The Stillborn Heirs He Stitched Inside Me Kicked Again

Zareena’s POV

My twins were coming, but I swallowed pill after pill to hold them inside me—just one more night.

Hour after hour of contractions wracked my body, but I refused to push—until the billionaire CEO Sullivan Stryder proudly announced on live TV that his tenth mistress had given him a child.

“Shannah Gillick’s son will carry forward my family’s legacy!”

Only then did I let the labor take over and bring into the world the two sons my husband would never father.

In my past life, Sullivan was almost infertile.

Desperate for an heir, he turned ten women into mistresses and made childbirth a race for one big prize—the first son born would win the entire family fortune.

I still remember what he promised me.

“Be the first to give birth, and I’ll discard the rest. Your child will inherit everything.”

He made me feel special, and I believed him.

When I learned I was carrying twins, I was sure we’d won.

But when the contractions began, when I needed Sullivan most… he showed up not with flowers but with fury.

I screamed. I begged. But he still forced the doctor to do the unthinkable.

“Put those damn babies back in. Stitch her up!”

Paralyzed by sedation and grief, I lay there unable to save the babies who stopped kicking inside me…

As if that wasn’t enough, Sullivan dragged my limping traumatized body to a grave still wet with dirt and forced me to kneel like a sinner.

He forced my head down until my forehead split open, and my blood mingled with soil.

“I just wanted her child to be the heir!” he snapped, towering over me like a god passing judgment. “Shannah’s been through hell. If her baby inherits, no one will ever look down on her again. But you—you couldn’t stand that, could you?”

“She died giving birth to my heir! They died—both of them!” he shouted, shaking with rage. “And now, I swear, you’re going to pay for that!”

And just like that, he beat me to death right beside the grave of the mistress he loved like his wife.

The next thing I knew… I was breathing again, lying in that same hospital bed, right before the man I married would kill his own children and their mother.

But this time, I wouldn’t let that happen; I’d give Sullivan and Shannah the fairytale they wanted.

——

I grabbed the phone and called the doctor. “Give me another dose of that labor inhibitor! I need more right now!”

His face went pale. “Ma’am, you can’t keep delaying! It’s dangerous—you have to deliver. Your life is at risk!”

I bit down on my screams and braced myself to argue—but before I could say it again, Sullivan’s men stormed in.

One grabbed my arms. Another took my legs. They lifted me like a rag doll and dragged me from the hospital bed.

Behind us, the doctor frantically shouted, “Her vitals are dropping! If you take her away now, she could bleed out! That’s three lives at risk!”

But they didn’t give a damn. Not a bit. They hauled me straight to the press conference hall like some kind of animal.

All of Sullivan’s mistresses were already there—some with swollen bellies, some barely showing.

Then, without warning, his men injected us with fastacting laborinducing drugs.

The room descended into chaos. Agony echoed off the walls. The air filled with the sharp, metallic stench of blood. Women cried out, clutching their bellies, collapsing one by one.

“Even if she has his heir, it’s not like we’d ever replace her!” one woman wailed. “So why do our babies have to die?! Oh god—it hurts! Someone help!”

I fought. I bit, kicked, clawed—tried to knock the syringe from their grip. But they overpowered me…

The contractions I’d held off came crashing in like a tidal wave. Blood poured down my thighs. I screamed until my throat ripped open.

That cry ripped through the room, and the mistresses broke even more—panicked, confused, their voices clashing over one another.

“Wait, they injected her, too? But she’s about to give birth!”

“If she’s not in labor yet, then who gave birth to the heir?”

“Who wants all of us dead?!”

I collapsed onto the floor, my body shaking, my vision spinning. Using my remaining strength, I gritted my teeth and pleaded to the guards at the door.

“Call a doctor! We’re going to die here!”

And just then, the doors swung open.

Shannah walked in, dressed in a flowing white gown, her arm looped sweetly through Sullivan’s. She looked radiant—rosy cheeks, glowing skin, not a hint of exhaustion. She didn’t look like she’d given birth. Not even close.

