Chapter 7
Slade’s POV
I lunged forward like a madman, snatching up the box. My hands trembled as I touched the ultrasound sheet, brushing over the tiny figure on it. My tears came fast, sudden and uncontrollable.
‘Our baby… Our baby’s gone?!‘N
The sight of the child’s remains hit me like a truck. I stood frozen, stiff as stone, barely able to breathe.
It took me a long moment before I finally choked out, my voice hoarse, “That can’t be… She was fine this morning… Virginia was perfectly fine…“N
“Fine?!” Mom snapped. “You were off with that ex of yours, and meanwhile, Ginny was knocked down in a crowded mall! She bled all over the floor!”
Dad slammed his hand on the table, throwing his phone in front of me.N
My fingers trembled as I tapped to open the video.N
The footage started with Virginia in the mother–and–baby section, talking to Milly. No one could hear what they were saying–then, out of nowhere, Milly deliberately bumped into Virginia?
She twisted her ankle and used the momentum to crash into a woman holding a child.
What followed mirrored the chaos of that afternoon. But what shocked me was the truth.
‘Virginia… She didn’t push Milly. Milly… She threw herself into the other woman!‘N
Then I watched–helpless–as the woman shoved Virginia to the ground in retaliation.
Virginia landed hard, her belly slamming into the floor. Blood trickled down… her leg, soaking through her dress.
And at the next moment, I appeared in the frame–running. But not toward her.N
I scooped up Milly and walked off without even looking back.N
Virginia lay on the floor, strangers crowding around to help her.N
The blood beneath her… It was terrifying…N
When the video ended, I collapsed to the floor, my face pale, my fingers digging into the floorboards as my eyes emptied out.
There was no denying it. ‘That fall–that one moment–had killed our baby!‘N
“I… I thought she was just being dramatic…” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I thought… a fall like that wouldn’t… How could it kill the baby?“N
Mom hit me square in the shoulder. “You killed your own child–do you get that?! You killed your own heir with your own two hands!”
I groaned from the pain but didn’t dare protest.W
‘How did it come to this? How could it end like this?‘W
Mom’s tears fell like rain as she held her phone, shaking.
ཙྪ
Her thumb slipped. The video started playing again, this time at full volume. The piercing screams from the mall, the shot of me carrying Milly away, Virginia’s body lying there… It all looped over and over again, stabbing into me like nails.
I remembered suddenly–she had called him from the hospital that day.
But I’d rejected it with a swipe, too annoyed to bother.
“Dad… Mom…” I rasped. “I didn’t mean any of this… I didn’t know she would-“N
“You didn’t know?” Dad roared. “You didn’t know she was five months pregnant?! We’ve always turned a blind eye to the way you treat her -but do you have any idea what that baby meant to us? We waited years for that child! Do you have any sense of responsibility at all?”
It felt like someone had ripped my skin clean off. Every word flayed me raw.N
‘How do I make up for what I’ve done…?‘
I never imagined Virginia would send the baby’s remains back to my parents‘ place.
‘That must mean she’s given up on me… completely.”
“The company’s in full crisis mode now,” Dad said darkly, his face grim and his voice tight. “The board has demanded your suspension.
Your title as heir has been revoked.”
