Annelise heard them while she was still strapped to the operating table, still awake, still helpless, still bleeding. “Take it out,” her husband Hackett said. She lay there, frozen, unable to move or scream, as the child she had been told was an ectopic pregnancy was taken from her body. She had spent years grieving a fertility issue that was never hers to fix. And Clarissa, the best friend who held her hand through every doctor's visit? She was carrying Hackett's child. And she was also the sister-in-law, the widow of his dead brother. Annelise had been nothing more than a placeholder, a checkbook, a ghost in silk. The family's final insult came dressed as a celebration. They decided to hold a grand wedding for Clarissa and her late husband. Annelise had spent months preparing a gift they would never forget. A gift that would dismantle every lie they had built their world upon! And she wasn't doing it alone. The doors exploded open at the precise moment she had planned. Elias—the man who had been "dead" for three years—stepped through them. His gaze fell on Clarissa's pregnant belly. "Funny, I wasn't aware," he said, his voice quiet enough to freeze the room, "that I had a child."

Chapter 1"Dr. Lehman, the ultrasound results are in. Fetal development is normal, and it's implanted perfectly in the uterine cavity. It's not an ectopic pregnancy."A nurse's voice carried an undeniable hesitation, trailing upward at the end as if waiting for confirmation.The operating room fell dead silent for two seconds.Annelise Sargent lay on the operating table, her consciousness supposedly buried deep in the dark void of anesthesia, but at some unknown point, she had woken up.She wasn't fully awake. Her eyelids refused to open, her fingers wouldn't twitch, her tongue felt nailed to the roof of her mouth, and even her breathing was entirely out of her control.But she could hear. Every word, every single syllable, poured into her ears with crystal clarity.She heard the faint electrical hum of the surgical lights above her, the rhythmic beep, beep, beep of the heart monitor, and the sharp clink of metal instruments on a tray.And she heard the nurse's words.*Not an ectopic pregnancy.*It felt as though someone had violently slammed the pause button on Annelise's brain.Three days ago, Hackett Lehman had sat on the edge of her bed holding her medical report. He had taken her hand, his tone overflowing with gentle heartbreak as he said, "Annelise, it's an ectopic pregnancy. We have to operate immediately, or your life will be in danger."She had cried then. Married for four years, desperately trying for a baby for four years, and she had finally gotten pregnant, only for it to be ectopic.Weeping, she had asked him, "Is there really no way to save it?"Hackett had pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. His voice had been so deep, so reassuring. "I want this baby more than anyone, but I absolutely will not gamble with your life."She had believed him.How could she not? This was her husband, the man she had loved fiercely for six years and been married to for four. He was the youngest Deputy Chief of Surgery in the city, the brilliant "Dr. Lehman" everyone spoke of with reverence. With him personally performing the surgery, she had even felt a twisted sense of comfort.But now, the nurse was saying that it wasn't an ectopic pregnancy.Annelise told herself she had to be dreaming. It was a hallucination caused by the anesthesia.Yes, it had to be a hallucination.Then, she heard Hackett's voice."I know."Just two words. His tone was as flat and casual as if he were commenting on the weather.No shock.No surprise.Not a single moment of hesitation.Annelise's heart seized violently in her chest."Proceed as planned," Hackett said.The operating room fell into another heavy silence.Annelise could feel the air in the room shift, thickening as though invisible glances were being exchanged over her paralyzed body.The nurse finally spoke again, her voice much lower this time, carrying a faint, barely detectable tremor. "Dr. Lehman, but... the fetus's vitals are perfectly normal. It's already at seven weeks.""Josie." Hackett cut her off.Just one word, neither loud nor harsh, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees in an instant.Josie fell silent.Annelise heard the crisp snap of Hackett's surgical gloves, a sound that painted the image of him flexing his fingers."Take it out." He commanded. "You know what to do."A deafening ringing exploded in Annelise's mind.Her baby was a healthy, normally implanted, seven-week-old baby. And he was going to abort it!Not because it was an ectopic pregnancy, not because her life was in danger, not for any valid medical reason whatsoever... Just "take it out."Annelise tried with every ounce of her soul to move. She wanted to force her eyes open, wanted to lift her arm, wanted to sit up on this freezing table, wanted to scream, to demand answers, to