Married for eight years, Julian Hayes had slept with half the entertainment industry – men and women alike. When I was eight months pregnant, his latest trophy girlfriend offended a big shot at a business dinner. To make amends, Julian kicked my swollen belly right in front of all the guests. “What are you standing there for, idiot? Go apologize to Mr. Chen. Drink with him.” I clutched my stomach, my voice trembling, “You forgot, I’m allergic to alcohol…” He sneered, grabbing my hair and forcing my head down to the floor. “A baby? Who’s to say it’s even my kid?” I was forced to my knees on the cold floor, made to drink. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my abdomen, and blood streamed down my legs. The guests around us pointed and whispered. His mistress, Vivian, nestled against him, giggling, “Mr. Hayes, look, she’s bleeding, how disgusting…” That night, I nearly bled out from complications during childbirth, almost dying on the operating table. Meanwhile, videos of him hooking up with young models were trending everywhere. I turned around and packed all my belongings. If that’s how it was, then I would leave.
I lay weakly on the VIP hospital bed. The anesthesia had just worn off, and the incision burned with a fiery pain. A nurse came in, holding the baby. She said softly, “Mrs. Hayes, it’s a boy. Would you like to see him?” I shook my head. It wasn’t that I didn’t care for the baby; I just didn’t have the strength to even look at him. After all, from now on, this child would be my only family. My phone screen lit up. A notification popped up: **[Julian Hayes, CEO of Hayes Corp., spotted entering a hotel late at night with a new companion, rumored to be the popular young star Vivian Thorne.]** In the photo, Julian had his arm around Vivian’s waist, leaning in to talk to her, his gaze so soft it could melt stone. I stared at that photo for a long time, then suddenly laughed. Eight years ago, my father had a sudden brain hemorrhage and collapsed in the company conference room. Back then, Julian held me tight, his eyes bloodshot with tears, his voice hoarse: “Claire, don’t be scared. I’ll take care of you from now on.” Thinking about it now, it felt truly ironic. Just then, the hospital room door pushed open. “Still not discharged, sister?” Vivian Thorne walked in, smiling sweetly. I ignored her. She didn’t care, simply walked over to the bassinet, and reached out to poke the baby’s face. “Julian said this baby looks just like him. That’s nice.” I looked up at her. “What are you doing here?” She smiled, pulled a document from her bag, and tossed it in front of me. “Julian sent me to get the divorce papers. Just sign them, don’t waste each other’s time.” I picked up the agreement, flipping through a couple of pages. The terms were ridiculously harsh. The child would go to him, and I wouldn’t get a single penny. “Why didn’t he come himself?” I asked. Vivian shrugged. “He’s busy. He’s taking me to a brand gala tonight.” As she spoke, she suddenly reached out and pulled open my hospital gown, exposing the still-healing incision. “Tsk, so ugly.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “No wonder Julian doesn’t want to touch you.” I gasped, a sharp pain lancing through me. Before I could react, she suddenly grabbed my hand and slapped herself hard across the face! “Ah!” She shrieked, falling to the floor. Her forehead lightly grazed the corner of the table, breaking the skin a little. Immediately, the hospital room door burst open, and Julian Hayes stormed in. “Vivian!” He scooped her up in his arms, his eyes cold as ice. “Claire Reynolds, are you insane?!” I opened my mouth, wanting to explain, but swallowed the words back. What was the point of explaining? He never believed me anyway. Vivian clung to him, weeping dramatically, “Julian, I just wanted to see the baby, and my sister suddenly attacked me…” Julian looked at me coldly. “Sign the divorce papers. I’ll send my assistant to pick them up tomorrow.” With that, he walked out, holding Vivian. At the door, he paused, and without turning his head, said, “Claire Reynolds, you disgust me.” The door slammed shut with a bang. I sat on the bed, suddenly feeling utterly exhausted. Right, it was time for me to leave.
