Calm.
Confident.
Cruel.
Then my father said the words that destroyed everything I believed:
“Good.”
“Because Madison’s baby is the final piece we need.”
I stopped breathing.
My hand moved instinctively to my stomach.
My unborn child.
The baby we were celebrating.
The baby they had smiled about.
The baby they had just helped destroy my gender reveal over.
Cormac looked at me.
“Madison…”
But I couldn’t speak.
Because the video continued.
And Rowan said something that made every person in that room go silent.
“Once she gives birth, we take what belongs to us.”
I stared at my sister.
“What does that mean?”
Nobody answered.
Then the video revealed the date it was recorded.
And I realized something terrifying.
It was filmed exactly one day before my father supposedly died.
My father wasn’t dead when this plan started.
He was hiding.
And my sister wasn’t helping me.
She was waiting.
Waiting for my baby to be born.
Because my child was never just a baby to them.
It was part of a plan.
A plan that started before I even knew I was pregnant.
