The Silent Womb's Revenge

Chapter 17

Jacob Williams trembled violently, his back drenched in cold sweat.

"I... I did it for my sister," he stammered, his voice hollow. "She’s been through four years of IVF, and her body is breaking down. Your mother kept pressuring her—I was afraid she wouldn’t survive..."

"Adopting Victoria’s baby would at least give her some relief."

Ethan Sullivan’s fist came at him like a gust of wind, sending him crashing to the floor. A brutal kick to the abdomen made him curl up in agony.

"Bullshit!" Ethan yanked him up by the collar. "Was it for her—or for your own future?"

Jacob’s pupils constricted.

"I helped you start your business, and you got a taste of success." Ethan’s laugh was icy. "You went along with hiding the truth from your sister because you wanted more from me, didn’t you?"

"Do you think she would’ve agreed to this kind of help if she knew?"

The last shred of pretense was torn away, leaving Jacob’s face ashen.

Yes, his sister despised deception more than anything.

"Sophia was pregnant," Ethan rasped. "And then she lost it. The first miscarriage happened because my mother tampered with her herbal tonic."

The words stabbed straight into Jacob’s heart.

"Karma." Ethan released him. "Sophia has abandoned you. You’re nothing but a stray dog now."

"No! She wouldn’t—"

"Even if she comes back, that child will always remind her of what we’ve done!"

By the time Jacob was thrown out of the Sullivan mansion, his entire body was shaking.

Staggering home, he suddenly remembered the look in his sister’s eyes that night in the taxi—cold, as if he were a stranger.

The security footage shattered him completely.

That day, she had been standing in the living room the whole time. She heard every word of his conversation with Ethan. She watched him carry out the wine and lie through his teeth.

"Where’s Ethan?"—That had been her last chance for him.

And he had severed that trust with his own hands.

"Sophia... I’m sorry..." Jacob collapsed to his knees, his forehead slamming against the edge of the table.

Blood trickled down his face, but he felt no pain.

Memories flooded in.

In middle school, when he was addicted to online games, she had searched every internet café for him late at night. In high school, when he got expelled for fighting, she had begged every school to take him in.

She always said, "Jacob, I’m here for you."

But now, she didn’t want him anymore.

As his consciousness faded, he caught the nurses’ hushed whispers.

"Did you hear? Mr. Sullivan’s mistress is about to give birth..."

"His poor wife... Five years together, and it still wasn’t enough compared to a child..."

Jacob clenched his fists even in unconsciousness.

What if... that child never existed?

The dark thought festered in the depths of his mind.