violently slap his hands away from her stomach.But her body felt as if it had been encased in wet concrete.She couldn't move a single millimeter.She could only lay there like a living corpse.Terror poured over her like ice water, flooding into every vein and seeping into her bones.She would later learn the medical term for this phenomenon: anesthesia awareness. A vanishingly rare complication during general anesthesia where the patient's consciousness returns, but the muscle relaxants are still in full effect, rendering the body entirely paralyzed.Right now, she could distinctly feel the cold, clinical press of metal instruments against her abdomen.Those were her husband's hands, taking her baby away from her body.A tear slipped from the corner of Annelise's eye.She didn't know she was crying, because she couldn't even feel the act of weeping.But the tears were undeniably falling, sliding past her temples and soaking into her hairline."Hiss."A sharp intake of breath came from beside her.Dr. Lewis, the anesthesiologist, leaned in for a closer look and casually wiped the corner of her eye with a piece of gauze."Just a reaction to the anesthesia, perfectly normal," he remarked, his tone as breezy as if he were wiping a spilled drop of coffee off a table.*Normal?* Annelise wanted to laugh hysterically. *I am wide awake, feeling my baby being murdered, and you tell me this is normal?*"Beep, beep, beep, beep."The heart monitor suddenly spiked with a rapid sequence of beeps."Heart rate's a little fast." Dr. Lewis frowned, adjusting a dial on his machine. "Pushing a little more anesthetic... alright, she's stable."Annelise felt another thick layer of fog roll over her consciousness, as if someone had draped a heavy veil over her brain. But she bit down hard on her last shred of lucidity, refusing to let herself sink.She couldn't fall asleep. If she went under, she was terrified she would wake up believing this had all just been a horrible nightmare.And then she would go back to being the clueless Annelise Sargent.She would go back to smiling and calling him "honey."She would go back to foolishly waiting for a baby that was never going to come.Time seemed to warp into an eternity inside that operating room.Annelise didn't know how much time passed. It could have been ten minutes, or it could have been a century. She felt the instruments withdraw from her abdomen. Something had been permanently carved out of her.That was her baby. A child she had begged the universe for over the last four years. A child who had felt like a living miracle taking root inside her.Now it was taken from her while she was awake, paralyzed, trapped inside her own flesh, murdered by the hands of its own father.Annelise's consciousness began to sway violently, like a flickering candle in a hurricane.Just when she thought she was finally going to slip away completely, Hackett's voice broke the silence. It was light, utterly casual, like an afterthought thrown out as he wrapped up his work."By the way, that file from four years ago... was it destroyed?"Dr. Lewis paused what he was doing before answering smoothly, "Relax. It was cleaned up a long time ago. No one will ever find a trace."Four years ago? That file?Annelise's fading mind latched onto those words right before the darkness swallowed her whole.Four years ago... what happened four years ago?The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor faded further and further away, sounding as though it were coming from the bottom of a deep ocean.Annelise finally lost consciousness. But her tears continued to fall.Annelise had no idea how long she had been unconscious. Her awareness drifted in a deep sea, occasionally pulled upward by a shaft of light only to plunge right back down.She kept having the same recurring nightmare. In the dream, she stood in the center of a blindingly bright operating room. She looked down to see her stomach sliced open, and inside, there was nothing. It was entirely empty. Hackett stood across from her. He pulled down his surgical mask and smiled at her.It was a gentle smile, exactly the same one he gave her every morning when he handed her a cup of milk. It was the smile that had fooled her for four years."Annelise? Anne, can you hear me?"A voice dragged her out of the nightmare. Her consciousness thrashed its way to the surface.The first thing Annelise felt was pain. A dull, relentless ache throbbed in her lower abdomen, rising in heavy, suffocating waves. Then came the sharp sting of the IV needle in the back of her hand.And then, her hearing returned.The sound of the hospital room door opening and clicking shut, footsteps, the squeak of a medical cart rolling across the floor...And Hackett's voice."You're awake?"Just a few words, colored with perfectly calibrated concern.Annelise didn't open her eyes right away.It wasn't because she couldn't. The anesthesia was slowly wearing off, and she could feel the