Chapter 11
Fradley sped toward the hospital, dialing Alice’s number again and again. Each time, he was met with the same cold, automated voice. “The number you’ve dialed is unavailable.”
The last time he heard it, frustration surged through him, and he hurled his phone against the dashboard.
For some reason, a strange unease gnawed at him. He felt that something was slipping away.
That couldn’t be. Alice loved him. He had hidden everything so well. This had to be some kind of misunderstanding.
Bradley kept telling himself that. He ran countless red lights and arrived at the hospital in just 20 minutes. The moment he arrived, he rushed up to the sixth floor.
Jacob was already waiting there. Sweating, he hurriedly reported the situation, “Mr. Sharp, we’ve searched the entire hospital. Mrs. Sharp was never admitted for labor induction.”
“Then what about other hospitals? She’s due. She has to be in a hospital somewhere!”
Jacob hesitated. “No, sir. We checked. Mrs. Sharp never went to any hospital. She left with her suitcase not long after you did.”
He lowered his head. As expected, Bradley froze for a moment before erupting into a furious outburst.
“If you saw her leave, then go find her! She’s already at full term. She could go into labor any moment! Nothing can happen to her! You’re all useless! She left hours ago, and you’re telling me this now?
“Find her! I don’t care what it takes. Find Alice and bring her back! She’s just angry at me for not being there with her.”
Bradley’s voice echoed through the hallway, but Jacob remained still. He hesitated before pulling out a report.
“Mr. Sharp, we’re already searching for her, but there’s something else you need to see. This is from Mrs. Sharp’s last checkup at this hospital.”
Jacob cautiously handed it over.
Bradley’s expression darkened. From Jacob’s hesitation, he could already guess it wouldn’t be good news. But previously, the doctor had said Alice was recovering well, so there shouldn’t have been any problems.
Bradley took the medical report. Everything looked normal, except for the baby.
It was right there in black and white–Alice wasn’t pregnant.
For a moment, it felt like a bolt of lightning had struck him. How could Alice not be pregnant? Her belly had clearly been growing. Every checkup they’d done before had been perfectly fine.
Wait. It had been a while since the last time they had a checkup. Ever since a month ago, when he hadn’t been able to see Maisy, he’d completely forgotten about it.
His face went pale. His mind raced back to the gift Alice had given him.
She told him to open it when the baby was born. That was today.
“Home! Get me home, now!” he shouted. Without waiting for the elevator, he bolted down the stairs.
That gnawing sense of unease grew stronger on the way back, nearly suffocating him. He kept telling himself it was fine. Alice was just throwing a tantrum. He’d calm her down, and the gift she left him would surely contain a clue to find her.
Clinging to that belief, Bradley rushed upstairs the moment he got home.
He had kept the gift in the nightstand drawer without much thought.
Now, he crouched down and opened the drawer. A foul stench hit him before he even took out the gift box. It smelt like something rotten.
His hands trembled even more.
Slowly, he lifted the lid of the box, and his face went deathly white at once. His hands went slack, and the box slipped to the floor. Out rolled a dark, purplish mass–a fully formed fetus, its flesh already decaying.
Bradley clamped a hand over his mouth and nose, choking back the urge to vomit. A wave of rage and disbelief surged through him. How could Alice have killed their baby?
He yelled for Jacob, his face contorted with fury. “Where is Alice? Have you found her? Where the hell did she go?”
“Still no sign of Mrs. Sharp. But when we checked the security footage, we found something else.”
Jacob handed over his phone but then caught sight of the baby corpse on the floor. His stomach lurched.
The fetus had been dead for who knew how long, reeking of decay. Its shriveled body was crawling with white maggots.
Jacob clenched his jaw, forcing himself not to look.
Bradley, too caught up in his fury, didn’t notice Jacob’s reaction. He snatched the phone and pressed play.
The footage showed the inside of his own home. Bradley’s expression hardened as he watched in silence. By the time the video ended, his fingers were digging into the phone, and his eyes were burning with a rage he couldn’t contain.
On the screen was Maisy–the woman he had once thought so delicate and innocent But she was nothing like what he’d imagined.
“Alice, you’ve known ail along that Brad’s in love with ine, haven’t you?
“They’t even told you the best part yet.
“Bred plans to give this child you’re carrying to me.”
Matsy’s sing, voice rang through the video, followed by the scene of her staging, her own fall down the stairs. Alice had done nothing. She hadn’t even defended herself. She just stayed silent
Bradley didn’t bother watching the rest He already knew what happened next. The moment Maisy fell, he had rushed over. He knew exactly how things had played out after thel And yet, knowing didn’t make it any easley It only made worse
He had believed Matsy without question, convinced Alice was guilty
He had known Matsy could never have children of her own, yet to please her, he had destroyed Alice’s hand.
- Gupter 11
nd on the very day Alice was due to give birth, he was in bed with Maisy.
The baby’s decayed body lay at his feet. That was their child, fully formed and nearly born. Yet it was torn from the womb too soon and left in a drawer for days, keeping him company night after night.
Bradley was certain that Alice had already known everything when she gave him the child. But when did she find out?
