I looked up at her through blurred vision, water dripping from my hair, my entire body trembling. How could she look so calm after what she had done?
Then I felt it.
Warm liquid running down my legs.
Blood.
A lot of blood.
Panic exploded inside me.
“My baby…” I whispered weakly.
The guest who had pulled me out—a woman named Elena—grabbed her phone immediately.
“I already called 911,” she said firmly. “Don’t move.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “She’s fine. Natalie always overreacts.”
But Elena stared at her in disgust.
“She could lose her child.”
For the first time, silence spread across the party.
My father looked uncertain.
My mother’s face paled slightly.
But it was too late.
Because deep down, I already knew something terrible had happened.
Minutes later, the ambulance arrived.
Everything became noise and flashing lights.
Doctors shouting.
Hands pressing against my stomach.
Someone saying, “We need to move NOW.”
And then—
darkness.
Chapter 4: The Heartbeat
When I woke up, the hospital room was dim and quiet.
For a second, I forgot everything.
Then I touched my stomach.
And froze.
It was smaller.
Fear crushed my chest.
“No… no, no, no…”
A nurse rushed over. “Easy, Natalie—”
“My baby?” I cried. “Where’s my baby?!”
Before she could answer, a doctor entered the room.
His expression softened.
“Your daughter is alive.”
I broke into sobs instantly.
Alive.
“She came early,” he explained gently. “Very early. But she’s fighting hard.”
Relief flooded through me so powerfully I could barely breathe.
Then his face turned serious.
“There’s something else you need to know.”
My heart dropped.
“The trauma you experienced…” he continued carefully, “was severe. If that guest hadn’t pulled you from the pool when she did, neither you nor your baby would have survived.”
The room spun.
Not survived.
My own family had stood there and watched.
Watched me drown.
Tears rolled silently down my face as reality settled over me like ice.
They hadn’t just betrayed me.
They had abandoned me.
Chapter 5: No More
Two days later, my mother walked into the hospital room carrying flowers.
As if nothing had happened.
Vanessa followed behind her.
“You really caused a scene,” Vanessa sighed dramatically.
I stared at her in disbelief.