faint ability to curl her fingers returning.She simply didn't dare to open them. She was terrified that the second she opened her eyes and saw that face, she would lose all control and start screaming."Anne, the surgery was a success." Hackett's voice drew closer. He seemed to be leaning over her. "The ectopic pregnancy has been completely taken care of. Just rest now, don't worry."He was still pushing the ectopic pregnancy lie.Annelise's fingernails dug silently into her palms."I made sure the incision was as small as possible, so the scar will be barely visible. We'll focus on your recovery for a while, and then... we'll have kids."Kids? He had personally tied her tubes four years ago, and now he was standing here telling her they would "have kids." Annelise found that sentence infinitely colder than a scalpel.Wait. Tubal ligation?Annelise's thoughts were suddenly pierced by a critical piece of information. Right before she had completely lost consciousness in the OR, she had heard something else."Dr. Lehman, while we're at it, should I check if the ligation from four years ago is still intact?"Ligation.The word slammed into Annelise's brain fully formed, like a delayed-fuse bomb finally detonating.Four years ago, in the third month of their marriage, she had been hospitalized for "acute appendicitis."Hackett had performed the surgery himself. He had told her it was minimally invasive, a very minor procedure, and there was nothing to worry about.And she hadn't worried.Her recovery had taken much longer than expected, her lower abdomen aching constantly for two full weeks. She had asked Hackett why the incision didn't seem to be where an appendix would normally be.Hackett had been changing her dressing at the time. Without even looking up, he casually replied, "The entry point for minimally invasive surgery varies depending on the surgeon's preference."She had just said "Oh," and never asked about it again.Because she trusted him as implicitly as she trusted that the sun would rise the next morning.But now?Annelise finally opened her eyes. The overhead lights stung, making her eyes water.She turned her head slightly, her gaze landing on the man standing by her bed, reviewing a surgical chart—Hackett Lehman.Thirty-two years old. Striking features, a sharp jawline, and a lean, impeccably straight posture beneath his white coat. The very face she had woken up to every single day for the past four years.In this moment, looking at that face, she felt a terrifying sense of unfamiliarity. It was as if she were looking at him for the very first time.No, it was worse than looking at a stranger.A stranger wouldn't secretly give you a tubal ligation without your knowledge. A stranger wouldn't murder your baby while you were awake on a table. A stranger wouldn't wash the blood off his hands and then gently tell you "don't worry."Noticing her gaze, Hackett looked up and gave her a reassuring smile. "Does it hurt? I'll have the nurse up your pain meds."Annelise stared into his eyes for three agonizing seconds. They were beautiful eyes. Deep, dark, and still as water.She used to think those eyes were full of tenderness, of devotion, of a husband's most profound love for his wife.Now she knew the truth. It wasn't devotion. It was a stagnant pool of dead water. Everything was buried at the bottom, reflecting absolutely nothing."It doesn't hurt." Annelise heard her own voice, so hoarse it barely sounded human.She forced a smile that felt more agonizing than weeping. "Thank you, Hackett."Hackett's gaze softened. He reached out and pulled the blankets up a little higher, his fingertips casually brushing against the back of her hand.Annelise didn't flinch.She couldn't flinch.Not yet.Only one thought blared in her mind right now: she needed to stay awake, stay calm, and piece every single fragment together.The "acute appendicitis" four years ago was a tubal ligation.Today's "ectopic pregnancy" was murder.The truth behind her four years of agonizing infertility wasn't a flaw in her own body; it was him, personally sealing off any hope she ever had.Chapter 2"Dr. Lehman, the ultrasound results are in. Fetal development is normal, and it's implanted perfectly in the uterine cavity. It's not an ectopic pregnancy."A nurse's voice carried an undeniable hesitation, trailing upward at the end as if waiting for confirmation.The operating room fell dead silent for two seconds.Annelise Sargent lay on the operating table, her consciousness supposedly buried deep in the dark void of anesthesia, but at some unknown point, she had woken up.She wasn't fully awake. Her eyelids refused to open, her fingers wouldn't twitch, her tongue felt nailed to the roof of her mouth, and even her breathing was entirely out of her control.But she could hear. Every word, every single syllable, poured into her ears with crystal clarity.She heard the faint electrical hum of the surgical lights above her, the rhythmic beep, beep, beep of the heart monitor, and the sharp clink of metal instruments on a tray.And she heard the nurse's words.