“I’m begging you! Save my child!”
“I won’t fight Chloe’s child for inheritance rights. I was wrong. Please!”
But no one responded. My desperate wails echoed through the hallway.
My eyes caught sight of the call button. I stumbled over to press it, but no matter how many times I pressed, it was immediately disconnected.
I looked at the door in despair, letting out a heart–wrenching scream:
“Gabriel!”
“I hate you!”
Gabriel held Chloe as her face gradually regained color.
Hearing the commotion outside, she frowned in displeasure:
“What is that pregnant woman yelling about? Did she sign the settlement agreement?”
The secretary handed him a folder, saying proudly:
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<
“Mr. Kensington, not only did she sign the settlement, she also agreed to donate blood to your wife. Here’s the signed contract.”
Gabriel carelessly took the file and opened it. His face instantly turned pale as he stood up in shock, pushing Chloe away.
He asked in disbelief:
“Why is the signature on the settlement ‘Natalie Shaw‘?”
Gabriel would never mistake my handwriting. The “Natalie Shaw” signature was one he had taught me stroke by stroke, holding my hand. The name signed at the bottom of the settlement in his hands was that unforgettable one.
The blood vessels in his brain felt ready to burst. His body shook uncontrollably.
F
His hands and feet instantly went cold. He grabbed the secretary’s collar, his eyes bloodshot:
“How could it be Natalie?!”
“Where is that pregnant woman? Where is she?!”
The secretary broke out in a cold sweat, stammering:
“After she signed the settlement and contract… I… I let her leave. I don’t know if she’s still in the hospital room?”
Gabriel stumbled out the door to look for me. A pair of arms wrapped around his waist as Chloe said coyly:
“Gabriel, how could that lowly pregnant woman possibly be Natalie? My head is still dizzy. Don’t leave me alone in the hospital, okay?”
Gabriel shoved her away, his face dark and terrifying as he shouted:
“Get lost!”
I held my child, my eyes vacant as I walked unsteadily towards the hospital exit. Suddenly a car horn blared behind me.
I turned around, my body collapsing weakly. An anxious shout reached my ears:
“Natalie Shaw!”
Gabriel frantically opened the hospital room door, but it was empty. Seeing the bloodstains on the floor, his vision went black and his ears rang. His whole body went numb.
Remembering what I had said about not regretting it, he lost control and shouted:
“Check the surveillance cameras! Search every inch of the hospital to find my wife!”
An hour later, watching the footage of Frederick Jameson carrying me away, he clenched his fists and said in a low voice:
“Frederick Jameson, so it was you!”
Frederick took me to a villa under his name. On the third day after arriving, I came out of my room and calmly told him:
“Freddie, I want to bury the baby.”
His eyes revealed a worried expression as he said carefully:
“Natalie, after we bury the baby, come home with me. Mom and Dad miss you so much.”
I froze, thinking of my parents abroad. Tears unconsciously flowed as I choked out:
“Won’t Mom and Dad blame me? I was so foolish before, refusing to listen to them and insisting on coming back to marry Gabriel. Now I’m
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crawling back to them battered and bruised. I’m afraid…”
Frederick pulled me into his arms, saying softly:
“Don’t be afraid, Natalie. We’ve always been waiting for you.”
It took Gabriel three days of searching to find a lead. He immediately drove anxiously to the address his investigators had uncovered.
Over those three days, he had come up empty–handed several times. Each dashed hope left him exhausted.
Now he gripped the steering wheel tightly, praying to heaven that this address was correct. He had to see Natalie and their daughter!
Upstairs, I caressed the tiny body in the ice coffin, fighting back tears as I tried to control my emotions.
But my voice still trembled like a faint breeze in the bitter winter:
