Chapter 3

• She awoke the next day in bed, the searing pain greeting her as the horrible memory of last night came flooding in. She wailed bitterly when she noticed the bandage on her face.
• "Take it easy, Chelsea. You have to be strong," Doctor Ramon, who was seated beside her, cooed.
• "My baby, my baby, please..."
• "Your baby is fine; I just finished running some tests. But you have to endure if you want your baby to live."
• Trey strode into the room lazily, his eyes devoid of emotions as he glanced at Chelsea on the bed.
• Ramon fixed a hard stare at Trey. "What you did was too risky; she could have lost the baby."
• "It was the boss who ordered it; was I supposed to disobey?"
• Ramon cleared his throat before getting up from the chair. "We'll leave you to rest now."
• As soon as they left the room, Chelsea wailed profusely. Her heart felt like it was on fire, along with her face. She couldn't process how evil her husband was, to the extent of disfiguring her face.
• She'll persevere; she won't give up. She has to survive for her baby.
• Chelsea was now in her ninth month, and she was starting to feel heavy and stiff. She knew her due date was approaching, but she was still stuck here. If she didn't find a way to get out of this place, she would soon be saying goodbye to her baby and the world. But she already has a plan. Earlier, when Doctor Ramon was running some tests on her, she stole the key to her room's door from his pocket.
• She got out of bed, slowly tiptoeing to the door. She reached for the door and opened it with the key. She continued towards the hallway, making sure to keep her footsteps quiet. Each step she took caused her heart to almost leap out of her chest.
• The hallway was long, and she noticed that she was in some sort of warehouse. She gasped, holding her waist with one hand when she spotted the exit. But as she was about to step out, a voice shouted.
• "She's getting away; grab her."
• Chelsea quickened her pace, running toward the door. But she knew this was a losing battle; she could barely run, and she was starting to feel sharp pains in her abdomen. She held her stomach, groaning in pain as she reached the door, but suddenly, her vision became blurry, black dots dancing around her eyes, and before she knew it, she collapsed, darkness claiming her.
• Chelsea's screams echoed through the room as she writhed in pain. Tears dripped down her cheeks, mixing with the sweat as she tried to breathe through the searing agony of each contraction. She clutched her swollen belly, feeling the baby kick and push against her with each passing minute.
• Doctor Ramon stood at the foot of her bed, his brow furrowed in worry. "I'm sorry, Chelsea," he said. "But you're too weak to push the baby out."
• He turned to Trey who was beside him. "She has gone into labor, and she's too weak to push the baby out. I need to perform a C-section. We need to send for some anesthetic right away before the baby dies."
• Trey darted to the door, grabbing his cell phone to make the call. But as he dialed, he hesitated. What if it took too long for the anesthetic to arrive? What if the baby didn't make it? He took a deep breath and made a quick decision to call the boss.
• He hung up the phone and turned to Doctor Ramon. "We can't wait. We have to do it without the anesthetic."
• Doctor Ramon looked horrified. "Trey, I don't know if that's a good idea. She's already in so much pain-"
• But Trey held up a hand. "We have the boss's permission. We're going to save that baby no matter what."
• The doctor nodded reluctantly and began to prepare for the C-section with his nurse. Chelsea's chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath between sobs.
• "No, please wait, don't do it, please. Okay, I can push, don't tear me open, PLEASE."
• She cried and begged them to wait, to give her just a little more time to wait for the anesthetic to arrive, but they pushed on.
• The pain was excruciating. Chelsea felt as if she was being ripped apart from the inside out. She screamed and screamed until her voice gave out, and then she passed out, her body limp and still.
• When she finally came to, she was groggy and disoriented. She noticed that she was in an unfamiliar room, airy and painted with ash. Her hand quickly flew to her stomach, and her eyes widened in horror when she noticed her stomach wasn't as big anymore. She quickly sat up, tears already streaming down her cheeks.
• "My baby, my baby, oh no, no."
