Chapter 1

I was nine months pregnant and on the verge of labor, but my husband had me locked away.

His favorite mistress, Josie, had nearly lost her pregnancy after taking labor-inducing drugs just to ensure her son would be the firstborn.

To keep her calm, he forced me to drink ten bowls of a Labor-Lock tincture to delay my delivery.

I knelt on the floor, enduring the agonizing screams of my body, begging him to let my baby come into the world.

Instead, Preston personally forced the medicine down my throat.

By the ninth bowl, the pain reached a fever pitch, and I felt my baby struggling violently inside me.

Preston picked up the tenth bowl and gripped my chin, his gaze cold as ice.

"Josie only wants to give me my firstborn son, yet you tried to steal that from her by forcing your own labor. You almost made her lose her child."

"You've always tried to outshine her, but my firstborn must come from Josie. There is no room for negotiation!"

The contractions intensified, and my water broke, but the medicine kept my body tightly sealed.

My baby was crushed to death inside me, and blood began to pour from between my legs.

While I suffered, Preston was busy comforting his mistress, even taking five days off work to stay by her side.

He didn't remember his imprisoned wife until Josie successfully gave birth to a son.

He had no idea that by then, my body was already rotting in the dark.

1

After nine bowls of that Labor-Lock tincture, my lower abdomen was a battlefield of agony.

I could see the small, desperate bulges of my baby's limbs pushing against my skin.

Preston stepped toward me with the final bowl of the dark, bitter liquid.

I knelt at his feet, cradling my stomach with shaking hands, my face drenched in tears.

"Preston, please, call the doctor. Save our baby. If you let the child live, I'll step down as your wife. I'll give her everything, just please…"

Josie stood nearby, leaning on a maid's arm, her eyes welling with calculated tears.

"Pres, I never wanted to take her place. I just didn't want our son to be treated as less than hers."

Preston's heart immediately melted for her.

"Don't worry, Josie. The child in your womb is my true heir."

He gently stroked her belly, his voice softening.

"Focus on your recovery. I'm here, and I won't let anyone hurt you or our son again."

Then he turned back to me, his expression turning to stone as I lay crumpled on the floor.

"Josie only wants to give me my firstborn. You're the one being malicious, trying to deliver early just to spite her."

"I've let you look down on her for long enough. This child must be hers first."

He grabbed my jaw, forcing my mouth open, and poured the tenth bowl down my throat until not a drop was left.

I choked and coughed, my lungs burning as I struggled for air.

My throat felt like it had been seared with hot coals, and my voice came out as a raspy croak.

"Preston, if anything happens to this baby, I will never let you go!"

He didn't even look at me. "It's just a few days' delay. What could possibly go wrong?"

"If you weren't so obsessed with competing with Josie, none of this would be happening."

Josie wiped her eyes, sobbing softly. "Pres, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have asked for the title of firstborn."

"Don't blame yourself. I've spoiled her too much in the past, and now she doesn't know her place."

The medicine took hold quickly.

My water broke uncontrollably, and my uterus began to contract against the artificial seal, sending waves of cold sweat down my body.

"You'll stay here and reflect. Once Josie's son is born, I'll send someone to help you."

He left me there, paralyzed on the floor, as he carefully escorted Josie out of the room.

I crawled toward the door, leaving a trail of fluid and blood, and banged feebly against the wood.

"Call the doctor… save my baby…"

The guard outside sounded indifferent. "Ma'am, the Boss said no one goes in. Don't make my job harder."

"The doctor said the tincture just delays things. Your baby will be fine. Just relax."

The pain from the contractions made my entire body vibrate.

I turned pale, unable to make another sound.

The metallic scent of blood filled the room as the rug beneath me turned a dark, gruesome crimson.

My baby struggled one last time, a frantic kick against my ribs, and then went still.

My eyelids felt like lead.

As I drifted into the darkness, my mind wandered back to the beginning.