*Not an ectopic pregnancy.*It felt as though someone had violently slammed the pause button on Annelise's brain.Three days ago, Hackett Lehman had sat on the edge of her bed holding her medical report. He had taken her hand, his tone overflowing with gentle heartbreak as he said, "Annelise, it's an ectopic pregnancy. We have to operate immediately, or your life will be in danger."She had cried then. Married for four years, desperately trying for a baby for four years, and she had finally gotten pregnant, only for it to be ectopic.Weeping, she had asked him, "Is there really no way to save it?"Hackett had pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. His voice had been so deep, so reassuring. "I want this baby more than anyone, but I absolutely will not gamble with your life."She had believed him.How could she not? This was her husband, the man she had loved fiercely for six years and been married to for four. He was the youngest Deputy Chief of Surgery in the city, the brilliant "Dr. Lehman" everyone spoke of with reverence. With him personally performing the surgery, she had even felt a twisted sense of comfort.But now, the nurse was saying that it wasn't an ectopic pregnancy.Annelise told herself she had to be dreaming. It was a hallucination caused by the anesthesia.Yes, it had to be a hallucination.Then, she heard Hackett's voice."I know."Just two words. His tone was as flat and casual as if he were commenting on the weather.No shock.No surprise.Not a single moment of hesitation.Annelise's heart seized violently in her chest."Proceed as planned," Hackett said.The operating room fell into another heavy silence.Annelise could feel the air in the room shift, thickening as though invisible glances were being exchanged over her paralyzed body.The nurse finally spoke again, her voice much lower this time, carrying a faint, barely detectable tremor. "Dr. Lehman, but... the fetus's vitals are perfectly normal. It's already at seven weeks.""Josie." Hackett cut her off.Just one word, neither loud nor harsh, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees in an instant.Josie fell silent.Annelise heard the crisp snap of Hackett's surgical gloves, a sound that painted the image of him flexing his fingers."Take it out." He commanded. "You know what to do."A deafening ringing exploded in Annelise's mind.Her baby was a healthy, normally implanted, seven-week-old baby. And he was going to abort it!Not because it was an ectopic pregnancy, not because her life was in danger, not for any valid medical reason whatsoever... Just "take it out."Annelise tried with every ounce of her soul to move. She wanted to force her eyes open, wanted to lift her arm, wanted to sit up on this freezing table, wanted to scream, to demand answers, to violently slap his hands away from her stomach.But her body felt as if it had been encased in wet concrete.She couldn't move a single millimeter.She could only lay there like a living corpse.Terror poured over her like ice water, flooding into every vein and seeping into her bones.She would later learn the medical term for this phenomenon: anesthesia awareness. A vanishingly rare complication during general anesthesia where the patient's consciousness returns, but the muscle relaxants are still in full effect, rendering the body entirely paralyzed.Right now, she could distinctly feel the cold, clinical press of metal instruments against her abdomen.Those were her husband's hands, taking her baby away from her body.A tear slipped from the corner of Annelise's eye.She didn't know she was crying, because she couldn't even feel the act of weeping.But the tears were undeniably falling, sliding past her temples and soaking into her hairline."Hiss."A sharp intake of breath came from beside her.Dr. Lewis, the anesthesiologist, leaned in for a closer look and casually wiped the corner of her eye with a piece of gauze."Just a reaction to the anesthesia, perfectly normal," he remarked, his tone as breezy as if he were wiping a spilled drop of coffee off a table.*Normal?* Annelise wanted to laugh hysterically. *I am wide awake, feeling my baby being murdered, and you tell me this is normal?