A Billionaire Heiress From The Ashes

Jada Norman POV:

"I'll keep a close watch on her, Deegan," Kamryn said into the walkie-talkie, her voice saccharine sweet now, a stark contrast to the venom she'd just spewed at me. My vision swam, the room tilting precariously.

Then, his voice. Deegan's. My heart, against all logic, leaped. A desperate flicker of hope ignited deep inside my bruised and broken chest. He would hear me. He would save us.

"Deegan!" I screamed, a raw, primal sound tearing from my throat. My voice was weak, trembling, but I poured every ounce of my dying strength into it. "The baby's coming! Please! Get me to a hospital!"

Kamryn hesitated, her expression momentarily faltering. "She... she actually doesn't seem to be faking, Deegan," she murmured into the device, a hint of genuine concern creeping into her tone. "It looks bad. And the baby... it's your only bloodline, Deegan."

Silence hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. I could almost feel Deegan weighing his options, a silent battle raging within him. My breath hitched, waiting, praying.

"Alright," Deegan's voice came through the speaker, softer now, a glimmer of the man I once knew. "Get her to the nearest hospital. Immediately."

Relief, so potent it almost made me pass out, washed over me. My baby was going to be okay. We were going to be okay.

Then, a syrupy sweet voice, Karmen's, drifted from Deegan's end of the line. "Deegan, darling, my head is throbbing. I simply must have some champagne. It's the only way I'll relax enough for my delivery."

My blood ran cold.

"And Jada?" Karmen continued, her tone dismissive, as if discussing a minor inconvenience. "Oh, she'll be fine. Jada's so strong, isn't she? She can handle a little discomfort. She always does."

I felt bile rise in my throat. Strong? I was dying. She was being treated like a queen, surrounded by the best doctors, the most advanced equipment, a glass of champagne in hand, while I lay bleeding on a cold floor.

And just like that, Karmen's few casual words, her petty demands, changed everything. Deegan's voice, when it came again, was ice.

"She's faking it, Kamryn," he snapped, the warmth completely gone. "Don't be a fool. She's trying to manipulate you. Don't fall for her tricks."

The line went dead.

Kamryn' s face, which had shown a flicker of doubt, now twisted into a furious snarl. Deegan's anger, deflected from Karmen, landed squarely on me. She grabbed a small, ornate wooden box from a medical cabinet. "Look what you made me do, you bitch."

She opened the box. Inside, coiled and still, was a small, iridescent snake. Its scales shimmered, an unnatural beauty. Kamryn held it up, its flat, triangular head swaying slightly.

My heart leaped into my throat. Pure, unadulterated terror.

She brought the snake closer. Its forked tongue flickered, tasting the air. Its cold, dry scales brushed against my arm. I tried to pull away, but my body felt heavy, unresponsive.

Then, a sharp, searing pain. I didn't even have time to scream.

The snake's fangs, needle-sharp, plunged deep into the flesh of my forearm. A burning sensation, like acid, shot through my veins, spreading rapidly. Each frantic beat of my heart pumped the poison deeper, faster.

I instinctively curled into a ball, trying to protect my abdomen, pressing my uninjured hand against the bite wound. But it was useless. The venom was an anticoagulant. Blood, dark and viscous, welled up from the two tiny punctures, refusing to clot.

I started to shake uncontrollably. My vision blurred. The ceiling lights elongated into streaks, then faded to grey. My uterus felt like it was being torn apart by a thousand tiny knives. The bite wound on my arm was turning a ghastly purplish-black, the blood still oozing, warm and constant.

Kamryn, seeing the snake's fangs dripping with my blood, looked at it with a strange mixture of confusion and anger. "That's impossible! He never bites! Never!" She stared at the snake, then back at me, her expression shifting from stunned to enraged. "You hurt him! My precious baby! He's worth more than you and your bastard child combined!"

She screamed, her voice shrill and piercing, then kicked me hard in the stomach. Again. And again. Each blow was a dull, sickening thud. The kicks made me gasp, almost forcing me into unconsciousness. I could only curl tighter, a pathetic shield for my baby, unable to fight back.

"Why aren't you screaming anymore?" she mocked, her face contorted with glee.

"Don't... don't kick the baby," I pleaded, my voice barely a whisper.

"Using your spawn as a shield now?" she spat. "You truly are an outsider, unworthy of this family. Unworthy of anything." She stroked the snake, murmuring soothing words to it. Then, she pulled out a small spray bottle. A fine, white mist filled the air, acrid and sweet, quickly making my head swim.

My consciousness flickered. This wasn't just a sedative. This was something else. Something hallucinogenic.

"Lie still and reflect, Jada," Kamryn's voice echoed, distorted and distant. "Only Karmen's bloodline is worthy. This will help you understand your place. A little tranquilizer for your little tantrum." With a final, furious snarl, she sprayed more of the gas into the room, then stomped out, pulling the door shut behind her.

The thick, sweet fog choked me. My body convulsed violently, new pains adding to the already unbearable torment. In the hazy, suffocating agony, I heard a faint cry. A baby's cry. My baby's. It was tiny, almost imperceptible, yet it resonated deep within my mind, an echo of a life I was losing.

A small, shadowy figure reached out to me through the swirling mist. I stretched out a trembling hand, desperate to hold him, to feel his warmth. But my fingers closed around empty air, again and again.

Today. Today was the day I was supposed to hold him, to kiss his tiny head, to whisper promises of love and protection. Instead, I was dying. And he was dying with me.

The cruelty of it all was a physical blow, a dagger plunging into my heart. My mind shattered. Tears streamed down my face, silent, endless.

"I'm sorry, my baby," I whispered, stroking my flat, loose belly. The words were a prayer, a lament. "Mama failed you. I hope you find a family that loves you in your next life. A family that protects you."

My breath grew shallow. My blood no longer flowed; it oozed, thick and slow. My vision faded. The world was slowly, irrevocably, turning black.