Chapter 4

Miley finally showed an emotion—surprise. "They are pregnant?"

Mrs. Harris nodded. "Mr. Zagreus and Zion might have been flirting with you two and stirring up some rumors, but both Miss Lilith and Lindsay are their lawful w—"

She did not finish her sentence.

Minnie waved, and her maids responded by shoving cloth into her mouth and tying her hands behind her back.

A woman who was pregnant would be worth more than a substitute who was not. The Stein sisters understood—they had to ensure that the Pendragons' heirs would come from them.

"You are pregnant?!" Minnie demanded shrillily.

We shook our heads.

At first, we wanted to abort the babies. But at this point, we had been with them for four months. As orphans, Lindsay and I had only each other as family. We hardly had anyone else to whom we were connected by blood.

Maybe it was not so bad, you know? So we wanted our babies to be born.

Unfortunately, Miley's eyes grew cold. "Separate them from each other."

The maids, wearing expressions of disgust, pulled me away from Lindsay.

"Should we get them to an abortion clinic?" Minnie asked frantically.

"Kick them. We don't even know if they are pregnant. They certainly denied it."

"But why? That woman said they were…"

Miley rolled her eyes, and Minnie stopped. She had no idea why her sister wanted it done this way, but her ideas had never backfired on them since they were kids.

"You heard her! Do what she said!" Minnie ordered, and the maids nodded.

I tried to protect my belly, but they pulled my arms away. My slightly protruding belly was exposed.

Then, they began to kick and stomp on my stomach.

I begged, "Please, don't! The baby is innocent!"

"Anywhere but there, please!" Lindsay cried out.

Minnie clapped. "Oh, so touching. Stop doing this, you guys."

The maids halted, and we sighed in relief.

"Instead, you should break their arms and feet first! Easier to shut them up."

The maids pulled our arms wide open, and suddenly, they grabbed some chairs and swung them down, hard.

Our screams of agony reverberated in the villa.

Mrs. Harris looked away—she could not stomach it.

Minnie was not at all troubled. "Break their legs!"

We were edging close to blacking out from the pain.

Under Miley's command, the maids resumed kicking our stomachs.

Suddenly, the phone rang. The sound felt so out of place.

Minnie stepped forward impatiently. She was about to pick it up when Miley pulled her sister away. "You can't take that! It's likely Zagreus or Zion!"

She scanned Lindsay and me, half-conscious on the floor. "They haven't lost their babies. If the brothers learn about this… we might be in for huge trouble."

Minnie nodded and turned to Mrs. Harris. "I'll release you now. You know what you should and shouldn't say, right?"

The woman nodded in fear. She picked up the phone.

"H-Hello? Oh, Zagreus?" she said aloud. "Asking about how Miss Lilith is doing?"

Beads of cold sweat trickled down Minnie's forehead.

Lindsay and I shot pleading looks at Mrs. Harris. We opened our mouths, ready to call out for help. Before we could, though, Minnie had the maids covering our mouths and noses with rags.

We could not breathe—let alone speak.

Struggling, we looked at Mrs. Harris with reddened eyes.

She gripped the phone tightly. "Um, M-Miss Lilith is… She's…"