In the quiet of the ultrasound room, I heard my two babies arguing. A soft, sweet voice whimpered, [Sister, you’re squishing me.] A fierce one shot back, [Back off, this is my space!] My heart leaped. “Is it twins?” I asked the doctor, my voice trembling with excitement. But the doctor only glanced at my husband standing behind me before shaking his head. “Mrs. Sterling, you’re mistaken. There’s only one gestational sac.” My husband, Ethan, wrapped an arm around my shoulders, his voice a warm smile. “See? You’re so excited you’re seeing things.” Was I? But I had clearly heard that fierce little voice sneer, [He knows what’s good for him. If he’d spilled the beans, Dad wouldn’t have let him get away with it.] 1 Back home, I sat on the sofa, the words he knows what’s good for him echoing in my mind. Dad? Which dad? I rested a hand on my stomach, my palm cold as ice. A terrible thought began to take root in the pit of my stomach. Ethan walked over with a glass of warm milk, placing it gently beside my hand. “What’s wrong? Still thinking about twins?” he murmured. “Don’t let your imagination run away with you. The doctor said there’s just one. Let’s focus on keeping this one healthy and safe.” His smile was so tender, his eyes filled with the same adoration I’d fallen in love with. I lowered my gaze to hide the chill in my own eyes and obediently picked up the glass. [Hypocrite.] Lifting the milk, I asked with feigned casualness, “Ethan, a friend of mine is pregnant too, and she’s having twins. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had two babies?” I watched his face, refusing to miss a single flicker of emotion. For a fraction of a second, the hand holding his own glass tightened. It was almost imperceptible. “Twins are too high-risk,” he said, his voice still gentle but strained around the edges. “All I want is for you and our baby to be safe.” I looked down, a cold, invisible smile touching my lips. I see. That night, I lay in bed, pretending to be asleep. Ethan tiptoed into the room, assuming I was lost to the world. He stood by the bed for a long time, so long that my facade almost cracked. Then, I felt his cool fingers rest on my belly. It wasn’t the loving touch of a father-to-be. His fingers moved with the cold precision of an assessment, tracing my skin inch by inch, as if he were measuring, calculating. I went rigid, not daring to breathe. The soft, sweet voice whimpered again, full of tears. [Sister, I’m scared…] The fierce, masculine voice was instantly reassuring. [Don’t be. I’m here.] Then, he spoke to the other baby in my womb. [You’d better lie low, too. Don’t let him find you.] My heart plummeted. Him? Who was him? Ethan? What could he find? Just then, I heard Ethan let out the softest sigh, a sound thick with regret, before he turned and left the room. My eyes flew open. I touched the spot where his hand had been. It was cold as stone. Two days later, Ethan presented me with a new phone. “Less radiation. It’s better for the baby,” he said with a smile. I stared at the basic feature phone, capable of nothing more than calls and texts, and laughed inwardly. Less radiation, or easier to monitor? He took my old smartphone and, with practiced ease, wiped it clean. “Out with the old, in with the new.” He said it so casually, as if he were just throwing out trash. My heart sank a little deeper. A few days after that, my mother-in-law—the matriarch of the Sterling family—moved into our villa. She didn’t come alone. She brought an entire entourage: a nutritionist, a nanny, and two stone-faced bodyguards. The official reason was to take better care of me. “Ava, from this day forward, your meals will be prepared by Mrs. Davis. She is the best prenatal nutritionist in the field,” my mother-in-law announced from the sofa, her tone leaving no room for argument. I looked at the woman, Mrs. Davis, who pushed her glasses up her nose, her eyes sharp and clinical. My life was no longer my own. I couldn’t go out. I couldn’t see my friends. My world had shrunk to the walls of this house. Ethan came home every evening, showering me with affection and concern. But to my ears, his sweet words were coated in poison. 