• He's right here." Doctor Ramon walked inside the room, carrying a newborn baby in his hands. "Here he is, your baby."
• The baby was crying softly, wrapped in a blanket.
• Chelsea's eyes lit up as she took the baby from the doctor, cradling his tiny body in her arms. Her baby was the best thing she had ever seen. His cute little, bright green eyes held her captive, almost bringing her to her knees.
• Chelsea felt a wave of relief wash over her, but it was quickly overtaken by a crushing sense of betrayal and anger. Her husband had taken away her choice, her agency over her own body. He had forced her to endure the most excruciating pain of her life without so much as a whisper of pity. She looked up at Ramon, her heart aching.
• "I won't let him take my baby. Where is he, where is that evil bastard LIAM?"
• "Take him and run if you know what's good for you. Run and don't look back, Chelsea, run, I'll help you."
• "But…but why?" She was confused. Why did Ramon change his mind all of a sudden? "Why are you helping me?"
• "There's no time for this right now; your life is in danger. Just take the baby and run before they find you."
• Chelsea wanted badly to know why he changed his mind, but there was no time. She has to run and save herself unless they'll take her baby away and have her killed.
• Five years later...
• **New York City Airport**
• The sunlight peeked through the clouds, casting golden rays onto the earth below, creating a mesmerizing play of light and shadow. It was indeed a beautiful day. Inside the airport, Chelsea, dressed in blue palazzo pants and a turtle-neck crop top, held a little boy's hand who was dressed in baggy pants and a plain red t-shirt. People stared at them as they walked as if they were the embodiment of attractiveness.
• Chelsea breathed the New York air as she held onto her clutch purse in one hand while she tightly gripped her son in the other hand.
• "Mom, why are you holding my hand tightly? I can walk on my own," her four-year-old son, Xolo, protested, stomping his feet on the floor. "It's not my first time in an airport; no need to be too overprotective."
• Xolo was embarrassed; he felt he was old enough and didn't need his mommy holding his hand in public. Chelsea, on the other hand, was skeptical, cruel memories from five years ago flooded her mind. She wasn't sure this was the best option to come back here, but she had no other choice; her work brought her here.
• Chelsea's eyes roamed around the airport nervously before settling on her son. "Baby, we have to be careful here, okay? There are a lot of bad people here, and I'm only being cautious. Do you understand?"
• "Alright, mom."
• Xolo wanted to protest further and stand his ground, but he didn't like seeing his mommy anxious, so he agreed, even though he could take care of himself.
• "Let's go now; your aunt Kara is already waiting for us outside the airport."
• ***
• Liam drew a deep sigh, glancing at his wristwatch for the hundredth time in the past twenty minutes. He has been waiting for an important investor from China at the airport for the past thirty minutes and counting, and Liam was now growing frustrated.
• "I'm sorry, boss; I'll try his secretary's line again. Maybe their flight was delayed or something," Trey explained, already dialing the number.
• Liam was too angry to reply; if the money wasn't that huge, he would have ditched the so-called Chinese investor for keeping him waiting for so long. His eyes lazily roamed around the airport, taking in his surroundings to see if he could spot the investor until he caught someone, a lady, average height, slim with golden waist-length hair.
• He froze, something about the way she walked majestically caught his attention. He cracked his head to find out where he had seen familiar footsteps.
• "Chelsea," he gasped with wide eyes. "How is that possible? She's supposed to be dead."
• For the first time, he noticed that she was holding a little boy's hand as they walked by, and from his angle, he couldn't see their faces. So confused he was when he noted her golden hair, just like his late wife.
• She was talking to a lady in glasses now. The lady was average height, curvy, with short blonde hair."Kara, you shouldn't have bothered coming inside the airport."
• Liam's mouth gaped wide open in confusion; he couldn't believe his ears. That voice was definitely his wife's. He knew that voice all too well and, unable to take it anymore, his legs moved on their own, heading for the lady.
• "Chelsea."