*"Beep, beep, beep, beep."The heart monitor suddenly spiked with a rapid sequence of beeps."Heart rate's a little fast." Dr. Lewis frowned, adjusting a dial on his machine. "Pushing a little more anesthetic... alright, she's stable."Annelise felt another thick layer of fog roll over her consciousness, as if someone had draped a heavy veil over her brain. But she bit down hard on her last shred of lucidity, refusing to let herself sink.She couldn't fall asleep. If she went under, she was terrified she would wake up believing this had all just been a horrible nightmare.And then she would go back to being the clueless Annelise Sargent.She would go back to smiling and calling him "honey."She would go back to foolishly waiting for a baby that was never going to come.Time seemed to warp into an eternity inside that operating room.Annelise didn't know how much time passed. It could have been ten minutes, or it could have been a century. She felt the instruments withdraw from her abdomen. Something had been permanently carved out of her.That was her baby. A child she had begged the universe for over the last four years. A child who had felt like a living miracle taking root inside her.Now it was taken from her while she was awake, paralyzed, trapped inside her own flesh, murdered by the hands of its own father.Annelise's consciousness began to sway violently, like a flickering candle in a hurricane.Just when she thought she was finally going to slip away completely, Hackett's voice broke the silence. It was light, utterly casual, like an afterthought thrown out as he wrapped up his work."By the way, that file from four years ago... was it destroyed?"Dr. Lewis paused what he was doing before answering smoothly, "Relax. It was cleaned up a long time ago. No one will ever find a trace."Four years ago? That file?Annelise's fading mind latched onto those words right before the darkness swallowed her whole.Four years ago... what happened four years ago?The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor faded further and further away, sounding as though it were coming from the bottom of a deep ocean.Annelise finally lost consciousness. But her tears continued to fall.Annelise had no idea how long she had been unconscious. Her awareness drifted in a deep sea, occasionally pulled upward by a shaft of light only to plunge right back down.She kept having the same recurring nightmare. In the dream, she stood in the center of a blindingly bright operating room. She looked down to see her stomach sliced open, and inside, there was nothing. It was entirely empty. Hackett stood across from her. He pulled down his surgical mask and smiled at her.It was a gentle smile, exactly the same one he gave her every morning when he handed her a cup of milk. It was the smile that had fooled her for four years."Annelise? Anne, can you hear me?"A voice dragged her out of the nightmare. Her consciousness thrashed its way to the surface.The first thing Annelise felt was pain. A dull, relentless ache throbbed in her lower abdomen, rising in heavy, suffocating waves. Then came the sharp sting of the IV needle in the back of her hand.And then, her hearing returned.The sound of the hospital room door opening and clicking shut, footsteps, the squeak of a medical cart rolling across the floor...And Hackett's voice."You're awake?"Just a few words, colored with perfectly calibrated concern.Annelise didn't open her eyes right away.It wasn't because she couldn't. The anesthesia was slowly wearing off, and she could feel the faint ability to curl her fingers returning.She simply didn't dare to open them. She was terrified that the second she opened her eyes and saw that face, she would lose all control and start screaming."Anne, the surgery was a success." Hackett's voice drew closer. He seemed to be leaning over her. "The ectopic pregnancy has been completely taken care of. Just rest now, don't worry."He was still pushing the ectopic pregnancy lie.Annelise's fingernails dug silently into her palms."I made sure the incision was as small as possible, so the scar will be barely visible. We'll focus on your recovery for a while, and then... we'll have kids."Kids? He had personally tied her tubes four years ago, and now he was standing here telling her they would "have kids." Annelise found that sentence infinitely colder than a scalpel.Wait. Tubal ligation?Annelise's thoughts were suddenly pierced by a critical piece of information. Right before she had completely lost consciousness in the OR, she had heard something else."Dr. Lehman, while we're at it, should I check if the ligation from four years ago is still intact?"Ligation.The word slammed into Annelise's brain fully formed, like a delayed-fuse bomb finally detonating.Four years ago, in the third month of their marriage, she had been hospitalized for "acute appendicitis."Hackett had performed the surgery himself. He had told her it was minimally invasive, a very minor procedure, and there was nothing to worry about.And she hadn't worried.Her recovery had taken much longer than expected, her lower abdomen aching constantly for two full weeks. She had asked Hackett why the incision didn't seem to be where an appendix would normally be.Hackett had been changing her dressing at the time. Without even looking up, he casually replied, "The entry point for minimally invasive surgery varies depending on the surgeon's preference."She had just said "Oh," and never asked about it again.Because she trusted him as implicitly as she trusted that the sun would rise the next morning.But now?Annelise