Chapter 476

"Regardless of what happens with this pregnancy, I need you to remain composed. Miscarriages happen naturally in many pregnancies. Not every conception results in a successful birth."

She spoke these words with a heavy heart, her intuition screaming warnings she couldn't ignore.

Ever since discovering her pregnancy at 25 weeks during medical treatment, she'd been consumed by dark premonitions.

Only sheer luck had sustained this child against all odds.

And anything gained through luck could just as easily be lost.

Dominic recoiled as if physically struck by her words.

Whirling around, his stormy gaze locked onto hers. "Is this your idea of comfort? Look at yourself - who's truly struggling to stay calm here? You tested me earlier. Since you never wanted this child to begin with, let's just pretend it's already gone."

The door slammed behind him with finality.

Moments later, Michael entered, eyebrows raised. "That was quick. What did you say to him? He looked ready to murder someone. Does he actually believe the baby's lost?"

Evelyn stared blankly at the hospital wall, her thoughts scattered like leaves in a storm.

"Michael... He's not... entirely terrible to me... is he?"

Michael crossed his arms, exhaling sharply. "Don't tell me you're falling for him again?"

Her lashes fluttered downward. "When you told him about the baby... he said I should focus on recovering. That he wouldn't force another pregnancy on me."

"One minute he's your worst nightmare, the next you're making him out to be some saint. Evelyn, I'm seriously concerned you've developed Stockholm syndrome."

Her icy glare could have frozen lava.

"What? I'm just saying - no matter how nice he acts, keep your guard up." He dragged a chair to her bedside. "For God's sake, Evelyn. Whatever you do next, at least clue me in! You'd be devastated losing this baby, yet you charged into Margaret's den like some avenging angel? She wants you dead as much as you want her buried!"

Evelyn acknowledged her recklessness now.

Confronting Margaret had been a heat-of-the-moment decision.

The injustice had simply been too much to bear.

"I should have listened to you," she admitted.

"Damn right you should have! Everything I do is for your protection!"

"I meant I should've hired more bodyguards. If I'd arrived with twice her security detail, she'd be the one in this hospital bed," Evelyn countered dryly.

Michael threw his hands up in exasperation.

Thirty minutes later, the door swung open to reveal Margaret and her trembling assistant, Fiona Montgomery.

Fiona collapsed dramatically at Evelyn's bedside.

"Forgive me, Miss Thorne! This was all my doing! I'm despicable! I deserve to die!" Her palms cracked against her cheeks in theatrical repentance.

The sharp slaps echoed through the sterile room.

Evelyn observed coldly before shifting her attention to Margaret's carefully composed face.

"Let me guess your strategy. If this goes to court, you'll pay a trivial fine. Pocket change for someone like you." Her eyes narrowed. "Who sent you here?"

Margaret's smile didn't reach her calculating eyes. "Playing innocent? Dominic Blackwood still dances to your tune even after your split. What spell did you cast on him?"

"Interesting. Then why aren't you kneeling too?" Evelyn's voice turned razor-sharp. "No amount of your assistant's self-flagellation changes who orchestrated this!"

Dominic hadn't ordered this apology.

He'd specifically instructed that Evelyn needed undisturbed rest during her critical recovery.

Margaret had come of her own volition, fearing for Fiona's safety.

She never anticipated Evelyn's ruthless countermove.

Jaw clenched, Margaret slowly lowered herself to her knees.

Silently, she vowed to repay this humiliation tenfold.

As Evelyn watched her stepmother kneel, a dark satisfaction uncoiled in her chest.