Chapter 12 AM. My husband texted: "Babe, stomach's killing me. Bring medicine."
Seven months pregnant. I went.
Then—car crash, water broke, baby DEAD.
After surgery, Steven's "girl bro" walked in.
"Wow. Wife of the year! But FYI, Steven just lost a dare last night~"
I froze.
So no overtime. No office.
He was at a bar. With HER.
Steven's face went cold. Annoyed.
"Jesus, Rose. You can't even do THIS simple thing right?"
"Stop attacking Jessica. It's just a PRANK. God, why are you always so dramatic?"
OUR BABY IS DEAD.
And HE'S calling ME dramatic?!
I looked at those two bastards standing there together.
Grabbed my phone.
"911? Yeah. My husband and his mistress just murdered my kid."
...
The room went dead silent.
Jessica's smirk dropped. Her face went pale.
She tugged at Steven's sleeve. He finally snapped out of it.
"Are you done making a scene?!"
Steven lunged for my phone.
"It was a fucking joke. Does this really need cops involved?"
I turned away. My stomach still throbbed from the surgery.
But my chest hurt worse.
Memories flooded back.
Whenever Jessica called, Steven could ditch family dinners without hesitation.
Driving Jessica on Christmas Eve because she "couldn't get a ticket." Missing dinner at home.
Hell, he'd even bail mid-sex if she texted.
Three years of this shit.
I thought about divorce a thousand times.
But he always sweet-talked me out of it.
Now, my baby's death finally woke me up.
I actually let this asshole father my child.
And it killed him.
Thinking of my fully-formed baby—gone—a sharp pain ripped through my chest.
"A joke?"
I let out a bitter laugh, voice hoarse.
"One 'joke' got me—seven months pregnant—out at 2 AM. Car crash. DEAD baby."
"Steven, are you even human? That was YOUR kid too!"
Before they could argue, the police walked in.
After my statement, the officer spoke, all business:
"Contact everyone from that night. You're both coming to the station for questioning."
Their faces changed fast.
Steven tried to backtrack.
"Officer, come on. This is just a marital spat."
"We don't need to go to the station, right?"
Jessica nodded hard.
"Yeah, we were just playing around. It's not a big deal."
"Whether it's serious or not, we'll investigate. Please cooperate."
They left. I stayed.
Alone.
That night, I dreamed of my baby.
Fully formed. In my arms. Then suddenly—covered in blood.
I reached for him, screaming:
"Someone save him! Please! Someone help my baby!"
But his tiny body kept drifting further away.
I woke up sobbing.
My stomach burned. Like a thousand ants eating me alive.
My baby must've hurt so much worse.
The next afternoon, the officers came back for a follow-up.
I saw my opening.
"Officer, I'm here alone. No one's helping me recover."
"Steven always protects Jessica. I'm scared when they get out, they'll come after me."
The officer's face hardened.
"Don't worry. We're extending their detention and go through everything."
I lowered my eyes, hiding the cold glint beneath.
"Thank you."
Over the next few days, I rested. And gathered evidence.
Accident report. Surgery records. Prenatal files. Critical condition notice.
Every. Single. Detail.
Five days later, the police came back with everything—
Surveillance footage. Interrogation transcripts. All of it.
The screen lit up with evidences.
Sharp. Brutal.
Like a knife straight to the chest.
Chapter 2
The Velvet Room.
Jessica sat close to Steven.
"Tell Rose your stomach hurts. See if she'll still come running the second you call."
As Steven actually pulled out his phone, some friends grabbed his arm.
"Dude, don't. Rose is seven months pregnant. This is dangerous."
"Yeah, man. Pick something else. If something happens, who's taking the blame?"
Steven hesitated.
Jessica crossed her arms. Smirked.
"Steven, you weren't like this before. What happened to your balls?"
That did it.
Steven stopped hesitating and dialed my number anyway.
One guy couldn't take it anymore—grabbed his phone to text me a warning.
He barely typed two words before Jessica snatched it away.
"We're playing a game. Don't be a little bitch."
Watching the footage, my whole body went cold.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
So from the start, he knew this could put me at risk.
But he never cared about me.