2 The fierce baby seemed to sense the escalating danger. [That old witch is up to no good.] [She’s putting something in your soup. Small doses, but she never stops.] My hand, holding the soup bowl, was steady as a rock. I even managed a placating smile for my mother-in-law. “Thank you, Mother. The soup is delicious.” As I drank, I watched her from the corner of my eye. A satisfied smile spread across her lips. I tilted my head back and finished every last drop. Then, excusing myself to the bathroom, I ran inside, jammed my fingers down my throat, and forced myself to throw it all up. I didn’t stop until my stomach was empty, heaving with nothing but bitter acid. I collapsed onto the cold tile floor. I couldn’t just wait for them to act. I had to contact the outside world. I remembered a spare phone I’d hidden in an old suitcase, tucked away in the back of my walk-in closet. During a shift change for the bodyguards, I slipped into the closet and locked the door. I found the phone. Thank God, it still had a charge. My hands trembled as I dialed my best friend, Zoe. She picked up on the first ring. “Hello? Ava?” The moment I heard her voice, tears welled in my eyes. “Zoe, I…” I only managed to get two words out before the closet door was kicked open. My mother-in-law stood in the doorway, flanked by her two bodyguards, a glacial smile on her face. “Ava. Who are you calling?” She advanced on me, the sharp click-clack of her heels on the hardwood floor echoing the frantic hammering of my heart. I instinctively tried to hide the phone behind my back. She gave me no time to react. With a single glance, a bodyguard lunged forward and brutally snatched the phone from my hand. My mother-in-law took it, her eyes falling on the name on the screen. “Zoe?” She let out a soft, contemptuous laugh. “It seems I’ve been too soft on you. You’ve forgotten your place.” Then, right in front of me, she threw the phone to the floor. The screen shattered into a spiderweb of cracks. Still not satisfied, she lifted her foot and ground it under the heel of her expensive, custom-made shoe. “I will eliminate anyone, and anything, that might distract you from a healthy pregnancy.” With that, she turned and walked away, as if the vicious woman from a moment ago had never existed. I stared at the mangled remains of the phone, the blood in my veins turning to ice. I was well and truly a prisoner. That evening, when Ethan came home, his mother told him everything. I thought he might say something, anything, in my defense. But he just listened in silence before walking over and crouching in front of me. “Ava, Mom just has your best interests at heart. The most important thing for you right now is to rest and focus on the baby. Don’t overthink things.” His voice was as gentle as water, but it sent a chill straight to my bones. I looked at him, my own voice low and deliberate. “Ethan, I am your wife. Not a broodmare for your family.” A crack appeared in his gentle facade. “How can you think that? I love you, Ava.” [Love? His love is locking you up and plotting to kill one of your children,] the fierce baby sneered in my mind. I closed my eyes, unable to look at his deceitful face any longer. From that day on, the surveillance tightened. The two bodyguards were stationed outside my bedroom door, day and night. I couldn’t even close the bathroom door. So I started a hunger strike. It was the only form of protest I had left. On the first day, my mother-in-law watched with cold indifference. On the second, she resorted to threats. “Ava, don’t push your luck. If you harm my grandchild, I will make your entire family pay the price.” My parents were my only weakness. My eyes turned red. “You wouldn’t dare!” “Try me.” 3 She threw a file onto the table. “That little diner your parents own… it seems they’ve had some trouble passing recent health inspections.” I trembled with rage. I had to give in. I started eating again, but every bite felt like swallowing shards of glass. I had to find a way out. I couldn’t let them win. A plan slowly began to form in my mind. That afternoon, when the nanny wasn’t looking, I quietly poured some shower gel on the bathroom floor. Then, with a carefully timed “accident,” I slipped and fell, hard. “Ah!” I let out a piercing scream, clutching my stomach. The nanny’s face went white with terror. She shrieked and ran for help. In moments, Ethan and his mother burst in. Seeing me on the floor, a faint stain of blood spreading beneath me, Ethan’s face turned ashen. “Quick! Call the family doctor!” his