Sullivan stopped in his tracks, taking in the carnage—blood smeared across the floor, women writhing in pain, the whole room engulfed in horror.

But Shannah just wrinkled her nose and gasped. “Oh my god… Did all these women miscarry?” she asked, eyes wide. “Who would do something so cruel? Why not let the poor babies be born?”

The words had barely left her mouth when Sullivan turned on me. His murderous eyes locked on me.

“You bitch!” he roared.

His boot slammed into my stomach before I could even move.

“You drugged them while I was gone?! You were so jealous you’d rather kill their babies?!”

I couldn’t even lift my head from the pain. But through the haze of pain, I turned my head—just enough to see Shannah’s smug, satisfied smile behind him.

My fingers curled into fists, my nails digging into the bloodslick floor.

“I… didn’t. It wasn’t… me. It was her—”

“And you’ve got the nerve to deny it?!” he thundered. “This isn’t the first time you’ve gone after someone out of jealousy, Zareena. But this time—this time, I swear you’ll pay for this!”

Zareena’s POV

“Each of you!” Sullivan turned to the other women on the floor. “Give her a slap! After that, I’ll send you all to the best hospital and postpartum center.”

His men didn’t hesitate. They dragged me to the center of the hall and shoved me to my knees, completely ignoring the blood that was pouring heavily from between my legs.

One by one, the other women stepped forward, their eyes red with tears.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am,” they whispered, right before slapping me across the face.

One after another, slap after slap landed on my face, until my ears were ringing, my vision blurred, and I couldn’t hear out of one ear anymore.

Finally, when everyone had taken their turn and been escorted out, Sullivan walked over, cradling the baby the nanny had handed him. Shannah stood by his side, holding his arm like the perfect little wife.

He stopped in front of me and looked down. His eyes swept over the blood smeared on my skin, the streaks running down my face.

For a brief second, something flickered in his eyes—hesitation, maybe even guilt—but it vanished just as fast. He lifted his chin, his tone icy.

“Don’t blame me for letting them hit you. I had to teach you a lesson so you’d finally understand—if you let jealousy consume you, if you try to hurt people again, this is the price you’ll pay.”

He paused, then sneered. “That way, you’ll stop dreaming about taking Shannah’s place as the mother of my heir.”

I froze. My whole body went cold. Slowly, I lifted my head to look at him.

‘So I’m not the only one who’s reborn…’

No wonder he had believed her right away—before she’d even finished speaking.

No wonder he said this “wasn’t the first time” I’d done something like this.

Because in our last life… he’d wronged me just like this. He’d sentenced me to death for Shannah’s sake.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

But he didn’t care. His voice stayed hard. “Playing the victim won’t work anymore, Zareena. Even if you gave birth first, it wouldn’t matter.”

He scoffed. “I already had the doctor give Shannah laborinducing medication. She’s definitely delivering before you. Whoever gives birth first—that’s the real heir. Your kid? It’s worthless.”

I gave a bitter, broken laugh and gritted my teeth. One hand pressed against my belly, the other between my legs trying to stop the bleeding.

My voice came out low and shaky.

“I already took labor inhibitors… I delayed my labor on purpose. I stepped aside for your perfect little family. So why? Why won’t you even let me give birth to my baby? Why drug me? Why try to kill my children?”

He stiffened. His brows furrowed in confusion.

“That’s nonsense. Your due date was last night. I already asked the doctor. You should’ve given birth already.”

Cold sweat broke across my skin as the pain spiked. Gasping, I grabbed his hand and pulled it toward my stillhigh belly.

“Look—look at me! I haven’t given birth!”

But he didn’t even glance down. Instead, he yanked his hand away like I’d burned him and gave me a disgusted look.

“Cut the act. If you want people to believe you didn’t try to hurt Shannah, then tomorrow at the press conference, admit you couldn’t conceive. Admit it was you who begged Shannah to carry the child for you.”