finally opened her eyes. The overhead lights stung, making her eyes water.She turned her head slightly, her gaze landing on the man standing by her bed, reviewing a surgical chart—Hackett Lehman.Thirty-two years old. Striking features, a sharp jawline, and a lean, impeccably straight posture beneath his white coat. The very face she had woken up to every single day for the past four years.In this moment, looking at that face, she felt a terrifying sense of unfamiliarity. It was as if she were looking at him for the very first time.No, it was worse than looking at a stranger.A stranger wouldn't secretly give you a tubal ligation without your knowledge. A stranger wouldn't murder your baby while you were awake on a table. A stranger wouldn't wash the blood off his hands and then gently tell you "don't worry."Noticing her gaze, Hackett looked up and gave her a reassuring smile. "Does it hurt? I'll have the nurse up your pain meds."Annelise stared into his eyes for three agonizing seconds. They were beautiful eyes. Deep, dark, and still as water.She used to think those eyes were full of tenderness, of devotion, of a husband's most profound love for his wife.Now she knew the truth. It wasn't devotion. It was a stagnant pool of dead water. Everything was buried at the bottom, reflecting absolutely nothing."It doesn't hurt." Annelise heard her own voice, so hoarse it barely sounded human.She forced a smile that felt more agonizing than weeping. "Thank you, Hackett."Hackett's gaze softened. He reached out and pulled the blankets up a little higher, his fingertips casually brushing against the back of her hand.Annelise didn't flinch.She couldn't flinch.Not yet.Only one thought blared in her mind right now: she needed to stay awake, stay calm, and piece every single fragment together.The "acute appendicitis" four years ago was a tubal ligation.Today's "ectopic pregnancy" was murder.The truth behind her four years of agonizing infertility wasn't a flaw in her own body; it was him, personally sealing off any hope she ever had.Chapter 3"Dr. Lehman, the ultrasound results are in. Fetal development is normal, and it's implanted perfectly in the uterine cavity. It's not an ectopic pregnancy."A nurse's voice carried an undeniable hesitation, trailing upward at the end as if waiting for confirmation.The operating room fell dead silent for two seconds.Annelise Sargent lay on the operating table, her consciousness supposedly buried deep in the dark void of anesthesia, but at some unknown point, she had woken up.She wasn't fully awake. Her eyelids refused to open, her fingers wouldn't twitch, her tongue felt nailed to the roof of her mouth, and even her breathing was entirely out of her control.But she could hear. Every word, every single syllable, poured into her ears with crystal clarity.She heard the faint electrical hum of the surgical lights above her, the rhythmic beep, beep, beep of the heart monitor, and the sharp clink of metal instruments on a tray.And she heard the nurse's words.*Not an ectopic pregnancy.*It felt as though someone had violently slammed the pause button on Annelise's brain.Three days ago, Hackett Lehman had sat on the edge of her bed holding her medical report. He had taken her hand, his tone overflowing with gentle heartbreak as he said, "Annelise, it's an ectopic pregnancy. We have to operate immediately, or your life will be in danger."She had cried then. Married for four years, desperately trying for a baby for four years, and she had finally gotten pregnant, only for it to be ectopic.Weeping, she had asked him, "Is there really no way to save it?"Hackett had pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. His voice had been so deep, so reassuring. "I want this baby more than anyone, but I absolutely will not gamble with your life."She had believed him.How could she not? This was her husband, the man she had loved fiercely for six years and been married to for four. He was the youngest Deputy Chief of Surgery in the city, the brilliant "Dr. Lehman" everyone spoke of with reverence. With him personally performing the surgery, she had even felt a twisted sense of comfort.But now, the nurse was saying that it wasn't an ectopic pregnancy.Annelise told herself she had to be dreaming. It was a hallucination caused by the anesthesia.Yes, it had to be a hallucination.Then, she heard Hackett's voice."I know."Just two words. His tone was as flat and casual as if he were commenting on the weather.No shock.No surprise.Not a single moment of hesitation.Annelise's heart seized violently in her chest."Proceed as planned," Hackett said.The operating room fell into another heavy silence.Annelise could feel the air in the room shift, thickening as though invisible glances were being exchanged over her paralyzed body.The nurse finally spoke again, her voice much lower this time, carrying a faint, barely detectable tremor. "Dr. Lehman, but... the fetus's vitals