Chapter 4

"Awake?" A nurse, a stranger, approached the bed cautiously.

Her eyes avoided mine, not daring to look directly.

I knew.

"The child wasn't saved," the doctor entered, his voice low.

"It was a boy, fully formed, but..."

"I don't want to hear the details," I interrupted him.

Ethan frowned in disgust and commented, "A grown adult should know better; that's just messy." With that, he wrapped his arm around Emily's waist and left the control room with the investors, heading off to celebrate the successful launch of "Emily Canyon." I wasn't found by the staff until the ninety-ninth lap.

4

"You're awake?" a nurse approached the hospital bed cautiously, avoiding eye contact. I understood. "The baby didn't survive," the doctor entered with a somber tone. "It was a boy, fully developed, but..." "I don't want to hear the details," I interrupted, my voice eerily calm, even to myself. "About the body..." the doctor hesitated. "Just take care of it," I said. He paused, "And your husband..." "I said, take care of it." "Alright, I'll need you to sign this." He handed me a document. My hand was steady as I signed.

"Sophie!" Ethan burst through the door, eyes red. I turned my head to look at him silently. "How could this happen?" His voice shook, "Weren't you always healthy?" I didn't answer. "Did you never want this child?" he suddenly raised his voice. I felt numb. "Sophie, say something!" He paced anxiously. Emily followed closely, her eyes red and swollen, as if she'd been crying. "Sister-in-law, I'm so sorry..." she choked. "It's all my fault for suggesting the zip line. I never imagined this would happen..." Her tears fell, quite the performance. "Ethan, I feel so guilty..." she collapsed into Ethan's arms. He instinctively held her, then quickly let go, realizing it was inappropriate. "Sophie, don't be like this," Ethan approached the bedside, "We can have another child. The important thing is not to damage the company's image." I finally looked at him. "Ethan," my voice was hoarse, "You killed your own child." His face turned pale. "What nonsense is this?" I slowly pulled a USB drive from under the pillow. "This contains the entire zip line footage, including what you did in the control room." Ethan's expression changed, "What footage?" "Did you forget? Every corner of 'Emily Canyon' is monitored, including the control room." Seeing his panic-stricken eyes, I felt a small sense of satisfaction for the first time. "You claimed to want the best for me and the baby, naming the canyon after your lover, while our child was named Xixi." "You let a woman nine months pregnant go on an extreme zip line. When my water broke and I was bleeding uncontrollably, you were in the control room celebrating with champagne." Ethan's face turned ashen, "You're defaming me!" Emily backed away in panic, "Sister-in-law, you can't do this..." I took a document from the bedside table and threw it at Ethan with all my strength. "Before you worry about the company's image, take a look at this!"

Ethan impatiently bent down to pick it up, his expression shifting from disdain to shock in just three seconds. "What is this?" "We've been married for three years with no children."