Chapter 3

Adrian’s POV

I slowly opened my eyes, but my head felt so heavy, and my throat was dry… My vision was blurry at first, but it slowly cleared up… I wondered where I was until I perceived the smell of antiseptic and methylated spirit.

That was when I remembered that I was visited by Martin and Amelia and that I was supposed to have given birth. Though I felt a little pain under my tummy… I checked on it and was relieved that I didn't give birth through cesarean section.

I slowly sat up, holding my heaving head. I looked around frantically only to hear the quiet hum of the hospital machines, and I had an infusion line in my hand.

My baby! I looked at the cradle bed beside me, but it was empty… My baby is supposed to be there. Where is my baby!? My heart skipped a beat, and that was when the door opened and a nurse entered with a smile.

I turned quickly to her, almost falling off the bed. “Nurse!” I called out desperately in panic. “Where—where is my baby? Where’s my child?” My voice cracked into a plea.

The nurse walked closer to me with that calm face, her hands folded politely. She smiled at first, as though that smile could soothe the storm raging in my chest.

“Relax, Adrian,” she said gently. “It was a girl.”

Immediately after I heard her say that, I breathed out in relief…a girl… My little girl. My lips trembled as I whispered to myself, “Thank God. Thank God my baby is here.” I forced a smile, tears brimming in my eyes.

But then it struck me again that the bed beside me was empty and my baby was supposed to be there…. Fear clawed at me again.

“Did you take her to the doctor? Why isn’t she lying next to me?” I asked nervously, my voice rushing.

The nurse’s expression shifted instantly, and at that moment her smiles faded completely into sadness. She took a step closer, lowering her voice.

“She struggled with breathing problems for a while,” the nurse said softly. “Before she gave up. I’m so sorry that you lost your baby. We tried our best.”

The words stabbed me like a thousand knives…my heart stopped beating, and my breathing hitched. My vision became blurry as my head tried to process the meaning of what she said.

“What?!” My scream ripped through the room. “My baby?! No—no! My baby can’t be dead! No… no… she’s the only thing I have in this world. Please! Please, no! Please, I want my baby! Don’t take her away from me. She’s my baby!”

I tried to get off the bed; my stitches were pulling painfully, but the nurse held my shoulders firmly.

“I want to see her!” I cried, my voice raw with grief. “She's alive!Even if it’s just her dead body, I want to see her. Please, I beg you!”

The nurse shook her head. Her eyes dropped to the floor.

“We’re so sorry. But at the moment when we found out, the police had to take her… And they buried her. We’re sorry you weren’t able to see her face. It’s such a loss. Please accept my condolences.”

Her words drowned me. My chest heaved. My screams echoed through the ward.

“No! No, no, no!” I cried, clutching the sheets. My whole body shook with despair.

But deep inside me, something whispered to me with a faint, unexplainable pull that they're lying…my baby is alive. My heart told me that… She’s alive. I can feel her heartbeat, her tiny cries… She didn’t die.

Still, I had no choice. They dragged me back to prison soon after. This time they gave me a softer bed and showed me a small kindness because I had just given birth. But it was still prison ... in chains. Losing my child and doing nothing about it is the worst thing that ever happened to me.

Maybe this was how I was meant to rot in here…alone.

The only thing I had in this world was gone. And now I was empty.

That night, lying on my thin pillow, which was also caked with tears, I prayed:

“Dear God,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “I know my baby is still alive somewhere. I can feel her. Please… please keep her safe for me. Please keep her alive.” I cried myself to sleep believing that one day I will get the revenge I wanted.

***

Meanwhile, in an unknown location:

A car stopped beside the woods, and a woman in a black hoodie stepped out of the car. “Adrian had given birth to the heir of the Rodrigos…I won’t allow that baby to rot in jail or worse, being raised by a criminal mother…never!” She whispered in anger and hatred.

Just then, footsteps approached her with the sound of a stroller rolling on the floor. A nurse stopped in front of her, pushing a baby who was crying in a stroller… Her hands trembled as she handed over the stroller to the woman.

In turn, the woman handed her a thick envelope filled with money… The nurses smiled in excitement.

“Madame, here is the baby; I made sure no one saw me coming out,” she whispered. “Please… don’t call my name if anything happens. I only did this for the money.”

The woman in the hoodie adjusted her glasses and scoffed. She came closer to the nurse. “You don’t have to worry. Just keep your mouth shut. Screw up… and you’re dead… Remember, her baby died from respiratory distress.”

The nurse’s face went pale, and she nodded her head. She clutched the envelope and ran away.

The woman looked down at the tiny wrapped baby inside the stroller. And she said to herself, “No one would ever know your mother was a criminal…”or that you're still alive, not while I'm still breathing.”

She held the stroller as it rolled quietly back to where the car was parked… She carried it into the car and closed it. She ignited the car and drove off speedily.

Taking the child far away from Adrian… far from the truth.