Chapter 1
"What if she finds out the baby she suffered so much to conceive is actually ours? Will she lose her mind?"
My stepsister giggled, snuggling into my husband’s embrace.
I stood outside the cracked door, completely frozen.
My husband was holding her tight, enthusiastically picking out names for the baby growing in my belly.
My own mother scoffed from the side. "Relax. That idiot will never figure out she’s carrying your baby."
A bone-deep chill shot down my spine.
For years, I had endured endless blood tests and painful injections, leaving my stomach bruised with needle marks—all just to give him a child.
Instead, they had bribed the doctors. Using IVF, they secretly turned me into a surrogate for my husband and my stepsister.
My husband was certain I was too soft-hearted. He knew that even if the plot was exposed, I could never bring myself to destroy an innocent life.
He was absolutely right.
But I could destroy myself.
In the dead of night, I walked out to the edge of the bridge, climbed over the freezing metal railing, and plummeted into the icy, pitch-black water below.
Two years later. An elite gala.
Under the dazzling spotlight, I stood completely reborn.
My ex-husband dropped his wine glass, letting it shatter against the floor as he collapsed softly to his knees, desperately clutching the hem of my gown.
I coldly pulled my dress from his trembling grasp.
"Excuse me, sir," I said, staring down at him. "You have the wrong person."
————
I carefully folded my ultrasound report in half and slipped it into my purse.
The hospital results were perfect today. Instead of calling ahead, I decided to head straight to the office to surprise Liam.
Walking down the quiet hallway, I stopped just outside his office. As I reached for the handle, I noticed the door wasn't shut tight. It was left slightly ajar.
The murmur of a casual conversation drifted through the crack.
"I think 'Oliver' is a solid choice." It was Liam's voice, laced with a rare, carefree ease.
"A boy or a girl would be wonderful," another voice chimed in. "If it's a girl, we should name her 'Victoria'."
I frowned. That was my mother, Evelyn.
Her usual social circles revolved around our suburban house and her regular beauty salons. She rarely, if ever, visited Liam's company.
"'Victoria' is way too old-fashioned, Evelyn. I want something much more modern. After all, this baby means everything to me."
A third woman's voice cut through the air.
At the sound of it, my entire body went rigid.
I leaned closer to the crack and peered inside.
In the seating area of the office, Liam was lounging on a single leather sofa, casually swirling a glass of water in his hand, looking completely relaxed.
My mother sat directly opposite him, and the woman right beside her was the unmistakable owner of that voice—Serena.
Serena had a thick baby-naming book resting on her knees. She was pointing at a page, laughing brilliantly as she spoke to Liam.
The three of them were sitting together in an incredibly harmonious—almost intimate—atmosphere.
I stood frozen outside the door, listening to them pick out names for the baby growing in my womb, staring in absolute disbelief.
Serena was my stepsister.
Years ago, in her desperate pursuit of wealth, my mother married Serena's billionaire father, signing an ironclad prenuptial agreement in the process. When my stepfather later passed away, the vast estate and total control of the family fortune fell entirely into Serena's hands.
Terrified of losing her lavish lifestyle, my mother bent over backward to please her stepdaughter, even treating me as nothing more than a pawn to curry favor with her. In that house, I wasn't afforded a shred of respect. Serena treated me like a lowly servant.
Unable to endure the toxic environment, I left home early and went to a boarding school.
Later on, I met and fell in love with Liam. But Serena set her sights on him as well, using her family's wealth and prestige to relentlessly harass him.
It all culminated in a terrifying climax three years ago. Driven by a twisted, unrequited obsession, Serena grabbed a steak knife during a confrontation and lunged at Liam.
In that split second, I threw myself in front of him, taking the brutal strike meant for his chest. I barely survived the stabbing, but the severe trauma permanently stripped away my ability to be a mother.
After that tragedy, my life finally seemed to rebound from rock bottom. My mother did a complete one-eighty, going out of her way to make amends. During my grueling recovery, I finally received the maternal love I had craved for years.
And despite my broken body, Liam didn't hesitate for a second to propose to me.
They both claimed to despise Serena with a burning passion.
Over the past few years, desperate to fulfill our dream of a family despite my infertility, I endured countless excruciating medical procedures, my stomach bruised and punctured with IV needles.
Until four months ago, when an embryo finally implanted successfully.
It was the happiest day of our lives. Liam held me fiercely in his arms, and my mother wept tears of absolute joy.
But right now, staring at the surreal scene unfolding inside this office, my mind short-circuited.
"How about 'Emma'?" Serena flipped a page, flashing a sweet smile at Liam.
"That sounds beautiful," Liam nodded approvingly.
"Any name Serena picks is always the best," my mother echoed, fawning over her.
A sharp wave of dizziness washed over me.
Why were these three people—who were supposedly sworn enemies—sitting together like a happy family?
Just as I frantically tried to make sense of the madness, Serena stopped flipping through the book.
She snapped the heavy manual shut, her tone suddenly shifting, dripping with deliberate, calculated malice.
"But, honestly," Serena drawled, leaning lazily back against the sofa cushions. "What if the baby Chloe pushes out grows up and looks exactly like me... and absolutely nothing like her?"
A violent chill seized my heart.
What was she talking about?
Why wouldn't the child I had suffered so much to carry look like me?
Faced with such a twisted question, Liam didn't jump to defend me. He didn't even flinch. He merely took a calm sip of his water.
Serena kept her deeply amused eyes on him, a wicked smile curling her lips. "What if she finds out that the baby she’s spent years agonizing over, enduring all that torture to carry, is actually our child? Do you think she'll just completely lose her mind?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it sliced flawlessly through the crack in the door, stabbing directly into my brain.
I stared dead-eyed at the three of them through the narrow slit, my legs cemented to the floor, as every ounce of oxygen was violently sucked from the air.
