Chapter 5

The next morning, I was finally out of that house—out of the cage that had once been called home. But I barely made it a few blocks before the world started spinning. My arms ached from the scratches, and the nurse at the nearby clinic paled when she saw the marks on my skin.

“Ma’am, you need treatment immediately. These are rat bites—you could be at risk for infection, or worse… rabies.”

So they confined me to the hospital. I spent the next few days alone, recovering, while Stephen didn’t even bother to call or check on me. Not once. He was too busy—too busy with her.

Every time the door opened, I hoped it was him. But it wasn’t.

It was a nurse—a familiar face I hadn’t seen in years.

She looked nervous as she closed the door behind her. “Miss Natasha?” Her eyes glistened. “You might not remember me, but… I was the nurse who assisted when you gave birth five years ago.”

My heart dropped. “Yes. It’s you, and you finally came here.”

She glanced around as if afraid of being overheard. “I’m so sorry for what happened. I didn’t have a choice. They threatened to hurt my family if I didn’t switch the babies.”

My whole body went cold. “You mean… my daughter…”

“She’s alive,” she whispered. “I couldn’t keep her, but I made sure she was safe. I took her to a good orphanage and made sure she knew your name—Grace. I told her that one day, her mother would come back for her.”

My tears fell before I could stop them. “Grace…”

The nurse handed me an envelope. “Here are the papers and the address. Please forgive me, Miss Natasha. I’ve been praying for years to make things right.”

I took her trembling hands. “Thank you. For giving me a reason to breathe again.”

That night, I couldn’t sleep. For the first time in years, there was hope—and I promised myself that no one, not even Stephen and Lana, could take that away.

The next morning, Stephen called. His tone was cold, commanding. “You’ll attend my mother’s birthday tonight. Don’t embarrass me by not showing up.”

I wanted to say no. To tell him I was done being his obedient wife. But Stephen’s mother had always been kind to me—the only one who treated me like family. So I agreed.

By evening, I found myself standing in their grand hall again, surrounded by the glitter of chandeliers and laughter that didn’t feel real. Steve was running around, smiling, and when he saw me, he tugged on my dress shyly.

“Mommy, I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “For what I said… I didn’t mean it.”

My throat tightened. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll never be angry at you. I’m also sorry. It was a mistake and mommy loves you.”

For a moment, everything almost felt normal again. Until the moment it all shattered.

Steve handed me a small cup of juice. “Here, Mommy! I got this for you!”

I smiled, touched by the gesture. “Thank you, baby.”

But moments after I took a sip, the room started spinning. The walls tilted. My vision blurred.

I barely made it to the comfort room before I started vomiting. My heart was pounding, my stomach twisting. And through the haze, I heard it—Lana’s voice, faint but clear through the crack of the door.

“Good job, Steve,” she whispered. “Now she’ll finally pay for making you cry.”

My heart broke into pieces. I wanted to scream, to tell her she was a monster for using her own son that way—but my body gave out before I could stand.

The last thing I remembered before blacking out was a man’s face leaning close—unfamiliar lips pressing against mine. And then gasps—voices.

When I woke up, the world was chaos.

Stephen’s mother’s face was twisted with disgust. “I trusted you! I treated you like my own daughter, and this is how you repay me—flirting with another man under my roof?”

Stephen was there, too, his jaw tight with fury. “You disgust me, Natasha. You will never see my son again. You’ve brought nothing but shame to this family.”

I tried to explain, to tell them I’d been drugged—but no one listened. They turned away, walking out one by one, until I was left alone again.

When I woke up again, I was back in a hospital room. The familiar butler—my father’s most trusted man—was standing by the door.

He bowed slightly. “Miss Natasha, everything is ready. The papers are done, the car is waiting. It’s time to leave this place.”

My throat was dry. “And… Steve? Did you find him?”

He nodded. “Yes, Miss. The boy is safe. He’s coming with us. Let’s go. The plane will leave by one in the afternoon.

I nodded and stood up. The drive to the airport was quiet. All I could think about was my child—Grace.

When we reached the airport, Steve looked up at me with wide, confused eyes. “Mommy, where are we going? Where’s Daddy and Mommy Lana?”

I knelt down, cupping his small face in my trembling hands. “They’re gone, sweetheart,” I whispered softly. “It’s just you, me, and your sister now. We’re going somewhere new… somewhere safe.”

He blinked, hesitating, then lowered his voice. “But… Daddy said you’re bad. He said you don’t love me. Are you going to punish me, Mommy? For the juice?”

My chest tightened. I shook my head gently, brushing away the tear that rolled down his cheek. “No, baby. I could never hurt you. I forgive you, okay? We’ll be happy now—if you promise to never hurt Mommy again.”

His lip quivered. “I promise,” he whispered, his small pinky lifting between us.

I smiled faintly and hooked mine around his. “Then it’s a deal.”

As we boarded the plane, his tiny hand slipped into mine, trusting me completely. The engines roared, and the world outside the window began to fade.

The plane passed through the clouds, and the glittering outline of the city shrank beneath us. I held little Steve tightly in my arms, pressing a trembling kiss to his hair.

Our new life had just begun—me, my son, and soon… my daughter.

As for Stephen and Lana… I vowed they would never see me again in this lifetime.