Chapter 29

A blood-curdling scream ripped me from unconsciousness.

Every muscle felt weighted down. My skull pulsed with a dull, throbbing ache. My limbs moved sluggishly, as though submerged in syrup.

I forced my eyes open, vision swimming into focus. The air caught in my lungs.

Sophia lay beside me, twisting on the ground. Her hands pressed desperately against her abdomen. Crimson stained the grass beneath her.

Her features contorted in pure agony. Another scream tore from her lips.

Then I saw it.

The knife gripped in my own hand.

Drenched in blood. Still dripping.

A choked sound escaped me. I flung the blade away. My heart hammered against my ribs.

“What… is this?” My whisper was fractured, uneven.

Sophia released a weak, broken sob. Her fingers clawed at the earth. “You stabbed me… Rachel… why?”

“No!” I shook my head wildly, stumbling backward. “I didn’t— I wouldn’t—”

Blood coated my hands. My dress was saturated with it.

Raw, icy panic seized my chest. My breath hitched, coming in ragged gasps. This was a nightmare I couldn’t escape.

The pounding of footsteps echoed. Alexander, Sebastian, and Eleanor rushed into the garden.

They froze. Their eyes widened in collective horror.

“What the hell happened?” Alexander yelled, surging forward.

Eleanor pressed a hand to her mouth, her face ghostly pale. “Dear God… Sophia!”

Sebastian’s sharp gaze flicked from me to Sophia. Deep worry etched his features.

“Rachel?”

I tried to speak. No words emerged.

Sophia cried out again.

“She—she attacked me!” she gasped, a trembling finger aimed at me. “She stabbed me!”

“No!” My voice trembled violently. “I swear I didn’t do it! I—I blacked out. I woke up like this!”

Alexander shoved me aside, dropping to his knees beside Sophia.

“Stay with me, baby,” he murmured, pushing her hair back from her sweaty forehead.

He spun toward me, eyes blazing with pure fury. “What is wrong with you, Rachel? She’s pregnant!”

I flinched. “I didn’t do this! I swear!”

Eleanor was already on the phone, her hands shaking. “We need an ambulance! Now! A stabbing victim!”

I turned desperately to Sebastian, tears welling. “You believe me, don’t you?”

His jaw was tight, his eyes shadowed. But he gave a single, firm nod. “I do.”

William arrived then, his furious glare landing on me. “Rachel, how could you? Knowing she carries a child?”

Sophia whimpered, clutching Alexander’s hand. “She… she wanted me dead,” she breathed weakly.

I wanted to scream. To tell them it was all a lie. But the evidence was all against me.

The ambulance arrived swiftly. Paramedics carefully lifted Sophia onto a stretcher.

Alexander turned on me, his face a mask of rage. “If anything happens to her, I swear—”

I couldn’t hear more. My entire body shook. Tears streamed down my cheeks. Helplessness choked me.

Sebastian pulled me into his arms, holding me close. “I know you didn’t do this,” he whispered firmly. “We will figure this out.”

The hospital was all cold surfaces and harsh, bright lights. They amplified the pounding in my head.

Sebastian held my hand tightly as a doctor ran tests.

I sat on the edge of the hospital bed, staring at my clean hands. The phantom sensation of blood refused to fade.

The doctor returned, shaking his head. “There are no drugs in her system.”

My stomach plunged. “Then why did I pass out?”

Sebastian’s brow furrowed. “Something is very wrong here.”

Before we could say another word, Alexander stormed into the room, fury radiating from him.

“You killed my baby!” he roared.

I recoiled. “What?”

Alexander jabbed a trembling finger toward me. “Sophia lost the baby. Because of you.”

The air vanished from my lungs. “No… that can’t be.”

“She was pregnant, Rachel!” he shouted. “And now, because of you, she’s not!”

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms. “She was never pregnant to begin with!”

Alexander’s eyes turned murderous. “You’re a liar.”

Sebastian stepped forward, his voice dangerously low. “She is telling the truth. We have proof.”

Alexander scoffed. “Oh yeah? Show me.”

Sebastian looked at me. “I’ll get the doctor who’s been treating Sophia.”

He returned minutes later, his expression grim. “He’s gone.”

Alexander crossed his arms, smirking. “Convenient.”

A different doctor stood nearby. “Sophia did indeed lose the pregnancy due to the stab wound,” he stated.

I stared in utter disbelief. “That’s impossible.”

Sebastian’s hands balled into fists. “This is a setup.”

Alexander’s face twisted with renewed fury. “You’re both pathological liars.”

The door burst open before the argument could continue.

Several police officers entered the room.

Alexander pointed directly at me. “Arrest her.”