The Night We Both Went Into Labor

The floor left a long trail of blood behind me.

The baby seemed to sense danger and began kicking wildly inside me. Another contraction crashed through me, so painful I could barely breathe.

Then they hung me upside down from the metal frame.

My head roared. The baby slammed against my abdomen. Black spots burst across my vision.

Tears ran upward into my hair.

"Graham, come back and look at me. Are you really this cruel?"

"Graham, I can't hold on. The baby really will…"

In my fading consciousness, I thought I saw Graham walking toward me with the same gentle smile he once had. He kissed my forehead and promised softly.

"Stella, I will protect you and our son. Don't cry.

"For you, I can give up anything, even my life."

I reached for him, trembling.

But I could not catch him.

The pain from the rope digging into my lower abdomen yanked me back to consciousness.

A moment later, the maids roughly pulled me off the frame. My back slammed into the floor so hard it felt as if my bones had shattered.

The rope around my stomach sank deeper into my flesh and made the contractions worse. The more I curled up, the tighter it bit, as if it would crush my organs.

Then a tearing pressure came from below. My hand shook as I reached toward Mrs. Ward.

"Please. I really am giving birth…"

A young maid named Mia had just entered the room. She covered her mouth and screamed.

"Mrs. Ward, the baby—the baby's head is out! Send her to the hospital!"

Mrs. Ward's face turned deathly pale, but she only spun in circles, panicked and useless.

I stared at her, weak from pain.

"I'm begging you. Any later and the baby will die."

Mrs. Ward suddenly lifted her hand, her eyes cold.

"Bring a needle and thread. We'll sew her closed first."

"No!" Mia rushed to the bed and spread her arms in front of me. "Madam and the baby will die. If you want to sew anyone, step over me first."

"Do you dare disobey Mr. Whitmore's orders?" Mrs. Ward shouted.

"There's blood everywhere!" Mia was crying. "Mrs. Ward, how can you be so heartless?"

"If we anger Mr. Whitmore and Miss Vale, we may not even keep our lives.

"Tie her up. Don't let her interfere."

Two maids rushed forward and dragged Mia toward the metal frame. Tape sealed her mouth. Her eyes went red as she struggled desperately. The frame was knocked over and crashed hard into her back.

She curled on the floor, convulsing violently, and then stopped moving.

Through the agony below, I screamed with red eyes.

"Let her go! You monsters! I hope every one of you dies badly!"

The next second, tape sealed my mouth too.

Mrs. Ward took the needle and thread, lifted my skirt, and drove the long needle into the flesh below.

The pain spread through my whole body like a knife carving into me alive.

I shook my head desperately. Tears and cold sweat poured down my face.

The maids held my hands and feet down so tightly I could not move at all.

"Madam, this is cosmetic thread. It won't leave a scar," Mrs. Ward said expressionlessly, still forcing the needle through me.

"No anesthesia is for your own good. Childbirth hurts worse than this. Endure it. When Mr. Whitmore returns, we'll send you to the hospital."

I looked at those inhuman faces and finally closed my eyes.

I stopped fighting.

Then the door was kicked open.

"What are you doing? Stop!"