Chapter 3

3

A man in gold-rimmed glasses finally stepped forward.

"That's enough, Preston. If this keeps up, the baby won't make it!"

I looked up. It was Dr. Miller, Preston's old college friend.

Hot wax was dripping down my collarbone, hardening into red scars on my back.

"What are you worried about?"

Preston lit a cigarette and smirked.

"Poor people's kids are tough. They survive anything."

He gave my pregnant belly a light kick.

"See? Seems sturdy enough to me."

Lila snuggled against him. Suddenly, she gasped.

"Oh no! The candle is falling!"

She conveniently knocked over a tray of candles. Boiling wax poured directly onto my stomach.

"AAAAHHH!"

I arched my back in agony. My fingernails dug into the cracks of the floorboards.

Preston grabbed my hair and pulled my head back.

"Stop faking it."

"You were so brave when you were bullying Lila earlier, weren't you?"

I reached out and grabbed the hem of his pants.

"The baby... it's yours. Please..."

Before I could finish, a sharp pain pierced my spine. Someone was driving long acupuncture needles into my back, one by one.

I did my best to shield my belly, letting them torture my arms and legs instead.

Preston suddenly picked up a razor. He pressed it against my scalp and began to shave.

Warm blood ran down my forehead and into my eyes. The whole world turned red.

"A whore should have a shaved head," he muttered.

He threw a dirty towel at me.

"Be grateful I didn't sell you to a brothel."

Just then, his phone rang.

I heard his secretary's frantic voice on the other end.

"Mr. Blackwell! The world's richest man is looking for his missing daughter! The photos look exactly like your wife!"

"Bullshit!"

Preston hung up immediately.

"She's a nobody from a flyover state!"

He turned to Lila.

"This idiot actually thinks she's an heiress!"

Lila stood on her toes and whispered something in his ear.

Preston's eyes lit up. He knelt down and squeezed my jaw.

"Since you're so desperate for attention, why don't I let the boys take care of you? You've slept with everyone else anyway!"

"You animal!"

I forced each word out through gritted teeth.

"I curse you to a hellish death!"

That broke Preston's temper.

He ripped my clothes open and roared at the crowd.

"What are you waiting for?"

Rough palms moved over my skin. I curled into a ball to protect my child.

Suddenly, a massive contraction hit. I felt a gush of warm fluid between my legs.

"Blood! There's so much blood!" someone yelled.

Preston finally looked panicked.

"Call an ambulance!"

"Wait!"

Lila stepped forward.

"I assisted in births during my internship. I can do this."

"The baby is innocent, after all."

Preston looked touched as he took her hand.

"Lila, you're an angel."

But as she leaned over me, Lila whispered in my ear.

"Do you know how I'm going to deliver this baby? I'm going to use the forceps to pull it out piece by piece!"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

I tried to push her, but Preston pinned me down.

"Don't be ungrateful!"

He crushed my shoulders against the table.

"Lila is trying to save you!"

Lila put on latex gloves. I felt the cold metal of the instruments enter my body.

Through the screaming pain, I heard the clink of metal. I felt something being torn out of me.