Eight months pregnant, I went into labor at the exact same time as my husband Jason's sister-in-law after a fall.
But Jason thought I was trying to fight for the family inheritance.
"Janet, I told you the family has already accepted Rachel's child as the future heir of the Martinez family. I never expected you'd go this far—hurting yourself—just for the so-called birthright. I'm so disappointed in you."
According to family rules, the first child born into the Martinez family is the future heir, inheriting everything.
They thought that because I married in as an "ordinary" woman, I would covet that inheritance.
But that crown? It wasn't worthy of my child.
What I never expected was that, the moment Jason walked out, his sister Ashley would deliberately inject me with a drug to stall my labor.
"Janet, Rachel's child is the one who should inherit this family. Your baby? He doesn't qualify."
"Don't worry. Once Rachel's baby is safely delivered, I'll make sure you're well taken care of."
With that, she turned and left me alone in that empty, godforsaken room.
The pain was unbearable. I fought with everything I had to protect my baby.
I screamed for help, but no one answered.
In the end, I pressed the signal button my father had given me.
Dad—please, save me and my baby.
Janet's POV
Eight months pregnant, I went into labor at the exact same time as my husband Jason's sister-in-law after a fall.
I lay on the delivery bed, contractions tightening one after another.
My husband Jason held my hand, his eyes full of concern.
But the words that came out of his mouth sent a chill straight through me.
"Janet, I told you the family has already accepted Rachel's child as the future heir of the Martinez family. I never expected you'd go this far—hurting yourself—just for the so-called birthright. I'm so disappointed in you."
Jason thought I had done it on purpose—to steal the inheritance right from under Rachel's child.
Because according to family rules, the first child born into the Martinez family is the future heir, inheriting everything.
Four months ago, his older brother died in a car crash.
Left behind a pregnant widow—Rachel, three months along.
At the funeral, old Mr. Martinez wept bitterly as he gripped Rachel's hand.
"Make sure this baby is born safely, Rachel. I promise you—the future heir of the Martinez family will be your child."
Everyone had already accepted it. Rachel's baby was the family's destined successor.
And I had never once thought of fighting for any of that.
The pain was too much for me to bother explaining. Then Jason's phone rang.
He answered it, muttered a few words, and when he hung up, he was already pulling away from my bedside.
"Rachel's condition is getting worse. I need to be over there. Stop obsessing over power and think about our baby instead. Ashley will take care of you."
Ashley was Jason's sister.
I wanted to stop him. But he walked away without looking back, leaving me alone with Ashley.
The moment Jason was gone, Ashley suddenly called in a bunch of guards. Before I could even react, they had me on a gurney and were moving fast.
The next thing I knew, I was being wheeled into a makeshift room in the hospital basement.
Ashley stood in the doorway, twirling a scalpel between her fingers like it was a toy.
"Don't blame my brother, Janet."
"Rachel's carrying my big brother's child—his posthumous son. The first boy of this generation in the Martinez family."
"And you—you're so scheming. You'd go this far, even hurt yourself, just to steal the inheritance from her child."
She stepped closer, needle in hand, and plunged it into my arm.
"Relax—it's just something to slow things down. Won't hurt you. As soon as Rachel's baby is born safe and sound, I'll make sure you're well taken care of."
I clutched my stomach as a fresh wave of contractions fought against whatever she'd pumped into me.
Pain blurred my vision.
"Get a doctor—I'm going into labor, I need—"
Ashley laughed.
She walked over, crouched down in front of me, and tapped my cheek with the flat of the scalpel.
"Labor? What labor?"
"That dose will buy us a good three hours. Rachel's already in the delivery room as we speak."
"So you sit tight, be a good girl, and wait. Once her son's out safe, you can push all you want."
She stood up, and the door slammed shut behind her.
The basement room had nothing but a dim emergency light buzzing overhead.
I lay on the cold floor, blood already soaking through my dress.
My phone had been taken by Jason the moment we got to the hospital.
Radiation, he'd said. It's bad for the baby.
I curled in on myself, trying to breathe through the pain.
But all I could hear was Ashley's voice echoing in my head.
"Ahhh—"
Another contraction slammed into me, stronger than before.
The drug was wearing off. The baby was coming.
I clawed at the door, pounding with every ounce of strength I had left.
"Someone—anyone—I'm in labor! Please, save my baby—"
Silence.
Then, just as my voice went raw, I heard a guard's bored voice from the other side:
"Quit your yelling. Miss Martinez said to wait."
"But my baby—"
"Miss Martinez said it's just a delay. Won't kill you."
I collapsed back onto the floor, helpless.
The basement light flickered—and kept flickering, like it was about to go out any second.
Janet's POV
I did't know how long I lay there in that basement.
The blood kept coming, pooling beneath me until my dress was soaked through.
My vision was starting to blur at the edges when the door finally swung open.
It wasn't Ashley. And it wasn't one of the guards.
It was the Martinez family physician—Dr. Miller.
The moment he saw me, all the color drained from his face.
"Mrs. Martinez? What the hell are you doing down here?"
"Mr. Martinez said you were resting in the VIP suite."
I tried to speak, but nothing came out.
All I could do was point at my stomach, tears streaming down my face.
Dr. Miller rushed over and dropped to his knees beside me. The second his hand touched my belly, he sucked in a sharp breath.
"You're fully dilated—and your water's already broken!"
"We need to get you into surgery—now."
He tried to lift me, but the moment I moved, a gush of warmth spilled out from between my legs.
Blood. A lot of blood.
Dr. Miller's hands were shaking as he screamed toward the hallway:
"Someone—anyone! We've got a hemorrhaging mother down here!"
