Chapter 178
Chapter 178:
“Sarah Jones,” Liam said. His voice was dead. “You killed her p>
“No! I didn’t! It was my mother! She’s crazy p>
“You set it up,” Liam said. “You coordinated with Alice. You used Lydia as bait.” Liam cocked the hammer. “Goodbye, Sarah p>
“I’m pregnant!” Seraphina shrieked, clutching her stomach.
Liam’s finger froze on the trigger.
“Liar,” he whispered. “You’re a fraud p>
“I’m not lying about this!” Seraphina reached into her nightstand, pulling out a crumpled ultrasound photo. “Look! I went to the clinic last week! That’s your baby! The heir! You can’t kill your own child, Liam p>
Liam stared at the photo. It was blurry, bearing a date from three days ago, but the name at the top was smudged. It looked suspicious—convenient.
“Doctor!” Liam yelled into the hallway. “Now p>
The family doctor rushed in, terrified, carrying a medical bag.
“Check her,” Liam commanded, keeping the gun trained on Seraphina. “Tell me if she is lying p>
The doctor approached Seraphina, his hands shaking. He pulled out a rapid blood test kit and a thermometer. He took her vitals and pricked her finger, waiting for the chemical reaction.
The room was silent, save for Seraphina’s sobbing breaths.
“Well?” Liam barked.
The doctor looked at the strip. He looked at Seraphina’s dilated pupils and flushed skin.
“The HCG levels are extremely high, sir,” the doctor confirmed, showing the two solid red lines. “Biologically, she is pregnant. It is too early to detect a heartbeat or see anything on a portable scan, but the chemical markers are undeniable. She is carrying a child p>
Liam closed his eyes. He felt trapped. Suffocated. The science didn’t lie, even if she did.
𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦.𝘤𝘰𝘮
“Fine,” Liam said. He opened his eyes, and they were voids. “You want to live here? You can live here.” He turned to the guards.
“Bar the windows. Reinforce the door. She doesn’t leave this room until the baby is born. No phones. No internet. If she tries to escape, shoot her in the leg p>
“Liam, baby, please,” Seraphina sobbed, reaching for him.
“Don’t touch me.” Liam recoiled. “You are an incubator. Nothing more. Once that child is born, you will wish I had pulled the trigger today p>
He walked out, locking the heavy oak door behind him.
Seraphina listened to the key turn. She slumped against the headboard, letting out a shaky breath.
She was alive. She was in the manor.
But she was alone. And she had to keep taking those pills.
She stared at the stolen ultrasound photos she had bought from a pregnant junkie behind the clinic. The doctor had bought the HCG ruse. She had bought herself nine months.
Now she just needed to find a real baby to swap in before her time ran out.