“Then hand over all your shares, all your assets, to her and her baby. From now on, you’ll serve them—and serve them well.”

He leaned in, his words colder than ever.

“And if you so much as try anything—if you touch even a single hair on her head—then I won’t just take care of you and that bastard in your belly. Your father, rotting in that VIP hospital room? Don’t count on him making it through.”

I stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief. My voice cracked as I screamed, raw and furious.

“Sullivan! You bastard! My dad’s in a coma—because of you! He saved your life, and now you’re threatening mine with his?!”

He let out an impatient sigh. “As long as you behave and take care of Shannah during her recovery, I won’t lay a hand on him.”

With that, he turned to Shannah, wrapped an arm around her, and walked off without looking back.

“Shannah,” he said softly, “thank you for giving me an heir. I’m going to reward you well.”

Blood was soaking through my clothes, spreading across the marble floor. I sobbed as I turned to his men still posted around the hall, begging them through gritted teeth.

“Please… take me to the hospital. My babies… please save them…”

Just then, Terese, my motherinlaw, rushed in. Her eyes swept across the bloodstained floor, then landed on me—drenched in amniotic fluid and reeking of blood. Her face turned ghostwhite at the sight.

“What are you all waiting for?!” she screamed. “Get her to the hospital now! If anything happens to my grandchildren, I swear, I won’t let any of you off the hook!”

Finally, they rushed me to the hospital.

But once we got there… No doctor showed up.

Terese’s fury erupted. She stormed through the hospital halls, demanding to know what happened to the medical team that had been assigned to me.

Zareena’s POV

The nurses looked troubled, clearly caught in a bind.

“Ma’am,” one of them said cautiously, “all the doctors in the city have been called to Edison by Sir Sullivan. Ma’am Shannah pricked her finger during a blood draw, and Sir Sullivan got worried something might happen… so he had every doctor stand by, just in case.”

She hesitated, then added softly, “Right now… there are no doctors available in Paterson. Not a single one.”

Terese’s face went pale with fury. She started calling her son again and again, her voice shaking with rage.

“This is madness! His wife is in labor, bleeding out, and he calls every doctor in the city away just to fuss over his mistress? Does he even care if his wife dies?!”

By the tenth call, Sullivan finally picked up, his voice cold and laced with impatience.

“What do you want, Mom? Don’t tell me she’s stirring up more drama and dragging you in to back her up.”

But Terese wasn’t having it. She shouted into the phone, her voice cracking with urgency.

“Your wife’s barely conscious from blood loss! The baby’s already in distress—it’s not getting enough oxygen! And you—you took all the doctors! Are you trying to kill them?”

There was a pause. Then came his low, sarcastic laugh.

“Oh please. Did she tell you to call me? She already gave birth yesterday. Now she’s pretending she’s still in labor? What a joke.”

He clicked his tongue and said dismissively, “Look, I’m busy. I’m taking newborn photos with Shannah and our son. Zareena wants a doctor? Fine, I’ll send someone.”

Terese hung up, gripping my hand tightly with her cold, trembling fingers.

“Don’t be scared, honey. The doctor will be here soon,” she promised, though her voice was full of fear.

I held my swollen belly with both hands, feeling the life inside me slowly grow weaker.

Tears blurred my vision. My whole body was trembling.

And at that moment, the past came rushing back.

In my previous life, this was exactly how my babies had died—sewn shut inside me by Sullivan’s order, suffocated before they even had a chance to breathe.

Fighting through the pain, I reached out and grabbed Terese’s hand. My voice was weak, but I forced the words out anyway.

“Mom, three years ago, when my dad fell into a coma trying to save Sullivan… you promised to treat me like your own daughter. You said… if he ever treated me badly, you’d help me leave him.”

Tears welled up again as I continued, “I’m begging you. Please… help me divorce him. I swear, I won’t get in the way of the woman he loves, or her child being his heir. Mom, I just… I just want my babies to be born safely.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she nodded repeatedly.

