20/11/2025
On the day I went into labor, my water broke, and I begged my husband to take me to the hospital.
But instead, he locked me in a sauna set to 70°C.
His widowed sister-in-law was due to give birth the next day. To make her child the heir of the Fu family, he inserted a hundred nails into my stomach to stop my labor.
I begged him to stop, but he didn’t care.
Ninety-nine nails dug into my skin, making my contractions unbearable.
The last one, he hammered into my heart.
Blood pouring from my body, he coldly said,
“My sister-in-law has suffered enough, she just wants her child to be the heir. And you’re still trying to oppose her?”
“I’ve spoiled you too much. It’s time you learned what real pain feels like!”
He said, “The experts said the nails and heat will stop your labor. Wait until the day after tomorrow.”
I lay there, barely clinging to life, feeling nothing but emptiness.
When he finally remembered me, holding his sister-in-law’s child, the butler called.
“Mr. Foster, the hospital sent... your wife’s body.”
The day my water broke, I begged my husband to take me to the hospital.
Instead, his face darkened, and he locked me inside the sauna, turned up to a searing one hundred and forty degrees.
All because his widowed sister-in-law was due to give birth the next morning.
He wanted her baby to be the Foster family’s first grandson, so he drove a hundred nails into my pre//gnant belly to keep me from going into labor.
I dropped to my knees, sobbing and begging him to let me go.
But Ethan Foster didn’t flinch.
He looked down at me, covered in blood, his voice colder than the steel that pinned me to the floor.
“Madeline’s had it hard since my brother died. All she wants is for her baby to be the first heir of the Fosters. And you still tried to fight her with those labor-inducing shots?”
“Looks like I’ve spoiled you too much. Now you’ll know what real pain feels like.”
“The specialist said the nails and the heat would keep you from going into labor. You’ll give birth when it’s your turn—two days from now!”
I lay there barely breathing, my mind already dead.
But the moment Madeline gave birth to the Foster family’s first grandson, Ethan burst into tears of joy and threw a rooftop party that lasted an entire month.
It wasn’t until he looked down at the newborn in his arms and thought of me that he ordered someone to take me to the hospital.
But before anyone could leave, the phone rang.
It was Mr. Collins, the butler. His voice trembled on the other end.
“The hospital just sent over Mrs. Foster’s body.”
***
A hundred nails buried in flesh.
The pain from the contractions mixed with the burning heat, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure if I was even alive.
In that instant, the searing pain of my burning skin snapped me back to consciousness.
Just before Ethan closed the sauna door, I had grabbed his pant leg with the last of my strength.
“Ethan! I’m really going into labor. If you keep me here, I’ll die!”
“Please, take me to the hospital. “I promise—once the baby’s born I’ll take him and go. I won’t try to steal the place of firstborn grandson.
I cried and begged like a dog, clinging to him as if my life depended on it.
But he pretended not to hear me. Instead, he turned and leaned down over Madeline’s swollen belly, speaking softly to her stomach.
“Baby, when you come out later, don’t make Madeline hurt too much, alright? She’s scared of pain.”
He looked up at her with such tenderness it made my blood run cold.
“Don’t worry, Maddie. Once you give birth, I’ll give everything I have to this child. Serena already has my love—that’s enough for her.”
Then he took her by the hand and started toward the door, just as Grandma Foster called.
“Ethan, Serena must be due any day now. Make sure you stay by her side these next few days. Nothing can go wrong, you understand?”
He mumbled a quick reply and hung up.
I forced my eyes open and gasped, “If anything happens to me or the baby, your grandmother will hate you for the rest of her life.”
My grandmother and his had been lifelong friends. The baby in my belly carried the bloodlines of both the Scott and Foster families—two old, powerful names.
Both elders adored the child.
He knew better than anyone that nothing could be allowed to happen to the baby.
Seeing me in such agony, Ethan froze for a moment, a flicker of doubt crossing his eyes—as if, for the first time, he wondered whether the specialist’s words could really be trusted.
Madeline suddenly crouched down beside me. A cruel smile curved across her lips before she pressed both hands hard against my swollen belly.
