Chapter 4

Only then did Lloyd put down his phone.

When he saw that our daughter's face had turned purple, he panicked.

He hurriedly scooped her up and shoved her at me like a hot potato.

"Hurry up and calm her down."

Then he briskly pulled his mother back to her feet.

"Dad, Mom, Christine knows she was wrong. Don't make it worse."

His parents realized something was off too, and with the money now in their account, they hurried out of the bedroom to pack their bags.

On his way out, he didn't forget to grab Valerie's hand.

"Valerie, stay away from her, don't let her bad luck rub off on you."

Valerie saw the blood already staining the leg of my pants and tried to pull Lloyd away too.

Like a child who'd done something wrong, Lloyd stood off to the side and asked me hesitantly:

"Should we call an ambulance?"

I nodded, at a loss.

Before Lloyd could press the call button, Valerie deliberately shouted toward the doorway:

"Oh, so we have to call an ambulance just because she can't cry it out?"

Hearing the word ambulance, Cora clutched her head and started wailing in the living room.

"Ohh, did she crack something in my head? It hurts so much, and I feel sick, like I'm going to throw up!"

She faked a few gags, and Finn panicked too.

"Lloyd, hurry up and take your mother in for a checkup first. What if your wife really did her some harm?"

Lloyd caught the increasingly heavy smell of blood in the air, and inexplicably felt uneasy.

"Then call two ambulances!"

But Cora wouldn't have it.

"Why waste that money? I can get myself to the hospital, but if we drag this out any longer, I don't know if I'll hold up..."

Valerie urged him on too:

"Lloyd, why don't you take Mom and Dad to the hospital first? I'll stay with Christine and the baby and wait for the ambulance."

Lloyd hesitated, but Valerie had already dialed 911.

So he grabbed the keys and left with his parents.

I knew Valerie would never help us out of kindness, and instinctively I screamed at Lloyd:

"Don't go!"

His steps hitched, but he didn't turn his head.

"Valerie's here, don't be scared."

With a bitter smile, I dialed 911 myself.

But Valerie snatched the phone away and pulled out a divorce agreement.

"Lloyd had this ready the very day you two got your marriage license."

"If you don't want something to happen to your child, sign it."

Lloyd had already signed, and the date really was three years ago.

The terms were fair enough: all property after the marriage belonged to each of us separately.

If it was a daughter, the child would go to me.

If it was a son, the child would go to him.

I picked up the pen and signed my name.

Only then did Valerie call an ambulance for us, and right in front of me she deleted my fingerprint from the door lock.

I didn't stop her. I only prayed my daughter would be okay.

Thank God, after the resuscitation, my daughter could finally cry normally again.

Her color slowly came back.

Valerie filmed a video of the baby back to normal and sent it to Lloyd.

"Lloyd, see, I told you it was nothing. How's Mom doing?"

He saw the video and breathed a sigh of relief.

"My mom's fine too. Maybe we should hold off on the Grand Canyon trip. I'm still not easy about Christine and the baby..."

But Valerie forwarded him the photos of the new postpartum recovery center I'd booked, and turned on the speakerphone in front of me:

"Don't you worry. She'd never shortchange herself. This postpartum recovery center is more than ten thousand pricier than the one she'd booked before."

That thread of worry in Lloyd's heart vanished in an instant.

"Then let's leave as planned!"

Valerie hung up and gloated:

"You know, even if you'd given Lloyd a son, you still couldn't beat me."

"Back then I chose to divorce and walk away empty-handed because I couldn't have children. Lloyd's family will remember that kindness for the rest of their lives."

So from beginning to end, I was nothing but the Vance family's tool for producing a child.

I ignored Valerie and got straight into the postpartum recovery center's van.

Once I was settled in, Lloyd sent me a photo of a plane wing:

Actually, I'd changed my mind and wanted to stay home with you and our daughter, but it seems like you don't need me.

But that's okay. I'll still share the beautiful sights with you, and I'll bring back souvenirs for you and our girl.

When we get back, we'll throw a one-month party for our girl.

The wounded tone made it sound like I was the one who'd abandoned him.

I didn't reply. Instead I handed the divorce agreement over to a lawyer to finalize the divorce.

Then I took care of three big things.

Thirty days later, Lloyd and the others came back all smiles.

Only to break down crying, every one of them, right there at the front door.

"How could this be?"