I held the baby, sitting on the hospital bed, looking down at his sleeping face. A newborn, just three days old, his skin still wrinkled, tiny hands tightly clenched, occasionally twitching unconsciously. The nurse pushed the door open, a thermometer in her hand. “Mrs. Hayes, it’s time to take the baby’s temperature.” I nodded, carefully handing the baby over. Just then, the hospital room door suddenly burst open. Vivian Thorne walked in, high heels clicking, followed by two men in white coats. “What are you doing?” I instinctively clutched the baby tighter. Vivian smirked at me. “Sister, Julian said he wants to do a paternity test on the baby.” I shot up, the incision pain making me gasp. “Is he crazy? The baby’s only three days old!” “Exactly why we need to do it now,” Vivian walked over, reaching out to snatch the baby. “What if he’s not Julian’s?” I held the baby tightly. “Get out!” The two men immediately stepped forward. One held my shoulders, while the other forcibly took the baby from my arms. The baby woke up, wailing. “Give him back!” I struggled to reach for him but was violently shoved back onto the bed. Vivian held the baby, swinging him triumphantly. “Don’t worry, it’ll be quick.” She turned to leave, but I suddenly lunged, grabbing her wrist. “Vivian Thorne! If you dare touch my son, I swear I’ll kill you!” She cried out in pain, shaking me off. Her eyes hardened, and she suddenly raised her hand. “Ah!” She slammed the baby to the floor! Time seemed to stop. His tiny body hit the floor with a dull thud, and his cries abruptly ceased. I scrambled off the bed like a madwoman, scooping up the baby. His little face was already bruised purple, blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, his breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible. “Doctor! Doctor!” My heart seized up. I screamed hysterically, clutching the baby as I rushed out the door. The nurses in the hallway saw what happened and immediately pushed a resuscitation cart over. “Quick! The baby’s suffocating!” I was held back outside the emergency room, trembling, collapsing onto the floor. Vivian strolled over leisurely, looking down at me. “Oops, my hand slipped.” I looked up, glaring at her, wishing I could rip her face off. I screamed, “You did it on purpose!” She shrugged, then suddenly clutched her stomach. “Julian, I hurt so bad…” It was then I noticed Julian Hayes standing at the end of the hallway. He rushed over, pulling Vivian into his arms. “What’s wrong?” “Sister… she pushed me…” Vivian leaned into his embrace, her face pale. “My stomach hurts so much… our baby…” Julian’s face changed instantly. He whipped his head towards me. “Claire Reynolds! Vivian’s pregnant, do you know that?!” I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. My baby was still in the ER, and he was worried about Vivian’s fake stomachache? Just then, the emergency room door opened. The doctor walked out, took off his mask, and shook his head. “I’m sorry, we did our best…” My vision blurred, and I nearly fainted. Julian frowned. “What happened?” The doctor sighed. “The baby had a brain hemorrhage. We couldn’t save him…” Vivian suddenly shrieked, “Impossible! That baby wasn’t Julian’s anyway, serves him right for dying!” Julian’s face darkened as he looked at me. “Claire Reynolds, was that child even mine?” I stared at him, then suddenly smiled. “Does it matter if he was yours? He’s dead anyway.” Julian grabbed my collar. “Say that again?!” I looked at his enraged face and said, word for word: “Julian Hayes, your son is dead, killed by the woman you love most.” Vivian immediately burst into tears. “Julian, she’s slandering me! She clearly just couldn’t hold the baby properly…” Julian released me, turning to embrace Vivian. “Don’t worry, I believe you.” I stood by the emergency room door, watching their embracing backs, and suddenly everything felt utterly ridiculous. My child was dead, and the murderer was cuddling with my husband. The nurse carefully brought out the baby, wrapped in a white cloth. I took the tiny body, and tears finally streamed down my face. “Baby, Mama’s taking you home…” Julian looked at me coldly. “Leave the child. We need an autopsy.” I clutched the baby tighter, stepping back. “No way!” Vivian pulled on his arm. “Julian, let her go. Anyway, that child…” “Shut up!” I snapped my head up, my eyes burning with a desire to tear her apart. Vivian flinched, startled, and hid behind Julian. I clutched the baby close, retreating step by step. “Julian Hayes, from today on, we’re done. We have nothing left between us.” “See you at the courthouse at 2 PM.” With that, I turned and ran towards the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, I couldn’t hold it in anymore, collapsing to my knees. I hugged the baby’s cold body tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. Why… why did my only family leave me today?