The nails drove even deeper. My skin tore open, and a scream ripped from my throat.
Then, out of nowhere, Madeline smashed the jade bracelet on her wrist against the floor.
She dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face, her voice trembling with false grievance.
“Serena, I only wanted to comfort the baby inside you! Why would you destroy the only thing my mother left me?”
Ethan’s heart ached instantly. He rushed to pull her into his arms, promising to buy her a hundred new bracelets.
Madeline shook her head, crying harder. “No matter what I do, Serena will always hate me. I might as well be dead!”
Ethan’s anger toward me flared even higher. He turned on me sharply, his voice echoing with fury.
“I should’ve done something about your temper long ago! Maddie’s been bullied by you to the point she can barely breathe. She was only trying to comfort you, and you broke the one thing her mother left her!”
“Before you give birth, I’m going to teach you a real lesson!”
If not for the last shred of sanity holding him back, his fist would’ve landed on me right then—for her sake.
I stared at him in disbelief. Spoiled? Unruly?
He was the one who knew me best in this world. Yet now, he believed another woman’s words over mine.
He held Madeline close and walked away, leaving me lying half-dead on the burning floor.
The pain of my contracting womb, the agony of scorched skin, the nails twisting in my flesh—all of it paled beside the pain in my heart.
Ethan and I had grown up together. His love once made me believe the world was a fairytale.
Everyone used to say he was hopelessly devoted to me.
When I became pre//gnant, he doted on me even more—so careful, so gentle, as if he wanted to give me his very heart.
But after his older brother’s death left Madeline a widow, the Ethan who had loved me so deeply seemed to die that same night.
He was still gentle, still attentive—only now, not to me, but to her.
Tears were already running soundlessly down my face, and I felt numb all over, as if every trace of the will to live had drained from me.
Then a sudden contraction tore through me, sharp and violent enough to drag me back to consciousness.
My baby hadn’t been born yet. He didn’t deserve to die like this.
I cradled my belly with trembling hands and crawled toward the metal door, pounding on it with all the strength I had left.
“Is anyone there? Please, help me, I’m about to give birth!”
With every strike, the skin on my palms tore away, layer by layer.
By the time blood covered the iron door, footsteps finally echoed outside.
I clung to that sound like it was my last hope.
“Please, I’m begging you, help me!”
But the housemaid’s cold voice cut through the air.
“Stop shouting. Mr. Foster hasn’t taken Mrs. Hayes to the hospital yet. If you disturb him, you’ll be the one who suffers.”
She let out a cruel laugh. “You brought this on yourself. You just had to induce labor early to compete with Mrs. Hayes. Now look at you. Mr. Foster found a way to make sure you wait.”
Her words stung worse than the heat blistering my skin.
I forced my voice out, hoarse and trembling. “It’s already a hundred and sixty degrees in here. If you don’t open this door, I’ll die. And whatever method he used won’t stop the labor anyway.”
“Send me to the hospital now. If something happens to me or the baby, you and your entire family will pay for it.”
She went silent. For all her contempt, she knew what would happen if I died.
After a long hesitation, she took out her phone and called Ethan.
“Mr. Foster, Mrs. Foster says it’s over a hundred and sixty degrees in here, she can’t stand it anymore, and she’s about to give birth. Should I take her to the hospital first?”
Ethan’s voice came through, puzzled. “That’s impossible. The sauna’s max temperature is only a hundred degrees.”
He drew in a deep breath and forced his voice to steady. “Open the door first and check the temperature insi—”
Before he could finish, Madeline’s gentle voice chimed in. “Ethan, I set the temperature myself. Don’t you trust me?”
He cupped her face and murmured, “Of course I trust you.”
Then, his tone hardened. “She’s just trying to trick you into letting her out so she can give birth. I told her, she’ll have the baby when it’s time.”
“The heat helps reduce her contractions. I’m already being good to her, and she still doesn’t appreciate it. Don’t worry about her.”
He hung up, decisive and cold.
The housemaid spat a final insult under her breath and walked away.
