Chapter 4

"Don't worry, I won't make you wait twenty years to have another baby. Just terminate this pregnancy first. I'll talk to Margaret and my sister later about letting you have one sooner."

He leaned close to my ear, his voice very low. "Come on, Emma. I have weak sperm, not no sperm. You'll just have to work hard for a few more years. I'm sure you'll get pregnant again."

My heart turned to ice.

Three years ago, our premarital checkup revealed his weak sperm. He'd cried so helplessly, so pitifully. I knew he was afraid I'd leave him.

I chose to marry him anyway because I couldn't bear to give up our three-year relationship.

For the sake of his pride, I'd accepted the narrative that I was the infertile one.

Three years. Eighteen IVF cycles.

Each one stripped away a layer of my being.

And all I got in return was his "I never looked down on you" and "you'll just have to work hard for a few more years."

I suddenly laughed, tears streaming down my face.

"Tyler and your sister are your mom's life. Isn't my baby my life too?"

I tried to grab his collar, but my fingers were shaking too hard to muster any strength.

"Jason, do you realize this might be your only child? Are you really this heartless?"

Reluctance flashed in Jason's eyes. He turned to look at Margaret.

"Margaret, maybe we should keep this baby. Emma's pregnancy wasn't easy. We can still raise Tyler. Whatever Madison wants, we'll agree to it."

Margaret and Madison exchanged glances. Margaret's tone softened.

"I can't bear to lose my grandchild either.

Your sister's just worried that once Emma has her own child, she'll treat Tyler badly.

How about this---to put your sister's mind at ease, have Emma sign a property transfer agreement.

Everything goes to Tyler. Then we can keep the baby."

Madison immediately pulled out an agreement and shoved it in my face.

"Sign it!"

"Emma, take a look. Make sure there's nothing I don't know about. Hand over everything so Margaret and my sister can feel secure."

I stared blankly at the agreement, which listed every single asset I owned in detail.

A 2,000-square-foot apartment in a premium school district, worth $300,000.

Two 1,000-square-foot commercial properties in the downtown business district, worth $2 million.

A beauty salon business, worth $500,000.

$400,000 in fixed deposits across three major banks.

A Mercedes, 200 grams of gold, household appliances...

From major assets like properties and savings down to every needle and thread, everything was documented clearly.

I hadn't even realized I owned this much.

The last item on the agreement was particularly striking.

[Assets to be managed by legal guardian. Manager: Madison Smith]

A voice in my head suddenly made everything clear. I finally understood the real reason behind all this.

Aborting the baby was just an excuse. Seizing my assets was the real goal.

I looked up at Jason and asked through gritted teeth.

"Jason, you'd kill our baby for this?"

His eyes darted away. "Emma, you said the baby was your life, right? Trading all your assets for the baby's life is worth it."

My face turned iron gray with rage. I threw the agreement on the floor.

"I won't sign! These are my premarital assets. They have nothing to do with you. This is extortion and blackmail. I'm going to report you!"

Madison immediately flew into a rage. She grabbed my hair and slapped me repeatedly until my head was ringing.

"Bullshit! You little bitch! You belong to the Smith family, so your money belongs to the Smith family!"

She grabbed my hand and pressed it hard onto red ink pad.

"We were being nice by discussing it with you. Just stamp your fingerprint and sign. Don't make me get nasty!"

Her strength was terrifying. My wrist bone felt like it was about to shatter.