“Yes, I remember… At first, I just wanted to repay your father’s kindness. I only planned to make you my goddaughter. But it was Sullivan—he’s the one who pursued you. He confessed, he proposed, he said he loved you so much…”

She choked on her own words and shook her head. “How did it end up like this? It’s all that bitch’s fault! If she hadn’t shown up out of nowhere, none of this would’ve happened!”

I let out a bitter laugh, my heart breaking.

‘Yeah. How did we go from childhood sweethearts to this?’

He was the one who, at his comingofage celebration, blushed and told me he’d love me forever.

He swore, if he ever betrayed me, he’d suffer a thousand cuts and die a painful death.

And now?

He was doing exactly that to me—slashing me apart, piece by piece, for another woman.

“Please… Mom,” I whispered, every syllable scraped from the bottom of my throat.

Hearing the desperation in my voice, she finally nodded, firm with resolve.

“Alright, honey, alright. When you two got married, I made him sign a divorce agreement. I had it drawn up just in case this day ever came.”

She stood abruptly.

“I’ll go get it right now and push it through immediately. First thing tomorrow, I’ll make an official announcement. You’ll be my only heir.”

Her voice hardened.

“And as for that ungrateful son of mine… I won’t acknowledge him anymore!”

She turned and left in a hurry to take care of everything.

I lay there alone, curled on the hospital bed as the waves of pain crashed through me, harder and sharper each time. I couldn’t stop screaming.

Poppy, the assistant Terese had left behind, was pacing nervously, glancing at the door again and again, probably praying the doctor Sullivan promised would show up soon.

Finally, someone did arrive.

But it wasn’t a doctor.

It was a fucking delivery guy!

He stepped into the room, only to freeze at the sight of the blood soaking through the sheets. His face went pale. Hesitantly, he held out a plastic bag.

Something tumbled out—a sanitary pad and a BandAid.

“MMa’am… ssir Sullivan said,” the guy stammered, “it’s just… It’s just postpartum bleeding. NNothing fatal. He said… clean yourself up… and stop using stuff like this to gross him out.”

Zareena’s POV

Poppy’s hands trembled as she shoved a bag into my arms, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

“Ma’am, I’ll transfer you to Hackensack right now,” she choked out. “Please—you have to hang on!”

But the pain was relentless. It tore through me like fire, ripping screams from my throat. My body was giving out. I could barely hear her anymore. Everything spun. Then—blackness.

When I came to, it was a jolt of agony.

A bucket of freezing water crashed down on me, soaking me to the bone. I gasped, coughing violently as I shivered on the icy floor, too weak to even sit up.

And then I saw him.

Sullivan stood over me, his arms crossed, his face twisted in a look of pure disgust like I was some shit under his shoes.

“You’re awake? Then stop faking it,” he snapped. “You knew damn well I’m making the official heir announcement with Shannah tomorrow, and you still made a scene, running off to another city to get “treated.” What—trying to frame Shannah like she hurt you?”

Behind him stood Shannah, cradling her newborn, her face streaked with tears. Her voice broke as she looked at me, eyes trembling.

“Zareena… I know you hate me. If you want to take it out on someone, take it out on me. Why drag his mother into this? Why take my baby?”

She started sobbing harder.

“Before your assistant was dragged away, she was still shouting that Terese was going back to handle the paperwork to adopt my child… saying I’m not fit to be the heir’s mother…”

Her words hit like daggers. I wanted to scream that it wasn’t true—that I hadn’t done any of it—but my throat was scorched raw. I opened my mouth. Nothing. Only air.

Still, I shook my head and tried.

“I… didn’t…” I rasped, barely audible. “Please… just take me to a hospital… the babies… I can’t… hold on…”

“You’re lying again!” Sullivan snapped, clearly fed up. His brow furrowed. “My mom rushed out of the hospital and brought the lawyers to work overnight—don’t think I don’t know it was your idea. You think if you steal her baby, it’ll make you the official mother of the heir?”

He let out a cold, hollow laugh.

