CHAPTER 4
The hospital corridor smelled of antiseptic and tension.
Time moved slowly, each second stretching painfully for those waiting outside the delivery rooms. Nurses moved quickly up and down the hallway, their footsteps echoing against the cold tiled floor.
Robbinson sat stiffly in a chair, his hands clasped tightly together. His mind was racing, though he tried to keep his face calm.
On one side of the maternity ward, Lily was in labor.
On the other side… Juliet was fighting for her life.
For the first time in years, Robbinson felt uneasy. Something about the situation made his chest feel heavy. The events of the afternoon replayed in his mind—the sound of the belt striking Juliet's back, her desperate screams for help, Zara's furious voice when she walked in.
He tried to push the memories away.
What mattered now was the plan.
Everything would soon fall into place.
If Juliet delivered the baby, he would simply take the child away and give it to Lily. Then he would finally file for divorce and walk away from the broken marriage that had become nothing more than a burden.
It was simple.
Clean.
Final.
But fate had its own plans.
Hours passed.
Finally, a doctor stepped out of Juliet's delivery room.
Zara immediately rushed forward.
"How is she?" Zara asked anxiously.
The doctor hesitated before answering.
"Your sister delivered a baby girl," he said gently.
Relief briefly crossed Zara's face.
But the doctor's expression remained grave.
"I'm very sorry," he continued quietly. "Your sister suffered severe complications after delivery. We tried everything we could…"
He paused.
"But she didn't make it."
The words felt like a heavy stone dropping into the silence.
Zara's eyes filled with tears.
Robbinson stood frozen.
For a moment, he didn't move.
Then suddenly, something inside him cracked.
"My wife… died?" he whispered.
The doctor nodded slowly.
"I'm sorry for your loss."
Robbinson's knees weakened, and he sat down heavily.
A strange wave of emotions rushed through him—shock, confusion, guilt.
Images flashed through his mind.
Juliet crying on the floor.
Juliet begging him to stop.
Juliet carrying his child.
And now…
She was gone.
Tears slowly filled his eyes.
For the first time in a long time, Robbinson cried.
"It's my fault…" he muttered under his breath.
But grief was not the only thing inside his heart.
Even as he cried, another thought crept quietly into his mind.
The baby.
The child had survived.
That meant the plan could still work.
A nurse soon brought out the newborn baby girl wrapped in a soft blanket.
She was tiny, fragile, and peaceful.
Robbinson stared at her.
She had Juliet's face.
The same delicate features.
The same soft skin.
Something twisted painfully inside his chest.
But he quickly pushed the feeling aside.
He gently took the baby from the nurse.
"I'll take care of her," he said.
Zara watched him silently.
Her eyes were filled with a mixture of sadness and something else—something hidden.
Robbinson didn't notice.
He was already thinking about the next step.
Soon afterward, he carried the baby to Lily's room.
Inside, Lily was resting in bed after her own difficult delivery. Her hair was messy, and sweat still covered her forehead, but when she saw Robbinson entering with the baby, her eyes brightened.
"Well?" she asked eagerly.
Robbinson closed the door behind him.
"It's done," he said quietly.
Lily sat up slightly.
"And Juliet?" she asked.
Robbinson looked down at the floor.
"She's dead."
For a moment, Lily remained silent.
Then she slowly nodded.
"So… the baby?"
Robbinson lifted the blanket slightly so Lily could see the child's face.
"A girl," he said.
Lily studied the baby carefully.
"She's beautiful," she admitted.
Robbinson sat beside the bed.
"This is our chance," he said. "We'll tell everyone Juliet died along with the baby."
Lily smiled slowly.
"And what about my delivery?"
Robbinson's eyes gleamed slightly.
"You gave birth to twins."
Lily laughed softly.
"Two beautiful baby girls."
To anyone else, it would simply look like a miracle.
But what Robbinson didn't know was that Juliet had already seen this coming.
Hours earlier, while she was still conscious in the delivery room, Juliet had sensed something was wrong.
Her body was weak.
Her breathing was shallow.
And deep in her heart, she had a terrifying feeling that she might not survive the childbirth.
When the doctor briefly stepped away, Juliet had asked to see her sister.
Zara rushed to her side immediately.
"Juliet, don't worry," Zara whispered. "You're going to be okay."
But Juliet shook her head weakly.
"I don't think so," she whispered.
Zara's eyes filled with tears.
"Don't say that."
Juliet grabbed her sister's hand tightly.
"Listen to me carefully."
Her voice was faint but determined.
"I know Robbinson," she continued. "I know the kind of man he is."
Zara remained silent.
Juliet's eyes filled with sadness.
"If I die… he will take my baby."
The words hung heavily in the room.
"And he will give the baby to Lily."
Zara looked shocked.
"How do you know that?"
Juliet gave a weak smile.
"Because I've seen the way he looks at her… and the way he looks at me."
Tears slid down Zara's cheeks.
"What do you want me to do?"
Juliet looked at the newborn baby placed beside her.
A tiny girl.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
With trembling fingers, Juliet gently lifted the baby's foot and secretly made a small mark underneath it.
Zara watched carefully.
"That mark," Juliet whispered weakly, "will be the only proof that she is my daughter."
Zara nodded slowly.
Juliet then looked toward the doctor.
"Please…" she whispered to him softly. "If something happens to me… tell them the baby died with me."
The doctor hesitated.
But the pain in Juliet's eyes convinced him.
He nodded silently.
Juliet then turned back to Zara.
"Play along with them," she said softly.
Zara looked confused.
"Why?"
Juliet's voice grew even weaker.
"Because one day… the truth will come out."
Tears rolled down Zara's face.
"I promise," she whispered.
Shortly afterward, Juliet's condition worsened.
And soon…
She was gone.
Back in the present, Zara stood quietly outside the hospital room.
She had just told Robbinson something very important.
"I will handle my sister's burial myself," she said firmly.
Robbinson barely reacted.
"That's fine," he said carelessly.
He was far more interested in the newborn child now lying beside Lily.
Zara watched him silently.
He believed his plan had worked perfectly.
He believed Juliet's baby was now his and Lily's.
He believed Juliet had died with her child.
But Zara knew the truth.
And somewhere beneath the tiny feet of one newborn baby girl…
A small hidden mark waited patiently.
One day, it would reveal everything.