Chapter 5

"Dr. Davis! Please!"

The pediatric nurse’s voice cracked, echoing down the corridor. I didn't turn around.

I pushed my hand against the automatic door sensor.

"He has a rare blood disorder!" the nurse screamed. "He needs an immediate O-negative transfusion! The blood bank is empty! We need a donor right now!"

The doors slid open. The cold wind hit my face.

"Test me!" I heard Nathan roar from down the hall. "I'm his father! Test Victoria!"

"We already checked your files," the nurse cried frantically. "You are A-positive. Victoria is AB-positive. Neither of you is a match. The baby will reject your blood and die."

I stepped out into the freezing night.

"Who is a match?" Nathan demanded. His voice was laced with a terrifying, desperate panic.

"The only person on staff with the exact universal donor profile we need... It's Dr. Candice Davis."

Silence fell over the hallway behind me. I didn't wait. I gripped the strap of my duffel bag and broke into a painful, staggering run toward the parking lot.

The parking lot was a sprawling expanse of cracked asphalt, bathed in the sickly yellow glow of flickering streetlamps.

Every step sent a jagged spike of agony through my lower abdomen.

My body was still traumatized from the miscarriage. But adrenaline fueled my desperate flight.

My car was parked in the furthest row, hidden beneath an oak tree. I pulled my keys from my pocket. My fingers trembled violently. I pressed the unlock button. The headlights flashed.

I reached for the door handle.

A massive hand clamped brutally over my mouth.

I didn't have time to scream. A muscular arm wrapped around my waist, pinning my arms. The suffocating scent of cheap cologne invaded my senses. It was a hired thug.

I thrashed wildly, but the blood loss and crushing grief had drained my strength. The man tightened his grip, lifting me off the ground.

"Stop fighting," a cold voice commanded.

Nathan stepped out from the shadows. He wore his tailored wool coat. He looked like a predator who had just cornered his prey.

"Let her go," Nathan ordered.

The man dropped me. I hit the freezing asphalt hard. I gasped for air, scrambling backward against my car door.

"This is kidnapping," I choked out. "You won't get away with this."

Nathan crouched down, his eyes devoid of human emotion. "My mother made a mistake. She accidentally caused your miscarriage. It was a tragedy, Candice. But because of that tragedy, you no longer have a child to care for. You owe my family. My mother took your baby. So, you are going to ensure my son survives. You are going to give him your blood."

"I will never give you anything," I spat. "I would rather die."

Nathan’s eyes darkened. "That can be arranged."

He nodded to the thug. The man grabbed my shoulder, pinning me against the car. Nathan plunged a syringe directly into my neck.

"Sweet dreams," Nathan whispered.

The world tilted. The streetlamps blurred. My body went completely limp, swallowed by a heavy, suffocating darkness.

My head throbbed with a sickening pulse. I forced my eyes open. The harsh glare of a bare bulb assaulted my vision.

I wasn't in the hospital. I was sitting in a cold, rigid metal chair. The air smelled strongly of mildew and damp concrete. It was an abandoned storage facility.

I tried to move, but panic spiked through my sluggish veins. Thick leather straps bound my wrists tightly to the metal armrests. My ankles were secured. I was completely immobilized.

"She's awake."

Nathan stepped into the light. He looked down at me with a triumphant smirk. Beside him stood a gaunt man wearing a dirty lab coat.

The unlicensed doctor held a thick-gauge needle attached to a clear plastic tube and an empty blood collection bag.

"Did you really think you could just walk away from me, Candice?" Nathan asked softly.

I couldn't speak. My throat was paralyzed with terror.

"Take it all," Nathan ordered the doctor. "Drain her."

I watched in absolute horror as the doctor plunged the thick needle into my vein. A sharp gasp escaped my lips.

The dark red blood—my blood, the blood that was supposed to nourish my own unborn child—flowed rapidly through the tubing.

"You're insane," I gasped, struggling uselessly against the restraints. "You will go to prison."

"This is survival," Nathan countered, stepping closer. "You were always so stubborn, Candice. So independent. You thought you could just leave us to burn. But Victoria and I are going to have a beautiful, perfect life together with our son. You were never anything more than a disposable stepping stone."

The doctor didn't stop at one bag. He took two. Then three.

My vision began to tunnel. The edges of the dirty room turned black. My heart fluttered erratically, struggling to pump the remaining blood through my depleted body.

A bone-deep chill settled over my entire being. I was fading.

"That's enough," Nathan finally ordered. "We have what we need. Get it to the hospital immediately. Pay off whoever you need to."

The thug grabbed the cooler filled with my blood and vanished into the shadows.

Nathan stood alone with me. The silence in the room was deafening. He looked at my pale, trembling form.

The triumphant smirk slowly faded from his lips, replaced by a cold, calculating glare.

Nathan unbuckled the heavy leather restraints. I slumped forward instantly, far too weak to lift my head.

He grabbed me roughly by the hair, hauling me to my feet. My legs gave out, but he dragged me effortlessly, his arm wrapped tightly around my throat.

We moved outside into the freezing night. The roaring, violent sound of rushing water filled my ears.

He dragged my nearly unconscious body through the dead grass. We reached the edge of an old, rusted suspension bridge on the outskirts of town.

The river below was a violent, churning black abyss, waiting to swallow secrets whole.

I couldn't fight back. I couldn't even scream. I could only feel the icy wind slicing through my thin clothes.

Nathan pushed me against the freezing iron railing. He leaned in close, his breath hot against my cheek.

"I love Victoria," Nathan whispered cruelly in my ear. "I always have. You are nothing to me."

He didn't hesitate.

With a violent, forceful shove, Nathan pushed me over the iron railing.