Chapter 4

The pain tore through me. I clamped both hands over my belly, my voice shaking.

"Call 911, hurry, get an ambulance!"

"Please, save my baby..."

Mary froze at that.

She looked at the blood pooling beneath me.

Then at the phone she'd just wrenched out of my hands.

Without thinking, she started to dial for help.

But Violet snatched the phone away and hurled it hard against the floor.

"No calls."

"Mr. Henson can't find out about this."

Violet's face had gone white, but there was something wild flickering in her eyes.

Mary went rigid, at a loss.

"Mom, she's bleeding. If we don't get her to a hospital, something's going to happen."

"This is the baby Mr. Henson treasures more than anything. If something happens to it because of us, we're finished!"

Violet's expression turned grave.

"That's exactly why Mr. Henson can't find out."

She was breathing hard, studying me where I lay on the floor, her mind racing.

"If we take her to a hospital now, the doctors ask questions, and everyone knows we pushed her down."

"Then the two of us are done for, for the rest of our lives."

Mary heard that and grew afraid too.

"Then... then what do we do?"

Violet checked the time, drew in two deep breaths, and forced herself calm.

"Mr. Henson's still away on business anyway. He won't be back for a while."

"For now we lock Monica in the maid's room. Bolt the doors and windows. Don't let anyone know about this."

"When Mr. Henson gets back, we'll say Monica couldn't keep still. That she went out fooling around while he was gone and lost the baby herself."

"The two of them will fall out for sure, and that's when you step into the gap. You take Monica's place, exactly as we planned!"

"Mary, isn't this the day we've waited all these years for?"

Hearing Violet's plan, Mary's eyes lit up. She was clearly tempted.

I was in a full panic now.

The pain in my belly kept sharpening. If I didn't get to a hospital, my baby was gone for good.

I gathered every ounce of strength I had and said to Violet, word by word:

"Violet, don't do this."

"I promise, if you take me to the hospital right now, I'll let the whole thing go."

"But if you blow this up and someone dies, then you and your daughter really are finished for life!"

Violet stared down at me, gritting her teeth, her voice vicious.

"Don't try to scare me."

"Ten years I've been in this house. You think there's a storm I haven't seen?"

"And don't blame me for it. Only if the baby in your belly dies does my daughter get her chance to take your place!"

She turned to Mary and said coldly:

"What are you standing there for? Come help me drag her into the maid's room!"

Mary hesitated a moment, then clenched her jaw and came toward me, one step at a time.

Just as they reached out to grab hold of me, Fred's grim voice came from the doorway.

"What are you doing?"