“You already gave birth yesterday, didn’t you? And now you’re here pretending you’re still in labor, halfdead? Trying to guilt me into pitying you?” He sneered. “Save it.”

My whole body ached. Every muscle screamed. Between my legs, I could feel the crusted blood clinging to my skin. The smell—iron, sweat, death—hung heavy around me.

Shannah gagged, covering her mouth, her eyes welling up again.

“Zareena… you know I can’t take the smell of blood after giving birth… Why won’t you clean yourself up?” Her voice cracked, soft and fragile. “Are you trying to make me pass out?”

She collapsed into Sullivan’s chest like a wilting flower, delicate and pale.

“Look at you!” Sullivan spat. “You’re a mess—filthy, disgusting, reeking. You’re a damn embarrassment!”

He raised a hand, and without hesitation, his men returned—this time with more buckets.

Ice water slammed against my skin, again and again, until I was numb, shivering so hard my bones felt like they’d snap. My lips turned blue. My body went limp. Still, they kept going—until Sullivan finally waved them off.

Meanwhile, Shannah sobbed harder in his arms. Her voice trembled with hysteria.

“Please, Zareena… I’m begging you. Don’t take my baby. If you’re really going to… then I’ll just jump out the window and die!”

She broke free from his arms and ran toward the window, looking ready to leap. Sullivan caught her, pulling her into his arms protectively.

Then he turned on me, eyes burning with rage.

I had barely enough strength to grab the hem of his pants, desperate—pleading.

But he kicked my hand away like it was nothing.

He crouched beside me, his voice low and deadly.

“You really think getting my mother involved is enough to keep your seat as the heir’s mother? I’ve already sent people to lock up the family villa. It’s over, Zareena. Whatever plan you had with my mother—it ends now.”

His next words sent ice through my blood.

“And you—how many times have I warned you not to mess with Shannah or her baby? But you never listen. Fine. You leave me no choice.”

He turned to his men, his tone flat, like he was just ordering dinner.

“She pushed Shannah to the brink. Almost made her jump. Time to make her pay. Go. Pull out her father’s oxygen tube. Then toss him off the roof.”

“No!” My scream tore from the depths of my soul. “Sullivan! That’s my dad! He saved your life!”

“So what?” he hissed. “He saved me just so he could sell you to me. So his daughter could marry into wealth. So his grandson would be my heir. He cashed in that favor for money.”

He stood, looking down like I was already buried.

“Well, he got what he wanted. I married you. I even let you carry my child.”

He paused, his face like stone.

“But you couldn’t even keep the first one alive. And that’s on you. I’ve repaid my debt. I don’t owe either of you a goddamn thing anymore!”

Zareena’s POV

“Do it!” Sullivan urged.

I didn’t even think. I lunged at his men, desperately trying to stop them. But one of them kicked me so hard my body flew across the room and hit the floor with a bonejarring thud.

The blood that had already dried between my legs tore free again from the force of the blow. It came gushing out like a ruptured dam, soaking the white tiles in seconds.

A scream ripped out of me, raw and primal, as pain exploded through my body. I curled in on myself, shaking, my hands clutching uselessly at my belly. It was too late. I could feel it.

Sullivan stepped forward, hand outstretched, about to drag me again—but then he froze.

His eyes locked onto my abdomen, now clearly swollen, round, unmistakable. Then he saw the blood—fresh, bright, everywhere.

His face went ghostly white in an instant.

Without hesitation, he dropped to his knees and pulled me into his arms. “Shit,” he muttered, panic flickering in his eyes for the first time. “What the hell…”

He spun around and glared at Shannah. “What the hell is going on?!” he barked. “I told you to deal with her delivery! You told me she already gave birth yesterday! That the baby was in the nursery!”

He pointed at my belly, his voice rising. “Then why the hell is she still this big?! Why is she still bleeding?!”

For a split second, Shannah’s expression faltered. But then she blinked rapidly and quickly squeezed out tears, pulling out her phone with shaking hands.