are perfectly normal. It's already at seven weeks.""Josie." Hackett cut her off.Just one word, neither loud nor harsh, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees in an instant.Josie fell silent.Annelise heard the crisp snap of Hackett's surgical gloves, a sound that painted the image of him flexing his fingers."Take it out." He commanded. "You know what to do."A deafening ringing exploded in Annelise's mind.Her baby was a healthy, normally implanted, seven-week-old baby. And he was going to abort it!Not because it was an ectopic pregnancy, not because her life was in danger, not for any valid medical reason whatsoever... Just "take it out."Annelise tried with every ounce of her soul to move. She wanted to force her eyes open, wanted to lift her arm, wanted to sit up on this freezing table, wanted to scream, to demand answers, to violently slap his hands away from her stomach.But her body felt as if it had been encased in wet concrete.She couldn't move a single millimeter.She could only lay there like a living corpse.Terror poured over her like ice water, flooding into every vein and seeping into her bones.She would later learn the medical term for this phenomenon: anesthesia awareness. A vanishingly rare complication during general anesthesia where the patient's consciousness returns, but the muscle relaxants are still in full effect, rendering the body entirely paralyzed.Right now, she could distinctly feel the cold, clinical press of metal instruments against her abdomen.Those were her husband's hands, taking her baby away from her body.A tear slipped from the corner of Annelise's eye.She didn't know she was crying, because she couldn't even feel the act of weeping.But the tears were undeniably falling, sliding past her temples and soaking into her hairline."Hiss."A sharp intake of breath came from beside her.Dr. Lewis, the anesthesiologist, leaned in for a closer look and casually wiped the corner of her eye with a piece of gauze."Just a reaction to the anesthesia, perfectly normal," he remarked, his tone as breezy as if he were wiping a spilled drop of coffee off a table.*Normal?* Annelise wanted to laugh hysterically. *I am wide awake, feeling my baby being murdered, and you tell me this is normal?*"Beep, beep, beep, beep."The heart monitor suddenly spiked with a rapid sequence of beeps."Heart rate's a little fast." Dr. Lewis frowned, adjusting a dial on his machine. "Pushing a little more anesthetic... alright, she's stable."Annelise felt another thick layer of fog roll over her consciousness, as if someone had draped a heavy veil over her brain. But she bit down hard on her last shred of lucidity, refusing to let herself sink.She couldn't fall asleep. If she went under, she was terrified she would wake up believing this had all just been a horrible nightmare.And then she would go back to being the clueless Annelise Sargent.She would go back to smiling and calling him "honey."She would go back to foolishly waiting for a baby that was never going to come.Time seemed to warp into an eternity inside that operating room.Annelise didn't know how much time passed. It could have been ten minutes, or it could have been a century. She felt the instruments withdraw from her abdomen. Something had been permanently carved out of her.That was her baby. A child she had begged the universe for over the last four years. A child who had felt like a living miracle taking root inside her.Now it was taken from her while she was awake, paralyzed, trapped inside her own flesh, murdered by the hands of its own father.Annelise's consciousness began to sway violently, like a flickering candle in a hurricane.Just when she thought she was finally going to slip away completely, Hackett's voice broke the silence. It was light, utterly casual, like an afterthought thrown out as he wrapped up his work."By the way, that file from four years ago... was it destroyed?"Dr. Lewis paused what he was doing before answering smoothly, "Relax. It was cleaned up a long time ago. No one will ever find a trace."Four years ago? That file?Annelise's fading mind latched onto those words right before the darkness swallowed her whole.Four years ago... what happened four years ago?The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor faded further and further away, sounding as though it were coming from the bottom of a deep ocean.Annelise finally lost consciousness. But her tears continued to fall.Annelise had no idea how long she had been unconscious. Her awareness drifted in a deep sea, occasionally pulled upward by a shaft of light only to plunge right back down.She kept having the same recurring nightmare. In the dream, she stood in the center of a blindingly bright operating room. She looked down to see her stomach sliced open, and inside, there was nothing. It was entirely empty. Hackett stood across from her. He pulled down his surgical mask and smiled at her.It was a gentle