Chapter 4: The Child They Tried to Hide
*You need to get Anna out before Julian tells her why the baby was never supposed to be born.*
I read the message three times.
The words stayed the same.
But every time I looked at them, they felt worse.
My fingers tightened around Daniel’s phone.
“The baby was never supposed to be born?””
Nobody spoke.
That silence was the answer I was afraid of.
I looked at Julian.
My husband.
The man who held my hand when we found out we were having a child.
The man who cried when the ultrasound showed our baby’s heartbeat.
The man who had kissed my stomach every night before bed.
And now he was standing in a hallway with a secret written all over his face.
“Julian.””
My voice shook.
“Tell me that message is a lie.””
His eyes dropped.
That was all I needed.
A person who had nothing to hide would have answered immediately.
“No,” I whispered.
Julian stepped toward me.
“Anna, please.””
I moved back.
“Don’t.””
“Listen to me.””
“No.””
My hand went to my stomach.
“My entire pregnancy, I trusted you.””
“Because you should.””
“But you didn’t trust me.””
His face tightened.
“That’s not true.””
“You made decisions about my body without me.””
“Anna—”
“You let your mother change my medical records.””
“I didn’t do that.””
“You knew about it.””
He didn’t respond.
The truth was always louder when people refused to deny it.
Daniel stepped between us.
“Anna needs medical attention now.””
Julian looked at him angrily.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.””
Daniel laughed once.
Not because anything was funny.
Because he was exhausted.
“I know enough.””
“You’re an investigator who was snooping around my family.””
“And you’re a husband who watched his pregnant wife get locked in a bathroom.””
Julian’s expression turned dark.
“Stay out of this.””
Daniel didn’t move.
“I tried.””
The hallway became painfully quiet.
Then a loud crash came from the ballroom.
Everyone turned.
A few seconds later, voices rose.
Someone was shouting.
The perfect wedding atmosphere was breaking.
Eleanor looked toward the sound.
For the first time, her controlled expression cracked.
“What happened?””
A staff member hurried around the corner.
His face was pale.
“Mrs. Sterling.””
“What?””
“There’s a problem with the guests.””
“What kind of problem?””
The staff member looked at Julian.
Then at me.
Then lowered his voice.
“The reporters outside have started asking questions.””
My stomach twisted.
“Reporters?””
Eleanor’s face changed completely.
Not fear.
Panic.
“What questions?””
The staff member swallowed.
“They’re asking about the Sterling Foundation.””
Daniel looked at me.
I noticed something.
He wasn’t surprised.
“You knew.””
He looked at me.
“I suspected.””
“What does my baby have to do with reporters?””
Nobody answered.
Again.
Always silence.
Always secrets.
I turned to Eleanor.
“I’m done asking politely.””
She stared at me.
“I want the truth.””
She looked tired.
Not sorry.
Tired.
Like I was an inconvenience that had lasted too long.
“You don’t understand the world you married into.””
I almost laughed.
“No, Eleanor. I understand perfectly.””
I pointed toward the ballroom.
“You built a world where everyone smiles while someone is suffering behind a locked door.””
Her eyes hardened.
“You think this is about cruelty.””
“Isn’t it?””
“No.””
She stepped closer.
“It is about survival.””
“For who?””
She didn’t answer.
That was when Daniel spoke.
“For the Sterling name.””
Everyone looked at him.
He continued.
“Three months ago, Sterling Foundation’s expansion project received a major investment.””
Eleanor’s face went cold.
“Stop.””
Daniel ignored her.
“The investment came with one condition.””
Julian looked at him.
“What condition?””
Daniel looked directly at me.
“That Julian Sterling had to remain the public face of the family.””
I frowned.
“That makes no sense.””
“It does when you understand the contract.””
“What contract?””
Daniel hesitated.
Then he said:
“The investor wanted a picture-perfect family image.””
I stared.
“A picture?””
“The Sterling family’s reputation is worth hundreds of millions.””
Eleanor crossed her arms.
“So?””
“So a divorce, scandal, or public controversy could destroy the agreement.””
My heart sank.
I looked at Julian.
“Is that why?””
He looked away.
“Is that why you kept me hidden?””
“No.””
But his answer came too quickly.
Too desperately.
“Then why?””
Julian rubbed his face.
