount of smoke, causing lung inflammation, and your legs sustained multiple lacerations. You lost a considerable amount of blood from your lower body, so the attending physician took conservative measures to prevent nerve damage and potential paralysis—removing the glass fragments before stopping the bleeding."

Ella shouted, "That's not what I'm asking!"

"Ma'am, please don't get so agitated. The doctor who performed your surgery will be here shortly. You can ask him your questions," the nurse explained, clearly finding the situation difficult.

Ella's fingernails dug into her palms as she clenched her fists. 

She looked right at the nurse. "Can my baby come back? You're lying, right?"You're lying to me, aren't you?"

She put her head down, her shoulders shaking. She felt like she was going to fall apart.

"I'm very sorry we couldn't save your child," the nurse attempted to comfort her.

Ella completely broke down, sobbing uncontrollably, her face wet with tears.

This couldn't be happening.

Her baby should have been safe.

Her legs were injured, but the baby shouldn't have been affected.

How could they not have saved her child?

Ella couldn't accept what the nurse was telling her.

She vividly remembered the doctor removing something indistinct from her womb—barely formed tissue that was carelessly discarded in a medical waste bin.

"Ms. Brooks, you're awake!"

Ella snapped her head up to see a doctor striding toward her with a broad smile.

"I'm Dr. Xavier Hoffman, the obstetrics chief who handled your surgery," he introduced himself cheerfully.

He was smiling.

He was the one who had just taken her baby away.

And now he stood there smiling as if nothing had happened.

Ella let out a cold, humorless laugh. How could this butcher still smile?

"Please don't be upset. Your condition was quite critical—severe blood loss combined with your already weakened physical state. We had to prioritize your safety. It was our only option," he explained with an affected expression of regret.

His words made her skin crawl.

She let out a scornful laugh. "Is that your answer? Are you even a real doctor?"

"Ms. Brooks, your language is extreme. We didn't want you to lose your chance at motherhood either, but we chose the abortion to save your life," Xavier claimed, positioning himself on moral high ground.

"How did I end up in this hospital? Who authorized the surgery? Also, I regained consciousness during the procedure and saw you throwing my baby into the trash. Were you really trying to save my life, or did you deliberately cause this medical incident?" Ella challenged with reasoned arguments.

Xavier's expression darkened immediately upon hearing her words.

"I'm a doctor, not a murderer. I can take responsibility for any medical accidents. "Are you questioning my work?" he asked coldly.

Ella saw he wasn't going to provide a proper explanation. She raised her chin, her lips pale and her body weak as she rasped. "You still haven't answered any of my questions."

"Ms. Brooks, if you have concerns about this surgery, you're welcome to file a complaint against me. I'll be ready to respond," he deflected, turning to leave.

The nurse stood silently to the side, not daring to speak. 

She gave Ella a weak glance, as if hiding something, before following the doctor out.

Ella sat stunned.

Was he acting guilty?

She could now confirm one thing: he was lying.

Something had gone wrong in the procedure.

Or perhaps this had been a setup from the beginning.

Ella closed her eyes. She couldn't let her baby go to heaven without answers.

That was her first child.