Chapter 1: The Betrayal
The night before I was supposed to give birth, I overheard my husband offering my doctor $500,000 to make sure I never left the delivery room alive. I was eight months and three weeks pregnant, lying perfectly still in my hospital bed while the man I had loved for seven years whispered, “Make it look like a complication. Infect her during delivery, let her die, and the money is yours.”
For several seconds, I forgot how to breathe. Then Dr. Adrian Cole answered quietly from the sitting room of my private hospital suite. “Five hundred thousand?” Nathan chuckled. “You’ll get half tomorrow. The rest after the funeral.” My fingers tightened around the blanket. Nathan believed I was unconscious because he had secretly slipped a sedative into my tea. What he didn’t know was that I had seen him crush the pill. The moment he stepped away, I poured the entire cup down the bathroom sink.
Through the partially open bedroom door, I could see him standing beside the doctor in the expensive charcoal suit I had bought him for our anniversary. “Once Audrey is gone,” Nathan said, “everything transfers without a problem.” Everything. My grandmother had left me a commercial property company worth nearly twelve million dollars. For years, Nathan had insisted that my money meant nothing to him. Apparently, twelve million dollars had finally changed his mind.
Then he said something that made the betrayal even worse. “Bianca is already five months pregnant. I’m tired of hiding her.” Bianca. His so-called marketing consultant. The same woman who had smiled at me across the table at Christmas. The same woman who had touched my pregnant stomach only a month earlier and said, “You must be so excited.” I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw open the door and confront both of them. Instead, I slowly reached beneath my pillow and pressed the record button on my phone.
Chapter 2: The Plan
Tears streamed down my face as I listened to the two men calmly discuss how they planned to make my death look like nothing more than a tragic childbirth complication. Nathan’s voice was cold and calculating. “Make sure it’s believable. No one can suspect a thing.” Dr. Cole nodded, his eyes betraying a hint of hesitation. “It will be done,” he said, though his tone lacked the confidence I expected from a professional.
My heart pounded as I thought about the lives at stake. My child, who I had nurtured for so long, and myself, the woman who had trusted her husband with her life. I couldn’t let this happen. I had to act, but I needed a plan. I had already forwarded the recording to my attorney, my private cloud account, and my brother, Lucas. Now, I needed to buy time.
I feigned a groan, pretending to stir from my supposed sedation. Nathan and Dr. Cole quickly moved to my bedside. “Audrey, are you awake?” Nathan asked, his voice feigning concern. I opened my eyes, pretending to be disoriented. “Where am I?” I asked, my voice weak. “You’re in the hospital, honey. You’re going to have the baby soon,” Nathan replied, his smile forced.
Dr. Cole checked my vitals, his fingers lingering a bit too long. “Everything looks good, Audrey. We’ll keep a close eye on you.” I nodded, my mind racing. I knew I had to get out of there, but I couldn’t risk alarming Nathan or Dr. Cole. I needed to play this carefully.
Chapter 3: The Escape
As the night wore on, I pretended to drift in and out of sleep. Nathan and Dr. Cole stayed in the room, their conversation growing more hushed. I could hear the tension in their voices, the urgency in their plans. I knew I had to act soon. My brother, Lucas, would be on his way, but I couldn’t wait for him. I had to get out of the hospital and find a safe place.
When Nathan and Dr. Cole finally left the room to get some rest, I waited a few minutes before slowly getting out of bed. My body ached, but I pushed through the pain. I quietly made my way to the bathroom, where I found a hospital gown and a pair of slippers. I slipped them on and carefully opened the door, peering into the hallway.
What happened just seconds later left everyone in the room completely speechless… (Continue to Part 2 →)
