Chapter 1

After the checkup, I sat down in the waiting area, holding the ultrasound images.

The doctor had told me to eat more as I was too thin and the baby was small. At six months, there was still no sign of a baby bump, but thankfully, the baby was healthy.

I looked at the little face that was already taking shape on the ultrasound, feeling happy. However, as I smiled, I couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in my eyes.

I never planned to use the baby like that, but it came at a time when I thought I was about to be erased from existence.

“I’m sorry, baby.” I gently rubbed my belly, my heart heavy with sadness.

The pregnancy was an accident.

That day, I had finally agreed to divorce Shawn Pierce. Maybe he was too happy or it was the alcohol, but he mistook me for Cindy Lawrence, and he forced himself on me.

The next morning, when Cindy found us together, she ran out in tears. I didn’t see Shawn again for the next six months, and naturally, the divorce was put on hold.

I was lost in thought when I stood up to leave and suddenly saw Shawn walking toward me, looking disheveled and hurried. Behind him were several men with hostile expressions.

“Slap!”

He hit me hard across the face, the force of it causing me to stagger and fall to the floor. Feeling the pain, I instinctively cradled my stomach and gasped for air.

Shawn stood a meter away, his face cold, like a stranger.

“Came to the hospital for sympathy, did you? Tess, you don’t belong here. Even if you’re sick, you don’t deserve any treatment.”

With a wave of his hand, his bodyguards immediately grabbed me. His gaze was as indifferent as if he was looking at someone he didn’t know.

“Cindy’s kidney failure is getting worse. She needs a transplant immediately, and you’re the only match. We’re scheduling the surgery today. Your kidney has to go to Cindy.”

My heart sank.

It turned out the “family health checkup” they had me do months ago was actually to see if I could donate my kidney to my half-sister, Cindy. They had all been lying to me.

I handed him the test results and pleaded with him.

“I’m pregnant, Shawn. This is our baby. It’s already six months along. I can’t save Cindy. If I give her a kidney, the baby will die. Please, spare the baby! It’s your child too!”

I only had one kidney left. Without it, I would die, and so would my baby.

Shawn slapped the test results from my hands.

“Tess, enough with this act.”

“Who told you this lie? You think handing me a fake report will make me let Cindy down?”

“Don’t even try the ‘fake pregnancy’ excuse. Even if it’s real, so what? We’ll just get rid of it. You have no right to carry my child.”

I froze, barely able to stay on my feet. I’d imagined many scenarios where I would confess my pregnancy, but I never thought it would be like that; I never expected him to be so ruthless.

“Shawn, don’t do this. It’s our baby. You can’t treat it like this…”

I looked into his cold eyes and realized he wouldn’t soften. He wasn’t my Shawn anymore.

“Please, just give me a few months. After that, I’ll give her the kidney. Whatever she wants, I’ll give it to her. Is that okay?”

Shawn shoved me away with disgust.

“Tess, you’re truly evil. Do you want to kill Cindy?”

I didn’t want to kill Cindy. She wasn’t really sick, and she wasn’t going to die. However, he would never believe me.

I was blindfolded and thrown onto the operating table like a dead dog. Shawn made sure I was sedated. He said the anesthesia could affect the kidney’s viability, and he didn’t want to take any risks.

A cold, silent fear washed over me. Tears fell quietly, but no one cared.

As I lost consciousness, I heard the System’s alarm.

[Warning: The mother’s life signs are failing. The baby will not survive. The mission will fail.]

The System was silent for a moment before speaking again.

[The System has gained another chance for you. Would you like to use it?]

[If all the target characters sincerely repent, the host may survive.]

‘Another chance?’ I thought groggily.

The last time I had been given a chance, I sacrificed my child. This time… what do I have left to sacrifice?

“Forget it, System.”

They wouldn’t repent. They didn’t love me. Not even Shawn, the man who once loved me, would care.

I had nothing left to lose.