Blood seeped from my stomach, each breath heavier than the last. My body trembled uncontrollably, my skin felt like it was on fire, and I was certain that if I closed my eyes now, I’d never open them again.
But I couldn’t give up. Not yet.
Not when my baby still had a chance to live.
That thought alone kept me breathing as the hours dragged on and the sky turned dark.
Just when despair swallowed me whole, I heard a sound at the door.
Someone was there. I gathered the last of my strength and screamed for help. “Please… help me!”
The person outside heard me and ran toward the door. The metal bar across it wasn’t locked, just wedged in place.
When he pulled it open, a wave of scorching air burst out, forcing him to stumble back.
He froze at the sight of me, my body soaked in blood, skin blistered, eyes half open. He gasped in horror.
I clutched my belly and staggered toward the doorway. Somehow, I managed to drag myself out before collapsing on the ground outside. “Please… save me.”
The man rushed forward, crouching beside me, his hands shaking. Only then did I recognize him—Mr. Warren, Ethan’s longtime business partner.
He froze when he saw me, his whole body trembling. “Mrs. Foster, what happened to you? How did you get hurt this badly?”
“Don’t move, I’ll call Mr. Foster right now.”
Mr. Warren quickly dialed the number. “Hello, Mr. Foster—your wife… she’s covered in blood. You’d better come right away!”
On the other end of the line, Ethan’s voice rose in panic.
“What? I was only gone a few minutes to check on Maddie. How could something have happened already? Where is she?”
He was so frantic he nearly burst into tears, calling his private rescue team before the sentence even ended.
Then Mr. Warren added, “Not Mrs. Hayes—your wife, Serena.”
The moment he heard my name, Ethan’s tone changed. Relief flooded his voice.
“Oh, her? She must’ve fooled you somehow. She can’t be hurt. She’s resting comfortably in the sauna. Don’t worry about her.”
He ended the call without another word.
Mr. Warren stared at the phone, confused. But he was a decent man, and his conscience wouldn’t let him walk away. He called an ambulance for me himself.
By the time the medics arrived, he had already rushed off to his next meeting.
The moment they lifted me onto the stretcher, everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again, the pain brought me back from the edge.
No one had operated on me. I could feel every contraction tearing through my body.
I reached for the nurse I knew from my prenatal checkups, clutching her wrist weakly.
“Please… please help me. I can’t take it anymore. If the baby stays inside this long, something will happen to him.”
The nurse was anxious too, but all she could do was keep trying to calm me down.
“Ms. Scott, the wife of a very important man is giving birth today. He’s booked every delivery doctor in the hospital. Please, just hang in there a little longer, alright?”
Another wave of contractions hit so hard I screamed until my throat tore.
I couldn’t form words anymore, only sob and grip her hand as my tears streamed down my face.
She looked at me with pity, patted my hand, and whispered, “I’ll beg him again. Maybe he’s in a good mood since his wife’s giving birth. Maybe he’ll spare one doctor for you.”
She ran out of the room.
I heard her fall to her knees just outside the next door.
“Sir, please! There’s another woman in labor. She’s badly hurt, she won’t survive much longer. Could you assign her one doctor?”
Ethan sounded surprised. “Someone else is in labor?”
The nurse nodded quickly. “Yes, and she’s in serious condition. Every minute counts.”
Ethan hesitated, then nodded. “Alright. Send one of the doctors over.”
There was finally a chance to be saved, yet I felt as if I’d fallen straight into an ice cellar—my whole heart frozen solid.
The man who had bought out the entire hospital for his beloved wife was my husband.
Even without knowing who the pre//gnant woman the nurse mentioned really was, he was willing to step in and help a complete stranger.
But when I called him, begging for help, he refused to believe me.
His heart—once full of love for me—had completely changed.
The doctors he’d sent wheeled me into the sectioned-off part of Madeline’s delivery room.
Before the procedure began, one of them turned to Ethan to confirm again.
“Mr. Foster, are you certain you want to transplant this woman’s heart into Mrs. Hayes?”
“Absolutely,” he said.
In that instant, my whole body jolted.
What did he just say? Ethan was going to give my heart to Madeline Hayes?!