mother yelled. My heart sank. The family doctor. Again. I had been betting on their panic, hoping they would rush me to the nearest public hospital. I lost the bet. But my mind was already racing, trying to figure out how to use this “injury” to create my next opportunity. Dr. Evans, the family doctor, arrived quickly. He ran a series of checks, then turned to Ethan and his mother with a grave expression. “Madam, Sir, the fall was quite serious. It has stressed the pregnancy. She needs immediate bed rest. I recommend we start an IV drip with nutrients to stabilize the fetus.” I lay on the bed, my body cold with dread. I heard the fierce voice in my womb curse furiously. [You idiot! Did you really think they were fools? A stunt like this will only make them tighten their grip!] I closed my eyes in despair. The cold liquid snaked its way down the tube and into my veins. A powerful wave of drowsiness washed over me. My eyelids grew heavy. Just before I lost consciousness, I heard the soft, sweet voice cry out, [Sister, I don’t feel good… My body is so hot…] It was followed by a furious, masculine roar. [Damn it! They’re drugging us! This medicine… it’s meant for me! They’re trying to kill me!] My consciousness drifted in a black void, but my body felt like it was on fire. No, I can’t sleep. With every ounce of strength I had, I bit down hard on my tongue. The sharp pain shocked me back to a sliver of clarity. I forced my eyes open. The room was empty. On the back of my hand, the cool liquid was still flowing into my bloodstream. This was it. The thing that was trying to kill my child. With my free hand, I trembled, then ripped the needle from my skin. The pain was blinding, and a searing heat shot through my veins. I ignored it, scrambling off the bed and stumbling into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on my face again and again, fighting to stay awake. The drug was potent. My body grew hotter, but my limbs were turning to lead. Inside me, the fierce voice was growing weaker. [Hang on… you stupid woman… don’t fall asleep…] I slid down the cold wall to the floor, gasping for air. It wasn’t long before I heard hurried footsteps outside. “Ava! Open the door! Ava!” It was Ethan, his voice laced with panic. I didn’t make a sound. “Break it down!” his mother shrieked. With a deafening crash, the bathroom door splintered open. 4 Ethan rushed in. When he saw me slumped on the floor, the pool of blood at his feet, and the discarded IV needle on the bed, his face twisted into an ugly mask. He strode forward and grabbed my arm. “Ava! Are you insane? Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” His grip was crushing. I looked up at his face, a canvas of feigned “concern” and “rage,” and I started to laugh. “What am I doing? Ethan, why don’t you ask yourself what you’re doing?” I pointed to the IV bag still hanging by the bed. “What’s in there? Nutrients? Do you take me for a fool?” “What is it?! Why are you trying to kill our child?!” I screamed the words. Ethan’s expression froze, the panic in his eyes swiftly replaced by a look of profound hurt. “Ava, calm down. It’s not what you think.” He tried to pull me into an embrace, but I shoved him away. “Not what I think? Then what is it? Tell me!” His mother stood in the doorway, watching our performance with cold detachment. “Ethan, why are you wasting your breath on her? If she wants to die, then let her—” “Mom!” Ethan cut her off sharply, shooting her a warning glance. Her face tightened, but she fell silent, though the venom in her eyes remained. Ethan turned back to me, his features contorting into a mask of anguish. He knelt, taking my hands in his, his voice hoarse. “Ava, I’m sorry. I’ve been hiding something from you.” “We are having twins.” My heart skipped a beat. “But…” He took a deep, shuddering breath, his eyes turning red. “We ran the most advanced genetic screening… and we discovered that… the boy… he has a severe congenital heart defect.” “The doctors said he wouldn’t live past his first birthday. And his presence in the womb is putting the other, healthy baby at risk. It’s even putting you at risk.” “So… we made the decision… to only keep the healthy one.” He delivered the lines with tears in his eyes, but I could feel the smug triumph hidden deep beneath the surface.
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