Nikolai turned to me, anger flashing in his eyes. “We had something important today, and you ruined it? You’re really useless.”
Before I could respond, he shoved me hard.
My foot slipped against the polished floor. I fell backward, hitting the table before collapsing onto the marble. A sharp pain tore through my abdomen, stealing my breath.
“Nikolai…” I gasped, clutching my stomach. “Something’s wrong—”
He didn’t even glance back. Instead, he bent down and lifted Sabine into his arms.
Then they left.
The door slammed shut, leaving me alone on the cold floor — shaking, bleeding, and unable to even cry. I forced myself to stand, pressing a hand against my abdomen as the pain deepened. Somehow, I made it outside, flagged down a cab, and dragged myself to the hospital.
Bright lights blurred above me as the doctor’s voice broke through.
“Mrs. Arvant,” he said gently, “you were pregnant… but the fall caused internal bleeding. I’m sorry. You’ve lost the baby.”
Pregnant. Lost.
I didn’t even know I had been carrying a child.
When I finally left the room, my legs felt weak, my chest hollow. Then I stopped.
Sabine’s voice floated from just beyond the corner, lowered but still clear enough to hear. “Nikolai… I think she’s beginning to suspect something.”
Nikolai let out a dismissive laugh. “So what? She won’t have any proof.” His tone turned colder, more calculating. “I’ll make sure she never gets her vision back. Every doctor who’s handled her case is already taken care of. She doesn’t need to see again. As long as she remains blind, she’ll always be under my control.”
The doctor’s office Sabined the sharp scent of disinfectant, the air sterile and heavy. It felt too quiet, too controlled — like the calm before something devastating.
“Yes,” he finally admitted, breaking the silence. “Nikolai paid me. He instructed me to make sure you never recovered your sight… and he arranged the same with the other doctors.”
The words cut deep, like something sharp twisting inside my chest. “You’re saying… I could’ve seen all this time?”
He lowered his gaze, guilt flickering across his face as he nodded. “For years, I followed his orders. But recently… someone else approached me. He offered more money. Said I had to fix what had been done and restore your vision.”
My fingers curled tightly. “Who was it?”