Chapter 18
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Britney had been locked up in the basement for three days. She hadn’t eaten or drunk a thing.
With no light at all, she lost track of time. She had no idea if it was day or night, or how long she’d really been trapped there.
By the time the heavy door finally creaked open, she was half out of her mind.
A harsh flood of light poured in. For a second, Britney just stared blankly at the figure standing in the
doorway.
Calvin stood there, looking down at her for a long time.
She finally registered his presence, and a flicker of hope sparked in her dazed mind. She scrambled
forward, wrapping her arms desperately around his legs.
“Calvin! I know I was wrong! I swear I do! Please, let me go! I’m begging you! I’ll change! I promise I’ll never do any of those things again!
“It was all my fault! Please, forgive me! I’ll do whatever you say! Calvin, let me go! Please, stop this! I’m
scared… I’m so scared… And…”
She hesitated for a split second, then pressed a trembling hand to her belly. “And I’m pregnant with your child!”
Fear filled her eyes, but deep down, she still held on to a sliver of hope as she held her belly tightly.
Calvin glanced at her belly. Sure enough, it had a slight curve.
Why would he give her another chance? Avery was already gone.
Thinking of this, Calvin felt no pity for Britney at all.
“My child? How can you even prove it’s mine?” he asked coldly, sending a shiver down Britney’s spine.
“When the baby is born, we can do a DNA test. I promise, it’s yours, Calvin…”
Calvin let out a cold laugh. “Whether it’s my child or not, it doesn’t matter now. You’ll never get the chance to have it. Britney, you schemed and manipulated your way this far just to be my wife, right?
“Well, I’m telling you, I’ll never give you another chance to hurt Avery, not even a little!”
Britney thought this baby would be her ticket back into his life, that it could save her. But she never
imagined it would be the very thing that crushed her last bit of hope.
She shrank back, instinctively covering her belly. “No, please, no…
Right then, a couple of men stormed in, grabbed her arms, and forced her down on the bed.
Someone else came in holding a tray of surgical tools. Britney recognized them instantly as the kind used
Chapter 18
for abortions in the hospital.
That was when it really hit her. She started screaming and fighting like crazy, her eyes wild with terror.
“Calvin! This is your child! It’s yours!”
Her sobs turned desperate, her voice echoing through the cold basement.
Calvin’s face stayed expressionless. She could even see a flicker of cold disdain in his eyes.
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“Remember this, Britney. Everything you’re suffering right now is the price you’re paying for what you did
to Avery!”
Her legs were strapped down. She felt a needle pierce her stomach, then an excruciating pain ripped through her, so fierce she thought she might die.
She could feel the life inside her slowly fading away.
No! No, please! That was her child! The last bit of hope she had left was gone!
Britney screamed and sobbed, fury and grief pouring out of her until her voice was nothing but a rasp.
“It wasn’t me who drove Avery away! It was you! You, Calvin! You’re the one who took her for granted and
used up every bit of love she had for you! She stopped loving you because of you!
“You think finding her will make everything right? You really think Avery will forgive you? Dream on! She
never will! You hurt her, remember? You’re the one who pushed her out of this house!”
The only sound in the basement was Britney’s howling.
Calvin’s face twisted with rage, but he just watched coldly as she broke down. He watched her thrash, cry,
and finally, watched her fall silent in a pool of blood.
The baby had been scraped out in pieces, nothing more than a bloody mess of flesh.
The light faded from Britney’s eyes as she lay there on the bed, tears still streaking her face, her spirit shattered, like she’d died right along with that child.
“You brought this on yourself,” Calvin said coldly.
Chapter 19
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