“She did give birth yesterday,” she sobbed. “The baby’s been in the nursery since then! I knew she’d pull something like this, so I had the doctor take a video just in case—look!”

She handed him the phone. On the screen was a grainy, shaky video of a baby who clearly looked at least a month old. The footage was awfully fake beyond belief.

But Sullivan barely looked at it.

And he believed her.

His face twisted, rage overtaking panic. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed me by the arm and yanked me upright like I weighed nothing. Then he slammed me back onto the cold hard floor.

My head cracked against the tiles. A sharp snap—and then the warmth of blood, pooling fast behind my skull.

“You lied to me?!” he snarled. His voice was hoarse now, shaking with fury. “You faked a pregnancy?! Used fake blood to make me feel sorry for you?!”

He bared his teeth. “How disgusting can you get? You think I’d fall for it again? Dream on!”

Then his foot came down—hard—on my belly.

“No—!” I choked out, but it was too late.

Another kick. Another burst of blood.

Then another.

And another.

Each brutal stomp stole the air from my lungs. Each one sent a fresh wave of agony crashing through me. The floor around me turned slick with blood, but my limbs were going numb. My body was shutting down.

“Aah! Please… stop…”

My voice cracked. I tried to beg. But my throat was raw, and my mouth tasted like iron. Even the pain was fading now—just dull pressure, duller fear. I couldn’t even cry anymore.

I lay there in silence, curled up in a puddle of what was left of me.

Finally, he stopped. Breathing hard, he yanked off his bloodstained jacket and tossed it aside.

Then he turned to Shannah, all tenderness and guilt, like none of it had just happened.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “I shouldn’t have let you deal with this mess. I’ll take care of it. And afterward… how about a honeymoon? The islands, just the two of us. My way of making it up to you—does that sound okay?”

Shannah shook her head gently, tears sparkling in her eyes. Her voice was soft—sweet, even.

“It’s okay… really. She hates me so much. If you leave now, what if she comes up with something else to separate me from the baby?”

She hesitated just long enough for the words to sting. Then added softly, “Maybe I should just go. Take the baby with me. Let your child be the heir.”

Every syllable was sugarcoated poison. And it worked.

Sullivan’s gaze darkened. His voice was calm again, but the ice underneath it cut like a knife.

“Don’t worry,” he said coldly. “She won’t get another chance to hurt you. Or our baby.”

He turned to his men and gestured sharply. “Lock her in the basement. She stays there until after the press conference—after I announce my son as the heir.”

They dragged me away like I was nothing—some animal bleeding out on the marble floor. Behind me, a streak of red followed like a trail of death.

My vision kept fading in and out. Pain blurred the world. But somehow, I managed to hold on to one last breath.

And with that breath, I begged.

“Please… Sullivan… I only asked your mother to help with our divorce. I wasn’t trying to take her baby…

“My babies… they already died once because of you. And now… they won’t make it this time either…

“I’ve already stepped aside for you. For her. For your happy family…

“Please, just… leave my dad… alone.”

Zareena’s POV

My tears mixed with my blood, splashing to the floor one drop at a time.

Sullivan was clearly losing patience. “Alright, enough. As long as you stay put in the basement today, I won’t—”

But before he could finish—the ground trembled beneath us. A deafening explosion tore through the air.

And then… my eyes went wide in horror as I see him.

My… My dad.

His body plunged from the shattered railing above, hitting the concrete with a bonecrushing thud—right in front of me.

His eyes—those warm, gentle eyes that used to light up every time he saw me—were now rolled back, glazed over with death. Blood gushed from his nose, his mouth, his ears. His skull was split open like a cracked porcelain doll.

“Daddy!”

A scream tore from my throat, so raw and guttural it barely sounded human.

I threw myself forward, crawling on hands and knees, fingers scrabbling desperately across the floor. The concrete shredded my skin, blood smeared beneath me—but I didn’t care. I didn’t feel it.

I just needed to reach him.

But before I could even brush his fingers, a pair of strong arms yanked me backward. Hard.

