Chapter 1

The chat log ended there.

Learning that Steven Landers planned to harm my baby on my birthday tomorrow, I had only one thought: run.

To avoid raising suspicion, I had my best friend buy me a train ticket.

That night, I watched Steven drink the milk I''d laced with sleeping pills, and he fell into a deep sleep on the bed.

But just as I was about to leave, I felt a sudden pain at the back of my head, and then everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was already sitting in Steven''s car.

How could this be? Steven had taken sleeping pills, so how could he attack me?

Steven tilted his head and smiled innocently at me.

"Honey, you were sleeping so soundly. To surprise you for your birthday, I just carried you straight to the car."

I froze. “Didn''t you drink the milk yesterday?"

"Haha, I haven''t been in the mood for milk lately, so I secretly poured it into the plant pot."

My heart sank as I watched the scenery along the roadside grow more sparse, with signs displaying large cartoon mascots.

We were getting closer and closer to the amusement park on the outskirts of town.

I pretended to listen to music while actually taking out my phone to message my best friend to come get me.

But just as I opened our chat, Steven took my phone away.

"Honey, stop looking at your phone, you''ll get dizzy.

"It''s your birthday today, and we agreed to have fun all day, so you need to save your energy."

Steven''s tone was full of tenderness, but it made my skin crawl.

If I hadn''t overheard his plot, I would have believed him!

The car was speeding along, and I was pregnant—there was no way I could jump out.

Soon, we arrived at the entrance of the amusement park.

Anne Smith, dressed in a bunny mascot costume, suddenly jumped out and linked arms with him.

"Steven, don''t I look cute in this costume?"

A flash of guilt crossed Steven''s eyes as he pulled his arm away to explain to me.

"Anne''s just here for a part-time job, don''t get the wrong idea."

But Anne was clearly unhappy, pouting as she linked arms with Steven again for a photo. Steven reluctantly stroked her head affectionately.

While they were flirting, I secretly texted my friend, Belinda, for help.

Her message came back. "Myla, stay where you are. I''m coming right away. Whatever you do, don''t get on that drop tower!"

I felt grateful and prepared to stall for time.

"Honey, what have you been doing all this time? Come on, let''s go on the drop tower now while there''s no line."

Steven noticed what I was doing and frowned as he walked over.

Just hearing the words "drop tower" made me break into a cold sweat.

A year ago, also on my birthday, we had planned to celebrate at a hotel.

But my ex-boyfriend’s assistant, Anne Smith, had insisted on riding the drop tower and forced me to join despite my pregnancy.

I was stuffed into the ride seat, begging desperately only to have my humiliation recorded. My ex-boyfriend and Anne had laughed at me.

"Look at how scared she is—let''s record this and post it online for everyone to see."

After several rounds, my water broke. When I got to the hospital, the baby was already dead.