Natalie’s furious voice echoed through the house.

“Patricia, why did you lock the door?”

“Patricia, if you don’t answer me, I’m calling the police.”

After unlocking the safety latch, the door was kicked open with a loud bang. Natalie let out a long sigh of relief, seeing I was unharmed.

“Mom, why are you so anxious?”

Meeting my questioning gaze, she replied guiltily, “Of course I’m anxious when you don’t answer me. Why did you lock the door?”

Hearing her words’ accusation, I coldly retorted, “I didn’t lock the door. I guess there was a programming error that locked it automatically.”

“Impossible! This is the smartest door lock on the market. There’s no way the program could have been wrong. You must have locked it on purpose!” She carefully examined the lock

“This is my bedroom. It’s okay for me to lock the door to change clothes. Mom, what are you so tense about? Did Lorenzo send you specifically to spy on me?”

Hearing the accusation hidden in my playful tone, she looked up guiltily. Her eyes darted nervously at me.

“Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about? I quit my job to take care of you and the baby. How could that be called spying?”

Fearing my questions, she hurried outside to test the lock. The door slammed shut with a click. I immediately activated the interference program. The lock engaged automatically. No matter how hard she rattled it, she couldn’t open it.

“Damn it, the lock’s actually malfunctioning! Patricia, don’t be scared. I will call someone to fix it.”

The moment she closed her bedroom door, I activated the program again, locking her inside.

“Oh my God, this door is broken too?”

Listening to her pounding on the door, I offered a few casual reassurances. I uploaded the prepared video footage to the cloud database linked to the home security cameras.

When the four words “Transfer Complete” appeared on the large screen, I deactivated the automatic lock on my bedroom door.

I tiptoed toward Lorenzo’s study. Sure enough, my hunch was correct.

Sensing something was amiss, Natalie hurriedly sought Lorenzo’s help. Perhaps even the heavens were aiding me, she made numerous calls, but no one answered.

Upon entering Lorenzo’s study, I headed straight for the safe concealed behind the mural. Earlier, when I brought him coffee in the study, I’d caught him opening the safe to put something away.

At the time, he’d flown into a rage at me, as if his secret had been exposed. I’d naively assumed he was upset because I hadn’t knocked and had disrupted his work.

I never suspected the safe contained anything shameful. Staring at the intricate code prompts, I fell deep in thought.

Several combinations flashed through my mind, but I dared not attempt them lightly. Such a sophisticated safe would trigger an alarm at the slightest incorrect entry.

If Lorenzo sensed something amiss, not only would all my prior efforts be wasted, but I might also panic and perform an early cesarean. Both my life and the baby’s would be ruined.

Thinking of this outcome, I forced myself to stay calm and took a deep breath. Watching Natalie dial the phone repeatedly, I knew time was running out.

My hands trembling, I entered the most likely combination. When the indicator light turned green, I exhaled a long breath.

It seemed Lorenzo, like Rachel, desperately wanted the child’s heart growing inside me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have set the safe password to 2025.02.14.

After failing to reach Lorenzo, Natalie turned to call the locksmith company. Anticipating this move, I had preemptively installed a call-blocking program on her phone.

She couldn’t make any other calls except for Lorenzo’s number. To avoid arousing suspicion, I set the block to last only 15 minutes.

Watching the seconds tick away, I hurriedly slipped on my gloves and rummaged through the safe. After reviewing all the documents, a chill deepened within me. A powerful wave of dread engulfed me.

My legs grew weak and I stumbled backward several steps, unable to control myself. It turned out Lorenzo wanted more than just the heart of the child in my womb.

When exactly had he begun plotting this horrific scheme? After securing the evidence, I sneaked back to the bedroom.

Once my emotions had settled, I called out to Natalie, “Mom, is there anyone here to open the door? My stomach hurts!”

“Patricia, don’t worry! Damn that locksmith company! Just wait till I get out there, I’ll file a complaint to them.”

Seeing her growing increasingly agitated, I turned off the interception program on her phone. Screaming loudly, I uploaded those horrifying documents to the cloud drive.

Thinking of Lorenzo’s ruthless nature, my spine went cold. To save my life, I had to think several steps ahead.

“What kind of junk quality is this? How could it lock automatically when it was supposed to? My daughter-in-law is pregnant! If anything happens to the baby, I’ll complain to you.”

The moment she finished berating the lock company’s staff, she rushed to the window to check on me.

“Patricia, don’t panic! How’s the baby? Nothing can happen to the child! I’m coming in right now!”

Fearing she might lose the precious life growing inside me, she pounded frantically on the window. My phone vibrated twice and I glanced at the text message I’d just received.

[Take the medicine and start the process in 10 minutes. I’ll come as soon as I hear from you.]

I turned off the screen and gently stroked the little life that had been with me for seven months. With reddened eyes, I bid farewell.

“Baby, don’t blame me. I had no choice.”

After swallowing the pink pill with tears, the locked door was kicked open.

“Patricia, does your stomach still hurt? Let me take a good look!”

She carefully stroked my belly. Pushing her hand away forcefully, I feigned a casual expression.

“Mom, I was just too tense earlier. I feel much better now. “

After confirming the baby was safe, she turned and berated the locksmith company’s staff.

“Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen..”

Before I could finish the countdown, sharp pains shot through my lower body and a fine cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

“Will you ever stop? It’s your faulty installation, not the company’s fault!”

The technician’s retort only fueled my mother-in-law’s rage.

She already had a short temper and after this incident, her mood was shattered to the point of rage. She rolled up her sleeves and prepared to strike.

Seeing this, I stepped forward to block her, my stomach throbbing painfully. With a thud, she pushed me away, slamming me against the wall.

“Ah! Ah! My stomach hurts so much!”

Seeing the crimson stains seeping from my lower body, Natalie’s face turned ashen.

“Mom, my stomach hurts so much. The baby... is the baby going to be lost?”

The premature contraction was so painful that I was sweating profusely. Natalie froze in place, frozen with fear.

“Mom, hurry to the hospital! Hurry up and save the baby!”

She kept calling Lorenzo. “Why aren’t you answering the call? The baby might be in danger!”

“Mom, we can’t wait until Lorenzo arrives. Contact the hospital now!”

She frantically tried reaching the hospital where I was scheduled for my prenatal checkup. But I had remotely set up her phone and no matter how often she called, the hospital line went unanswered.

Blood seeped from my lower body, growing heavier by the minute. Natalie, utterly distraught, clutched the phone, paralyzed with helplessness.

“Mom, contact any nearby hospital! The baby can’t wait!”

Seeing my strength rapidly fading, she quickly dialed the hospital where I was scheduled for my surgery.

Minutes later, the doctor rushed in, hoisting me onto a stretcher. “Hurry to the hospital! We’re afraid the baby can’t be saved.”

Natalie followed me downstairs, but the locksmith staff grabbed her arm and said, “I’ve called the police. You can’t leave.”

In the ambulance, I clutched to the doctor’s sleeve. “Help me terminate this pregnancy and I’ll join you in seeking revenge!”