Just as Walter's bodyguard was about to hit me with the bat again, a different bodyguard charged in and stopped him.

"Mr. Walter, you no longer have the authority to do anything to Ms. Carter. Things might go a little easier for you if you stop now and apologize to her," Peter warned.

When Isabel saw Peter, her expression darkened a little, but she didn't say anything. Meanwhile, Walter stared at Peter, the unexpected intruder, for some time before remarking, "You look a little familiar… I remember now. You're Jeremy's bodyguard."

Then, without warning, Walter grabbed the bat from the nearest bodyguard and smashed it against Peter's head. "You're just a goon we hired! How dare you touch my woman?"

Blood immediately spurted from Peter's head, and he collapsed to the floor. My heart dropped when I saw Peter, who had been my bodyguard for a while now, lie unconscious on the floor. I didn't even know if he was still alive. He'd been my only hope, and now, I had nothing.

"Walter, I beg you. I admit I made a mistake. Please just spare the child in my belly!" I cried in despair.

Walter glanced between the phone and me before instructing his bodyguards to untie me from the bed. "Kneel in front of me and tell me what mistake you made. If the live stream viewers forgive you, I'll let you go as well."

Supporting my agonizing belly, I got on my knees in front of him with great difficulty. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have cheated on you. I shouldn't have gotten pregnant. I'm despicable. But the child is innocent. Please spare the child."

Walter remained silent as he took in my pathetic display. He picked a viewer at random and allowed that viewer to connect their mic to the livestream. The viewer's furious voice rang out.

"She deserves to die! Kill her!"

Isabel walked over to Walter and said, "Walter, Alice still refuses to give up on the child or say who her affair partner is. It seems to me that she isn't sincere about owning up to her mistake."

Their words made all the color drain out of my face, but for the sake of my child, I had to do everything I could. Pushing through the pain, I shot to my feet and ran out of the ward. My only option was to escape from the hospital and ask someone to call the police for me. That would give my child a fighting chance to survive.

But just as I was about to reach the hospital entrance, Walter grabbed my hair from behind. He yanked me back with brutal force. I felt an excruciating pain coming from my scalp.

"I can't believe you're still trying to escape. You're not going to learn your lesson if I don't make sure it sticks."

While speaking, he handed me off to his bodyguards and had me tied up in the operating room.

"Cut the fetus out of her, doctor," Walter demanded.

When the medical staff attempted to give me a dose of anesthesia, he stopped them, saying, "Don't bother with the anesthesia. She's nothing but a shameless woman, and her baby's a bastard child."

Staring at the bright lights in the operating room, I said weakly, "You're definitely going to regret this, Walter."

"Maybe you'll be thanking me after this," he replied nonchalantly. "Don't you know? You're famous now. You'll be the first person in internet history to livestream your abortion."

I sank into utter despair. I kept apologizing to my child. I was too weak and powerless to save it.

I saw pity in the nurse's eyes, but all of the medical staff had no choice but to proceed with the surgery out of fear for their boss.

When the pain of the scalpel slicing through my skin hit me, I couldn't stop myself from letting out a heart-wrenching scream.

Annoyed, Walter stuffed a rag into my mouth.

All of a sudden, footsteps could be heard outside the operating room. Arthur Dixon, the Gray family's butler, came running in. When he saw the state I was in, he quickly shouted for the doctor to stop. By now, I was barely conscious. I couldn't feel anything apart from the pain.

Confused to see Arthur, Walter asked, "What are you doing?"

Arthur looked anxious as he declared, "You can't do this to Ms. Carter, Mr. Walter! You two have already gotten a divorce!"

Hearing that, Walter put the phone away before snarling through gritted teeth, "I never agreed to it, so it doesn't count! In any case, she cheated on me behind my back and got herself knocked up with some bastard child. Don't I have the right to teach her a lesson?"

Arthur had seen the live stream and the tragedy that was happening to me. The moment he found out, he immediately got in touch with his boss, Jeremy, and rushed over as well.

Just then, Jeremy appeared in the doorway. Walter was stunned to see that he had come. Isabel's face also lit up with delight.

Walter hurried forward to stop Jeremy from entering while saying, "Jeremy, you don't need to get involved in such an insignificant matter. You shouldn't come into the operating room either. It's full of germs and bacteria."

Isabel chimed in, "Although we've divorced, Jeremy, I still feel the need to help keep an eye on the things happening in this family. She cheated on Walter and even got herself pregnant!"

Jeremy's expression darkened, but he ignored them. He shoved past the two of them and hurried to the operating table. His eyes were filled with concern when he saw my pitiful state.

"Where's the hospital director? Get your ass here right now!"

Hugo, who'd been standing outside the operating room, ran in at once. "What's the matter, boss?"

Fixing his bloodshot eyes on Hugo, Jeremy snarled, "She's my wife. That makes her your boss too. You'd better arrange for the best surgeons to treat her now. If anything happens to her… Well, I'm sure you've heard about what I'm capable of."

Then, he shot a fearsome glare at Walter and Isabel, saying, "I don't have the time to deal with the two of you right now."

He had his bodyguards haul them back to the Gray family's memorial hall. It was where members of the family were punished as per the family's centuries-old tradition.

When Walter and Isabel realized that Jeremy was the father of my child, they were stricken with terror.

"How is that possible?"

"I can't believe Jeremy's the father!"

Isabel's voice was filled with regret and vicious resentment as she exclaimed, "Why didn't she say sooner that Jeremy's the child's father? She was trying to get us into trouble on purpose!"

Isabel's family, the Larsons, had once done the Grays a favor. Because of that, Isabel and Jeremy entered a contractual marriage for five years. During that time, if Isabel failed to get Jeremy to fall in love with her, the two would get an amicable divorce.

Over their five-year marriage, Isabel had witnessed Jeremy's ruthless methods firsthand. She had once been attracted to how decisive and merciless he was, but now, it made her fearful.

Walter and Jeremy didn't share the same mother. Jeremy was the son of their father's first wife and had been a golden child since birth. Meanwhile, Walter was the son of the second wife, who was just a gold digger.

Even from a young age, Walter had known that he and Jeremy were worlds apart. More importantly, the Gray family had dealings on both sides of the law, and Jeremy was known for his notoriety. Even among criminals, he had a reputation for being ruthless and cold-blooded.

It was rumored that he got to his position after killing their father. Anyone who offended him always ended up dying by suicide the next day.

Despite being in his 20s, Walter could count on a single hand the number of times he'd met Jeremy in person.

All in all, Walter and Isabel were both in awe of and feared Jeremy.

Standing outside the operating room, Jeremy silently waited for fate to take its course. He hoped that nothing would happen to the child and me.

At the same time, he regretted ever agreeing to keep the news of our marriage under wraps. He had used his connections to file the divorce between Walter and me. Walter didn't need to be present or even notified.

Out of concern for Ethel's age, he arranged for people to escort her back home for some rest.