Chapter 3

Camille's POV

After examining me, the doctor's expression grew increasingly grim.

"She needs emergency surgery immediately! She's suffering from severe blood loss, and the chemical agent is interfering with her blood's ability to clot."

He immediately grabbed his phone and called Nathaniel.

"Don, Madam is in critical condition. We need you to arrange medical equipment and blood supplies immediately!"

Nathaniel's impatient voice came through the other end.

"Camille? How did she end up at the hospital?"

The doctor hurriedly explained.

"She's barely hanging on. The baby is in danger, too. Please, you must..."

"Enough!"

Nathaniel cut him off.

"I knew she wouldn't behave herself. She even managed to get someone to take her out of the basement."

"I know her physical condition. She's not going to die that easily."

"She's just desperate to give birth before Isabella. My nephew comes first. Once he's safely delivered, then we can deal with her."

The doctor was practically sweating with anxiety.

"But her condition really is..."

"I said stop wasting my time!"

The call ended.

The doctor stared at me, his eyes filled with helplessness.

"Prepare to transfer her."

He turned to the nurses.

"We need to get her somewhere with a fully equipped operating room."

But just as the nurse picked up my medical chart, she received word that Nathaniel had ordered all medical resources to be withheld from me.

The only facility with the necessary equipment was the private medical center where Isabella was staying.

I was wheeled down the corridor.

Through a glass door, I heard Nathaniel's voice.

"Nobody is authorized to transfer any medical equipment without my permission."

"Isabella's surgery must go perfectly."

"Anyone who dares disobey my orders will be expelled from the Voss family immediately."

My heart sank.

Just then, a familiar figure appeared at the end of the corridor.

It was Marco, Nathaniel's right-hand man.

The moment he saw me, he froze.

"Madam?"

He hurried toward me, his face filled with disbelief.

"What are you doing here?"

I wanted to answer, but I barely had the strength to speak.

Marco turned and rushed into the room.

"Don, there's a woman outside..."

He paused, seemingly unsure of himself.

"She looks like Madam."

Nathaniel frowned.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"How could she possibly be here? She's nine months pregnant. There's no way she could have escaped the basement."

Marco didn’t leave.

He glanced out through the glass door, then turned back to Nathaniel.

"Don, I recognize her."

Nathaniel’s hand, currently flipping through files, froze.

"What?"

"The woman lying out there is Madam Camille. I saw that wedding ring with my own eyes, and I saw the wound on her arm."

Nathaniel’s expression darkened instantly.

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure."

Just then, a doctor rushed in, frantic.

"Don, Madam’s condition is deteriorating rapidly! Her blood coagulation is failing, and the fetal heart rate is plummeting. We must perform a C-section immediately, or neither the mother nor the baby will survive!"

Nathaniel looked toward the door.

Through the glass, he finally caught sight of the woman on the gurney.

She was covered in blood, her abdomen heavily distended, her face drained of all color.

The wedding ring remained on her ring finger.

He fell silent for a moment, then looked away.

"Isabella’s surgery is not yet finished."

The doctor’s voice cracked with urgency.

"But she cannot wait! If we could just transfer a basic set of surgical equipment, we could begin life-saving measures immediately!"

Nathaniel picked up the files on his desk, his tone unyielding.

"I said, not a single piece of medical equipment allocated to Isabella is to be moved."

"If you dare defy that order, don’t ever expect to step foot in a Voss family hospital again."

The doctor froze in his tracks.

Marco stared at him in disbelief.

"Don, you just saw her for yourself..."

"Get out."

Nathaniel cut him off coldly.

The doctor was forced to leave the room.

He returned to my side, his eyes rimmed with red.

"I’m sorry, Madam. I did everything I could."

I wanted to tell him it wasn’t his fault.

But my consciousness was fading fast.

Suddenly, the monitor began to wail with a sharp, frantic alarm.

"Fetal heart rate is dropping!"

"Prepare for emergency resuscitation! Now!"

Nurses scrambled to check the equipment, but the doctor could only stare at the empty surgical area.

No instruments.

No sufficient blood supply.

Not even the most basic conditions for resuscitation were met.

And just beyond the glass door, Nathaniel had the power to change everything.

He heard the alarms. He heard the doctor’s final plea.

Yet, he didn’t look my way again.

I struggled to open my eyes, reaching out to grasp at something.

The baby in my womb seemed to be struggling, too.

But slowly, those familiar kicks faded away.

My child...

My baby...

I never even had the chance to hear his first cry.

A single tear slid from the corner of my eye.

And then, darkness swallowed my consciousness whole.

Nathaniel's POV

I paced anxiously outside the delivery room.

The moment the operating room doors finally opened, I rushed inside.

"Isabella, how did it go?"

The doctor approached me, holding a newborn baby boy in his arms.

"Congratulations, Don. Both mother and child are doing well."

I took the baby, and my taut nerves finally began to relax.

"He looks just like Dominic."

I looked down at the infant in my arms and declared, "From this day on, he is the sole heir to the Voss family."

Isabella leaned against the headboard, reaching out a weak hand toward me.

I handed the child to the nurse and tucked the blanket in for her.

"Get some rest. From now on, no one will ever threaten your position again."

Only then did I remember Camille.

She had surely suffered enough.

I glanced at my watch, summoned Marco, and tossed the basement key toward him.

"Go back to the estate and bring Madam here."

The key clattered against the floor with a crisp sound.

But Marco didn’t bend down to pick it up.

I looked up.

"What’s wrong?"

He stood frozen, his face deathly pale, his lips trembling slightly.

"Don..."

I furrowed my brow.

"I told you to go get her. Didn’t you hear me?"

Marco finally looked up, his eyes rimmed with red.

"Madam is gone."

I froze.

"What do you mean?"

He glanced at the key on the floor, his voice cracking.

"Madam Camille and the baby in her womb... they are both dead."