smile, exactly the same one he gave her every morning when he handed her a cup of milk. It was the smile that had fooled her for four years."Annelise? Anne, can you hear me?"A voice dragged her out of the nightmare. Her consciousness thrashed its way to the surface.The first thing Annelise felt was pain. A dull, relentless ache throbbed in her lower abdomen, rising in heavy, suffocating waves. Then came the sharp sting of the IV needle in the back of her hand.And then, her hearing returned.The sound of the hospital room door opening and clicking shut, footsteps, the squeak of a medical cart rolling across the floor...And Hackett's voice."You're awake?"Just a few words, colored with perfectly calibrated concern.Annelise didn't open her eyes right away.It wasn't because she couldn't. The anesthesia was slowly wearing off, and she could feel the faint ability to curl her fingers returning.She simply didn't dare to open them. She was terrified that the second she opened her eyes and saw that face, she would lose all control and start screaming."Anne, the surgery was a success." Hackett's voice drew closer. He seemed to be leaning over her. "The ectopic pregnancy has been completely taken care of. Just rest now, don't worry."He was still pushing the ectopic pregnancy lie.Annelise's fingernails dug silently into her palms."I made sure the incision was as small as possible, so the scar will be barely visible. We'll focus on your recovery for a while, and then... we'll have kids."Kids? He had personally tied her tubes four years ago, and now he was standing here telling her they would "have kids." Annelise found that sentence infinitely colder than a scalpel.Wait. Tubal ligation?Annelise's thoughts were suddenly pierced by a critical piece of information. Right before she had completely lost consciousness in the OR, she had heard something else."Dr. Lehman, while we're at it, should I check if the ligation from four years ago is still intact?"Ligation.The word slammed into Annelise's brain fully formed, like a delayed-fuse bomb finally detonating.Four years ago, in the third month of their marriage, she had been hospitalized for "acute appendicitis."Hackett had performed the surgery himself. He had told her it was minimally invasive, a very minor procedure, and there was nothing to worry about.And she hadn't worried.Her recovery had taken much longer than expected, her lower abdomen aching constantly for two full weeks. She had asked Hackett why the incision didn't seem to be where an appendix would normally be.Hackett had been changing her dressing at the time. Without even looking up, he casually replied, "The entry point for minimally invasive surgery varies depending on the surgeon's preference."She had just said "Oh," and never asked about it again.Because she trusted him as implicitly as she trusted that the sun would rise the next morning.But now?Annelise finally opened her eyes. The overhead lights stung, making her eyes water.She turned her head slightly, her gaze landing on the man standing by her bed, reviewing a surgical chart—Hackett Lehman.Thirty-two years old. Striking features, a sharp jawline, and a lean, impeccably straight posture beneath his white coat. The very face she had woken up to every single day for the past four years.In this moment, looking at that face, she felt a terrifying sense of unfamiliarity. It was as if she were looking at him for the very first time.No, it was worse than looking at a stranger.A stranger wouldn't secretly give you a tubal ligation without your knowledge. A stranger wouldn't murder your baby while you were awake on a table. A stranger wouldn't wash the blood off his hands and then gently tell you "don't worry."Noticing her gaze, Hackett looked up and gave her a reassuring smile. "Does it hurt? I'll have the nurse up your pain meds."Annelise stared into his eyes for three agonizing seconds. They were beautiful eyes. Deep, dark, and still as water.She used to think those eyes were full of tenderness, of devotion, of a husband's most profound love for his wife.Now she knew the truth. It wasn't devotion. It was a stagnant pool of dead water. Everything was buried at the bottom, reflecting absolutely nothing."It doesn't hurt." Annelise heard her own voice, so hoarse it barely sounded human.She forced a smile that felt more agonizing than weeping. "Thank you, Hackett."Hackett's gaze softened. He reached out and pulled the blankets up a little higher, his fingertips casually brushing against the back of her hand.Annelise didn't flinch.She couldn't flinch.Not yet.Only one thought blared in her mind right now: she needed to stay awake, stay calm, and piece every single fragment together.The "acute appendicitis" four years ago was a tubal ligation.Today's "ectopic pregnancy" was murder.The truth behind her four years of agonizing infertility wasn't a flaw in her own body; it was him, personally sealing off any hope she ever had.