Didn't even care about the baby inside me.
The last hope in my heart together finally snapped.
I closed my eyes. Forced down the rage boiling in my chest.
"Officer, is this enough? Can you arrest them? Charge them?"
The officer was quiet for a moment.
Then spoke, voice heavy.
"Ms. Hayes, I have to be honest with you."
"The car accident was caused by a drunk driver."
"What Steven and Jessica did was cruel, but legally it's just a prank."
"It doesn't meet the threshold for criminal charges. We can't detain them."
In an instant, all the strength drained from my body.
I could barely get the words out.
"So... my baby? My baby just died for nothing?"
The officer looked at me. Pity in his eyes.
"Criminal charges won't work."
"But that doesn't mean you have no options."
"Keep the evidence. File a civil lawsuit. Hold them accountable for negligence. That's your legal right."
His words sank in slowly.
If the law won't put them in jail, I'll ruin them another way.
If they can't be convicted, I'll ruin their reputations completely.
I can't fall apart yet.
My baby deserves justice.
I wiped the cold tears off my face and called my lawyer.
"I need you to draft a divorce agreement."
"And I want to sue my husband and his so-called 'girl friend.'"
Chapter 3
Two days later, Steven and Jessica were released.
They pushed open my hospital room door.
Not a hint of guilt on their faces.
Jessica crossed her arms. Looked down at me.
"Wow. Still enjoying your little hospital vacation?"
"You locked us up for days over THIS LITTLE thing."
"Rose, you're seriously ruthless."
Steven's face went dark.
"Rose, what the hell do you want?"
"You made this into a huge drama. Got all my friends dragged in."
"Now everyone's laughing at us. Happy now?"
I leaned back, finally seeing the complete indifference in his eyes.
"What? Station wasn't enough for you? Wanna go back for round two?"
Steven froze. Whatever he was gonna say died right there.
He knew. If I called 911 once, I'd do it again.
He took a breath. Forced himself to calm down.
"Just rest. I've got work. I'm leaving."
With that, he put his arm around Jessica and walked out.
Like staying one more second made him sick.
---
That afternoon, my mother-in-law Victoria showed up with a thermos.
Steven called.
"Mom's gonna look after you till you're out."
"Work's busy. I don't have time."
Victoria stared at me. Face sour as hell.
"I must've done something awful in my past life. Got stuck with a daughter-in-law like YOU."
"This whole thing's YOUR fault."
"And you got Steven locked up? You embarrassed this entire family!"
I looked at her calmly.
"Your son lied to me at 2 AM and sent me out there."
"My baby's dead. And that's not his fault?"
Victoria's voice shot up.
"The baby died in an ACCIDENT! A car crash!"
"That has NOTHING to do with Steven!"
"It was a joke! You really gonna destroy his whole life over this?!"
"Listen, Rose—this ends now! You don't pull another stunt, or I swear you'll regret it."
I stared at her unreasonable expression.
No longer had the energy to argue.
---
The next few days, Victoria "took care" of me.
Cold face. The whole time.
Food came late. Water? Forget it.
At night when I couldn't sleep from the pain, she snored loud as hell on the cot.
I knew the truth.
She wasn't here to help.
She was here to watch me.
After that, Steven disappeared.
Weekdays—work.
Weekends—dinners with friends.
"Sorry I dragged you guys into this mess. Dinner's on me! Order whatever."
When I got discharged? He had an excuse.
"Work's crazy. Just Uber home."
But then I saw him on Jessica's Instagram.
"Told Steven my stomach hurt and this idiot came over and made me soup. Best bro ever! ❤️"
Photo: Steven in her kitchen, apron on, tired but busy.
He acted like nothing happened.
Like me and our dead baby didn't even exist.
I sneered.
Steven, you think you can just pretend everything's fine?
Keep playing the good guy?
Not a chance.
I worked with my lawyer. Finished the divorce papers and the civil suit.
Then I contacted a major news outlet.
Gave them everything—footage, reports. How Steven and Jessica's prank got my baby killed.
Crying wouldn't wake up a guy like Steven.
Only one way to make him see how badly he fucked up—
Destroy what he cares about MOST.
