Chapter 1 Whose Baby Are You Carrying

"Ms. Sullivan, given your condition, we can't proceed with the abortion."

Clutching the final, fateful test report, Adeline Sullivan staggered out of the hospital, her pulse hammering with desperation.

She fled into an abandoned amusement park, where wild weeds sprawled unchecked, and half of an old ship lay swallowed by moss.

Adeline didn't stop nor dare look back. When her shoe slipped from her foot, she left it behind, her bare skin scraping against jagged gravel. Blood mixed with mud, smearing her delicate ankle.

The sun blazed mercilessly, pouring down like molten gold, yet her world remained smothered in darkness.

The pounding of footsteps closed in behind her, growing louder with every second.

Blindly, Adeline stumbled into the ship's hollowed-out interior, curling into herself, arms locked around her trembling frame.

Her white dress barely covered the bruises marring her thighs, and a silk cloth veiled her sightless eyes in pale, ghostly fabric.

Like a flower deprived of sunlight, she was fragile-wilting, fading, waiting for the inevitable end.

"Where did that blind girl run off to?" A young couple burst into the abandoned wreck, breathless from the chase.

Khloe Anderson clung to Oliver Simpson's arm, her lips curling in distaste as she lifted a foot, staring in disgust at the mud sullying her designer heels. "What a disgusting place."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have lost track of her," Oliver shot back, his brow creased as he scanned the desolate park.

After a brief pause, Oliver softened his voice, forcing a coaxing tone. "Adeline, stop playing. Let's go home, okay?"

Silence answered him.

Oliver exhaled sharply and then tried again. "This is a good thing, you know. The baby's father is Waylon, who hails from the influential Holden family, for crying out loud! Your child will make us rich beyond measure. Stop being stubborn and come out. Just be careful with your belly. I swear, I won't hit you again."

A chill slithered through Adeline's bones at the sound of his voice.

At fifteen, Adeline's world had crumbled after her family's bankruptcy. Then came the fire that claimed her whole family's lives and left her to lose her sight overnight.

Blaine Simpson, once a devoted servant of the Sullivan family, had taken her in. For five years, she had lived under his roof.

Last year, Blaine's only son, Oliver, had returned from his studies and showered Adeline with care and affection.

Adeline had thought she had found her safe haven, but she couldn't have been more wrong. The moment she agreed to be with Oliver, his true colors bled through. He was obsessed with any hidden assets she might have left, given her family's once-enormous wealth.

When Oliver realized she had nothing, he had become a beast, hitting her relentlessly and openly messing with her caregiver, Khloe.

Oliver and Khloe, their greed knowing no bounds, had borrowed from loan sharks and thrown money away on reckless bets. When the debts had piled too high, they planned to sell Adeline to pay off their debts. Then came that night at the neon-lit nightclub. The moment they saw Waylon, their scheme had shifted. Without a word, they had shoved Adeline into his room, where the air had been thick with the scent of aphrodisiac.

And Waylon? He was a man no one in Kranbu dared cross. His name alone was enough to silence a room.

Under the influence of the drug, Waylon had slept with Adeline. After their intimate encounter, he had ordered his men to beat up Oliver and Khloe, after which he left nonchalantly.

In the end, Adeline, the poor soul, had taken the full force of Oliver and Khloe's anger.

Oliver's beatings had left Adeline bedridden for nearly a month. Later on, her sudden nausea and vomiting, coupled with the missed period, made Oliver and Khloe realize what was happening and excitedly dragged her to the hospital.

Adeline had seen through their plan-they intended to use the baby growing inside her as leverage to extort Waylon. She had to run away from these two demons. She had to escape today, because if she didn't, she would never get a second chance.

The rustling of leaves snapped Adeline's thoughts back to the present. Those footsteps-they weren't Oliver's or Khloe's. Had they brought reinforcements?

Adeline sank her teeth into her hand, forcing herself to stay silent.

The footsteps crept nearer, each one ticking away like a time bomb.

The air was almost stifling.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. A sharp, woody scent drifted through the air, wrapping around her senses, and with it came an overpowering presence.

Above her came a man's voice-low and cold. "Ms. Sullivan, whose baby are you carrying?"