Chapter 5 5

Pain.

It was all that Alice could feel. A dull, numbing ache that ran through her body, dragging her limbs down, fogging her mind. She wanted to open her eyes, to see her child, but her body refused to listen.

Something was wrong.

She had been pushing, her screams echoing in the delivery room, when the doctor-the doctor she trusted to bring her babies into the world-had given her an injection.

"It's just to make the pain go away," the doctor had said. But instead of relief, Alice felt herself weakening, her eyelids becoming heavier.

The sounds around her receded, but she could still hear it.

The initial cry.

Her infant's cry.

Tears spilled over the edges of her shut eyes as she strained out a whisper. "M-My baby... Let me... hold my baby."

A frigid voice answered. "We have to wash the child first, Mrs. Bennett. Rest now."

Lies.

Alice wanted to scream, to fight, but her body was lead. She could still feel everything-the pain in her stomach, the emptiness where life had been a moment before. But she couldn't move, couldn't speak.

Something was wrong.

The pain hadn't stopped.

She knew there was another child. She could feel it.

Her breathing turned ragged. "There's... another," she choked out, forcing her lips to move. "There's still... another life inside me."

Silence.

Then, a nurse's voice, indifferent and flat. "Your report says one child, Mrs. Bennett. You've already given birth."

"No-" Alice sobbed, shaking her head weakly. "Please... listen to me. My baby..."

Nobody listened.

A sharp pain stabbed at her stomach again. The presence inside her had not left. She wasn't imagining it. Her child was still there.

"Help... please," she whimpered.

But darkness swallowed her whole.

---

Hours Later

Alice's eyelids fluttered open, her throat dry, her body drenched in sweat.

The room was dark.

The air was filled with the scent of antiseptic, the only noise in the hospital room the slow, rhythmic beep of a heart machine.

For an instant, confusion swirled in her head.

And then it hit her.

Her baby.

Alice's hands flew up to guard her belly. It was unyielding. Empty.

Where was her child?

She turned her head, seeking the crib. But the spot beside her bed was empty.

Her body screamed with panic. She pulled out the IV in her wrist, wincing as blood trailed down her arm. She leapt from bed, her knees buckling, but she supported herself on the nightstand.

The door creaked open.

Alice's heart stopped. Her eyes were still blurred, but she could see a tall figure coming in.

"Ryan?" she whispered, her voice breaking.

She sobbed in a broken cry, rushing towards him. Tears were streaming down her face as she wrapped her arms around his, her hands trembling on his arms.

"Ryan-our baby-where is our baby?"

The figure did not respond immediately.

And when her eyes cleared, she saw that it was not Ryan in front of her.

A cruel laugh cut through the darkness.

Alice's heart fell.

Not Ryan.

Her blood ran cold as her eyes cleared, and Clara was in front of her. Her perfect lips twisted into a sadistic grin, her eyes shining with ill pleasure.

"I have to admit, Alice," Clara thoughtfully folded her arms, tilting her head in mock surprise. "You hung on longer than I thought you would."

Alice's breath suspended. Fear wrapped its vise around her chest, flattening her ribs.

"Where's my baby?" she gasped, grasping the front of Clara's dress with feeble, trembling hands.

Clara shoved her back with a disdainful snort. Alice staggered, her legs trembling as if they would at any second lose all strength.

"Still don't get it, do you?" Clara sneered. Her eyes blazed with something awful, something wicked. "This was always my plan. You were just a test."

Alice's lips parted, confusion and fear roiling in her stomach. "What..."

Clara's smile spread. Ill. Triumphant. "I wanted you to marry Ryan first-to test whether he was truly ill before I took my rightful place as his wife. But then-" she gazed at Alice's belly with a look of disgust-"you got pregnant. And that child... Let's just say it's too precious to waste."

Alice's legs buckled. A suffocating weight pressed down on her chest.

"You... you stole my baby?" she panted, her own voice a soft whisper.

Clara stepped closer, bending over so that she could whisper in Alice's ear, her icy breath washing over her skin.

"I'm not only stealing your baby, Alice. I made sure you'd never see it again."

Alice screamed, her hands trembling as she clutched her hospital gown. Tears burned the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

You're a monster," she hissed.

Clara shrugged back, pretending to be innocent. "And you're a fool."

Then her smile intensified, her words thick with relish.

"We poisoned you, dear sister. You will die soon. Like your poor mother and father."

Alice's body seized. All muscles hardened, her brain screaming.

No.

No, no, no-

She stumbled forward, holding on to Clara's arm. "Clara, please-" She was hoarse with desperation. "I never did you wrong! I never took anything from you! Why are you doing this?"

Clara jerked away her arm, her eyes burning with fury.

"You always had what I wanted!" she snarled, her hands clenched in Alice's wrist before shoving her away. "Everyone liked you. Everyone wanted you. Even Ryan-never once looked at me like he looked at you."

Alice's air was frozen in her throat.

That was it. Jealousy. Spite. Years of seething hatred.

Clara stepped back, her eyes glinting with malice. "Sleep tight, dear sister," she whispered before heading for the door.

Alice's knees buckled beneath her and she collapsed onto the bed.

No. This was not happening.

Her baby.

She hugged them close, hands interlacing as if to protect her child.

She had to struggle.

Calling upon every ounce of strength she possessed she attempted to lift herself up, but her arms felt heavy as lead.

She struggled. She screamed. Cried.

No one came.

She ripped at the sheets, her breathing harsh and pained. Her belly cramped, a burning agony tearing through her.

Then-she fell.

A scream ripped from her throat as her body crashed onto the hard, cold floor.

Pain burst in her belly.

Blood. So much blood.

It pooled under her, dampening the hospital gown, dripping down between her legs.

Tears blinded her vision. Her fingers shaking violently, stretching out, reaching for something-anything.

The door creaked again.

Steps approached.

Indistinct faces hovered above her.

Alice managed a whisper, her voice in broken fragments. "My baby... Find my baby..."

Nobody listened.

Fists wrapped around her. She was lifted from the floor, carried away.

Darkness surrounded her completely.