“I was trying to protect us.””
“Us?””
I felt tears burning my eyes.
“You mean your family.””
“No.””
“Then why did your mother lock me away?””
“Because she panicked.””
“Why did you let her?””
He had no answer.
That was the answer.
Another contraction hit.
This one was different.
Sharper.
I gasped.
Daniel immediately noticed.
“Anna?””
I gripped his arm.
“I think…”
I swallowed.
“I think something’s wrong.””
Everyone changed.
Even Eleanor.
For one second, she wasn’t the powerful woman controlling the hallway.
She was a grandmother hearing that her grandchild might be in danger.
But then she looked toward the ballroom.
And I saw it.
The calculation.
The choice.
The reputation came first.
Again.
“Wait.””
Daniel stared at her.
“Wait?””
“The reporters are here.””
I looked at her in disbelief.
“You cannot be serious.””
“If this gets out right now—”
“My baby is in danger.””
She went silent.
Because there was no excuse.
Not even for her.
Daniel grabbed his phone.
“I’m calling emergency services.””
Julian stepped forward.
“Wait.””
I looked at him.
“No.””
“Anna.””
“No.””
His eyes were filled with fear.
Real fear.
But I didn’t know anymore if he was afraid for me.
Or afraid of what would happen when the truth came out.
“You don’t get to tell me to wait.””
The words came out quietly.
“You already made me wait.””
His face broke.
And for the first time, I saw the man I married.
Not the Sterling heir.
Not the perfect husband in family photographs.
Just Julian.
A scared man who had made terrible choices.
“I was scared,” he whispered.
I stared at him.
“You were scared?””
He nodded.
“I found out something about the pregnancy.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
He looked at Eleanor.
She shook her head.
“Julian.””
“No.””
His voice cracked.
“I can’t keep lying.””
The hallway went still.
Daniel watched him carefully.
Julian looked at me.
“When you got pregnant…”
He swallowed.
“The doctor noticed something unusual.””
I waited.
“What?””
He looked down.
“There was a possibility the baby had inherited a genetic condition.””
I froze.
My mind went back to every appointment.
Every test.
Every time I asked if everything was okay.
My doctor had always smiled.
Everything was normal.
At least, that’s what I thought.
“But my doctor said—”
“Your doctor didn’t know everything.””
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
Julian’s eyes filled with regret.
“Your mother-in-law contacted a specialist.””
My entire body went cold.
“Without me?””
“Yes.””
The word barely left his mouth.
“And?””
He looked away.
“She wanted you to terminate the pregnancy.””
The hallway disappeared.
The sound of the wedding vanished.
The reporters.
The guests.
The music.
Everything.
Only those words remained.
She wanted me to terminate the pregnancy.
My baby.
My child.
A child she had never even met.
A child she considered a problem.
I looked at Eleanor.
“Is that true?””
She didn’t deny it.
“I wanted to prevent suffering.””
I stared at her.
“You wanted to erase my baby.””
“No.””
“You did.””
“I wanted to protect you.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
My voice became stronger.
“You wanted to protect yourself.””
Eleanor’s face tightened.
“You don’t know what raising a child with complications can do.””
“I know what it feels like to have someone decide my child’s life isn’t worth fighting for.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Daniel’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“What?””
I looked at him.
“What is it?””
He answered.
“Hello?””
A few seconds passed.
Then his face went pale.
He slowly lowered the phone.
“Anna.””
“What?””
He looked at Julian.
Then Eleanor.
Then me.
“The hospital just called.””
My heart raced.
“How would the hospital have your number?””
Nobody answered.
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“They said someone authorized an emergency procedure tonight.””
I felt dizzy.
“What procedure?””
Daniel looked at the document in his hand.
Then at me.
“They’re preparing for a premature delivery.””
Relief almost came.
Almost.
Until he said the next words.
“But the consent form…”
He looked terrified.
“It has your signature on it.””
I stared at him.
“No.””
Daniel handed me the paper.
My name was there.
My signature.
My permission.
Except I had never seen it before.
And at the bottom of the page was the name of the person who authorized it.
The person who had arranged everything.
The person who had been controlling my pregnancy from the beginning.
I looked down.
And my hands started shaking.
May you like
Because the signature belonged to—
*Julian Sterling.*