I held the baby’s urn, waiting at the courthouse entrance for an hour. Finally, Julian Hayes’ black Maybach pulled up. As he got out, Vivian Thorne followed, intimately linking her arm through his. “Sorry, sister, Julian insisted on having afternoon tea with me, so we got a little delayed.” She smiled sweetly, her hand caressing her flat stomach. I clutched the urn in my arms, saying nothing. Julian frowned, looking at me. “You insist on getting divorced today?” I nodded, almost without hesitation. “Yes.” He sneered, striding into the courthouse. Vivian followed behind him, turning back to give me a triumphant wink. The divorce agreement was simple: I would leave with nothing, not even child support. The clerk, just doing her job, asked, “Have you settled the property division?” “Yes, she wants nothing.” Julian tapped impatiently on the table. The clerk glanced at me in surprise. I nodded. “Yes, all I want is my freedom.” The moment the pen touched the paper, Julian suddenly pressed down on my hand. “Claire Reynolds, are you sure you have no other demands?” I looked up at him. That face, which had once consumed my every thought, now felt utterly alien. “I do,” I said softly, noticing his brief flicker of impatience. “Can I have my son’s ashes?” He paused, a little incredulous. “That’s it?” I nodded. Then I looked at the clerk. “Stamp it.” The sound of the seal was faint, but I heard it clearly. As I walked out of the courthouse, Vivian suddenly shrieked, “Oh, Julian, I forgot to tell you!” She pulled an envelope from her bag. “A few days ago, my friend took some photos of sister at a hotel…” Her hand trembled, and the photos scattered across the ground. I looked down, and my blood ran cold. The photos showed me, heavily pregnant, being intimate with a strange man in a hotel. There were also photos of me getting cozy with several men, from all sorts of angles. “These are fake!” I snapped my head up, trembling with rage. “Julian Hayes, you know me! I would never do something like this!” He didn’t look at me, picking up the photos, his eyes growing colder. “Heh, no wonder you were in such a hurry to divorce. So you’ve found someone else?” “These photos are photoshopped! Vivian Thorne is framing me!” I reached out to grab them. “If you don’t believe me, I can find a professional agency to veri—” Before I could finish, Vivian suddenly lunged and grabbed my hair. “Bitch! Cheating and then accusing me of faking it?” My scalp screamed in pain as I was forced to look up, seeing no reaction from Julian. “Julian, look.” Vivian suddenly ripped open my collar. “She even has bite marks from some wild man on her collarbone!” I froze. Those were bruises from the IV drip when I was hospitalized with a fever last month. “No, that’s not…” I was about to explain, but Vivian violently shoved me. “Wow, sister, you really know how to have a good time, don’t you?” I stumbled backward, and the urn in my arms fell to the ground. *Shatter!* The wind caught the grey-white ashes, blowing them all over my face. Time seemed to stand still. I knelt on the ground blankly, futilely trying to gather the scattered ashes with my hands, large tears splashing onto the ground. “Baby… baby…” I called out, my voice trembling, but I could only watch helplessly as the wind blew away the last bit of ash. Julian Hayes stood motionless. When I looked up at him, I saw him staring intensely at the photos. “Claire Reynolds,” he said coldly. “You’re truly disgusting.” Vivian nestled against him, unable to control the smirk on her lips. I ignored him, kneeling at the courthouse entrance, my hands covered in my son’s ashes. Why… why wasn’t killing my son enough? Why wouldn’t they even leave me his ashes? As I thought this, I suddenly looked up at Julian Hayes.
“How pathetic. He didn’t even get to see the world clearly before dying at the hands of your mistress.” “And now, even his last bit of ash…” Julian’s expression wavered for a moment, but Vivian immediately grabbed his hand. “Julian, ignore her. She just wants sympathy! Those photos…” “Enough.” Julian cut her off, turning to me. “Claire Reynolds, take all your things and get out.” Vivian pouted in dissatisfaction. “Julian, don’t let her off so easy! She should pay for emotional damages!” Julian stroked her head. “Good girl. She doesn’t have any money anyway.” “And I find her money disgusting.” He cast a cold glance at me, then walked away, holding the laughing Vivian Thorne. In the bus station waiting area, I tightly clutched a ticket to a small coastal town down south. My bag contained my child’s death certificate, my divorce papers, and a tiny bit of his ashes. The broadcast announced boarding for my bus. I stood up, then suddenly heard a familiar name on the TV news. “Julian Hayes, CEO of Hayes Corp., publicly announced yesterday that he will invest fifty million dollars in children’s medical charities…” I looked up at the TV screen. Julian stood tall in a suit before the camera, with the elegantly dressed Vivian Thorne by his side. A reporter asked if this was to accumulate good karma for their upcoming child. He smiled and didn’t answer, while Vivian shyly caressed her stomach. My stomach churned, and I rushed into the restroom, dry heaving. The woman in the mirror was gaunt, with heavy dark circles under her eyes. My phone suddenly vibrated. I looked, it was an unknown number. “Hello?” “Ms. Reynolds? This is Nurse Sarah from City Hospital.” The caller lowered her voice. “Do you remember me? The nurse who was on duty that day.” My fingers tightened instantly, a little nervous. “Yes, I remember.” “I have a surveillance video here… from the hallway that day.” Her voice was trembling, but she continued, “I secretly backed it up. Ms. Thorne… she intentionally dropped the baby.” The air conditioning in the waiting area was strong, but I felt a chilling cold to my bones. “Why are you telling me this?” “My conscience couldn’t take it…” Her voice was tearful, stammering, “The baby was so pitiful… I’ve sent the video to your email.” After hanging up, I tremblingly opened my email. The video was short, only about ten seconds. In the footage, Vivian Thorne held my baby, then let go without hesitation! I quickly closed my phone, my chest heaving. Even seeing that footage again, my heart couldn’t take it. The broadcast sounded again. My bus was boarding. As I dragged my suitcase towards the gate, I hesitated for a moment, then forwarded the video to Julian Hayes’ email. No message, just a blank subject line. Let him discover the truth himself. I deleted all records, took out the SIM card, broke it, and threw it in the trash. From now on, Claire Reynolds would completely disappear.
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