The corridor was empty.
This private hospital was bankrolled by the Martinez family. Tonight, they'd cleared the entire floor for Rachel's delivery.
Every single nurse and doctor was stationed on the third floor, on standby for her.
Dr. Miller fumbled for his phone—then cursed. No signal in the basement.
"I'm carrying you up. Hold on, just hold on."
He gritted his teeth and lifted me, staggering toward the stairs.
Every step jarred my body, sending white-hot agony through my spine.
I could feel my baby descending, but she wouldn't come out.
The drug was still fighting my contractions, making them weak and erratic.
The most dangerous kind of labor.
"Dr. Miller..." I grabbed his collar, my voice barely a whisper. "Save the baby. Please."
"Don't say that—you're both going to be fine."
He finally burst through the first-floor door and sprinted toward the OR.
But when we got there, we both froze.
The doors were wide open.
Inside was nothing.
The surgical light—gone.
The operating table—gone.
The monitors, the oxygen machines, every single piece of medical equipment—all gone.
Just an empty room with a few electrical outlets staring back at us from the walls.
Dr. Miller stood there, paralyzed.
I could hear this strangled sound coming from his throat, like someone had their hand wrapped around it.
"How is this possible..."
"I checked the equipment this afternoon..."
Footsteps echoed from the end of the hall.
Ashley strolled over with two nurses in tow. She raised an eyebrow when she saw us.
"Dr. Miller? What are you doing down here?"
"Rachel's on the third floor. Why aren't you up there?"
Dr. Miller pointed at the empty OR, his voice cracking:
"Where's the equipment? What happened to all of it?"
Ashley blinked, all innocence.
"We moved it upstairs."
"Rachel's having a C-section. She needs the best equipment—God forbid anything goes wrong, the standard OR just wouldn't cut it."
She let her gaze drift down to me, and her lips curved.
"Oh—Janet's in labor?"
"Well, you're gonna have to wait a minute. Rachel's not done yet."
"Just hang in there a little longer, okay?"
I stared at her perfectly made-up face.
And suddenly I remembered—six months ago, she'd hooked her arm through mine while we were shopping, all sweet and smiley, saying:
"Janet, you're the best. You're like a real sister to me."
Back then, I dropped over a hundred thousand on a bag for her.
Looking back now?
What a joke.
Janet's POV
Dr. Miller went berserk, charging into the nurses' station and tearing through the cabinets.
But they were empty.
Not even basic forceps or gauze.
"What about meds? Hemostatics? Uterine stimulants?"
The nurse whispered back, "Everything's been sent to the third floor."
"Mr. Martinez ordered all resources prioritized for Ms. Rachel."
Dr. Miller slammed his fist against the cabinet.
He turned to me, eyes bloodshot, lips trembling.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mrs. Martinez."
"There's nothing I can do."
Ashley walked over and patted his shoulder.
"Dr. Miller, relax."
"Janet hasn't even delivered yet. Once Rachel's done, the equipment will be brought right back down."
I locked my eyes on her.
On the woman I'd treated like a little sister for three years.
Then, with every ounce of strength I had left, I forced out two words:
"You monster."
Ashley's face went cold.
She bent down, leaned in close to my ear, and dropped her voice to a whisper.
"Go ahead. Say whatever you want."
"I honestly don't know what my brother sees in you."
"The Martinez family's seat should've been Rachel's from the start."
Dr. Miller couldn't take it anymore.
"Miss Martinez! This is murder!"
"Murder?" Ashley let out a scoff. "Watch your mouth, Doctor."
"All I gave her was a little shot to delay things. Three hours, tops."
"And besides, this is Martinez family business. You're an outsider. Who do you think you are to interfere?"
She waved at the guards.
"Take Dr. Miller to get some rest."
"I'll personally look after Janet."
Two guards grabbed Dr. Miller by the arms and dragged him out.
He fought them, screaming over his shoulder:
"Mrs. Martinez! Don't give up! Your baby can still be saved!"
His voice faded into the distance.
I grabbed Ashley's clothes, begging her. "Please—please, save my baby. I don't want any inheritance. I just want my baby to be safe!"
"I'm the eldest daughter of the Rizzo family. I don't need to fight for some inheritance!"
Ashley shoved me off. "You'll say anything now, won't you? I'm telling you—impossible."
Then she closed the nurse's station door and turned to look at me.
She pulled out her phone and dialed a video call.She pulled out her phone and dialed a video call.
"Hey, bro. Janet's about to deliver. You want to see?"
Jason's face appeared on the screen.
He was outside the delivery room, with busy medical staff rushing around in the background.
"Janet, stop it."
"Rachel's condition isn't good. The fetal heart rate is dropping."
"You take care of things there. I can't leave right now."
The call ended.
Ashley shrugged and pocketed her phone.
"You heard him, right?"
"In my brother's heart, Rachel comes first."
"You? You're just a broodmare."
"And once a broodmare's done her job, she gets put out to pasture."
I closed my eyes and stopped looking at her.
My hand moved quietly behind my back, feeling for the lining of my dress.
Sewn into it was a button-sized device.
My father had given it to me.
He said, "Janet, the Martinez family runs deep. If anything ever goes wrong, press this."
Back then, I laughed at him for worrying too much.
"Dad, Jason treats me well. Everyone in the Martinez family treats me well."
Now, thinking back? I was a fool.
I used my fingernail to pry open the protective cap.
And pressed down gently.
No sound. No light.
But I knew the signal had been sent.
My father said that once I pressed that button, someone would come within half an hour.
But half an hour...
Could my baby hold on that long?