“No!” I shrieked. “Let me go! Let me go!”

“Take her away,” Sullivan said lazily, not looking at me. “She’s as good as dead. If she dies now, maybe it’s better for her.”

“YYou—” I choked, trembling, my voice cracking under the weight of rage and heartbreak. “You bastard—Sullivan!!”

I broke down completely, crying and shouting like a madwoman. “You killed your own child! And now—now you’ve murdered the man who saved your worthless life! You think you’ll walk away from this? You’re going to rot in hell!”

He finally looked at me then. Just a glance. Slightly furrowed brows, as if my pain was little more than an inconvenience. Then—he sighed.

“Lock her up,” he said, almost wearily. “Like I told you.”

As if I were a toy he’d already broken, now being sent off for safekeeping, he added, “And for the next few days… if she asks for anything, give it to her. Take good care of her.”

Sullivan’s POV

I spared no expense preparing for the press conference. Of course, it was not just a conference; it’s the time the world would know who my heir was. Money meant nothing if it meant solidifying Shannah’s place—and mine. The world needed to know who she was to me.

To start, I booked out every single gold store in the city and had them craft a peace lock made of solid gold—so big it was taller than a grown man.

Then, I dropped tens of millions to buy an entire island, naming it after Shannah.

I even broke my own rule and created a social media account—something he’d never done before—under the handle [@LoveShan].

My first post was a passionate announcement.

[Grateful for the most important woman in my life—Shannah. She gave birth to my first son. My life is complete now.]

The press conference stretched over three days. Journalists flooded in from every corner of New Jersey, cameras flashing nonstop. Under the glare of the cameras, I held Shannah’s hand like she was my world, smiling from ear to ear.

But even then—behind all the noise, behind the flashbulbs and congratulations—I found myself checking my phone.

Over and over.

Waiting.

Waiting for some kind of update from the villa.

But my phone stayed completely silent.

By the last night, I caved and made the call myself.

“It’s been three days,” I said, trying to sound indifferent. “Has she acted out again? Tried to get to me? Threatened to show up here?”

There was a pause on the other end. Then the housekeeper spoke carefully. “No, sir. Ma’am Zareena hasn’t said a word in the past three days. ShShe hasn’t even touched the food I’ve been leaving outside her door.”

Hearing that, I let out a low scoff. A faint, mocking smirk tugged at the corners of my lips. “Tch. Just sulking. Of course she is.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, pacing a few steps as the irritation rose again.

“I made it clear from the beginning,” I muttered, more to myself than the housekeeper. “Whoever gives birth to my first child, that child becomes my heir. She couldn’t do it. Instead, she kept pulling games. Pretending to be the victim. Trying to manipulate me!”

My voice tightened as I went on, old resentment flaring. “Then she had the nerve to team up with my own mother to steal the baby from Shannah. And I still didn’t punish her. I let it go. Heck, I’ve already been more than fair!”

I heaved a sigh. “And now she thinks she can guilttrip me by starving herself?”

For a moment, I fell silent. Unbidden, the image of her father crashing to the ground replayed in my mind.

Another sigh slipped from my lips—slower this time, heavier.

“Is she mad about her dad dying? Tell her it was an accident. I didn’t expect it to end that way.”

I paused, running a hand through my hair before continuing.

“If she listens… if she eats… I’ll make sure her father gets a proper funeral.”

I hesitated, the next part catching slightly in my throat.

“I’ll even let her be named as the mother of Shannah’s baby. That way, she still gets to live her little fantasy of being the mother of my heir.”

“But only if she stops messing with Shannah,” I added quickly. “Shannah’s moving to the villa soon. From now on, they’ll be treated the same. No more drama.”

The housekeeper quickly agreed, then rushed off toward the basement.

Sullivan’s POV

The moment I heard the basement lock click and the door creak open, the housekeeper’s scream rang out.

“Sir! Sir! Ma’am Zareena—She… she’s dead! And there’s a dead baby next to her!”