Message in a Bottle Under the Starry Sky

A dead silence fell over the emergency room.

"Dr. Will... The patient's condition is critical. Severe hemorrhaging—she's lost too much blood. Without immediate surgery..."

"So?"

Will's voice was terrifyingly calm, even tinged with contemptuous amusement.

"This is just another one of her games, isn't it? The crying, the drama, the self-harm threats—all to drag me back, to force me away from Ruth? Does she really think that will work? Tell her it won't."

"Let her lie there by the OR doors. I might consider coming only once she's had enough time to think and realize how wrong she was."

"Oh, and one more thing," he added after a pause. "Who cares if the son she just delivered lives or dies?"

Then, the line went dead.

Time froze.

In the emergency room, every doctor and nurse stared at me with a blend of shock and pity.

But I couldn't feel the pain anymore.

In that moment, I learned what it meant for a heart to die before the body.

The man I had loved for years, the father of my child—as my life hung by a thread, his first instinct wasn't to save me. It was to use my survival as leverage, to force my surrender, to make me apologize to his precious Saint Ruth.

He didn't even care about our newborn son.

I slowly closed my eyes.

Maybe it was better to just die here.

**Mom! Don't sleep! Mom, open your eyes and look at Joseph! Joseph can't be without you!**

**Mom, please, don't give up! Bad Daddy doesn't want us anymore, you can't leave Joseph too! Waaah...**

Joseph's heart-wrenching sobs tore through the haze dragging me under, violently yanking me back to consciousness.

Right. I couldn't die.

If I died, what would happen to my Joseph?

He would fall into the hands of that monstrous pair. They would torture him to death.

I had to live!

For my child, I had to live!

My eyes snapped open. Clutching the white coat of a nearby nurse, I summoned every last shred of strength to rasp from my throat, "Save... me..."

My reaction stunned everyone.

Stephen looked at me, his expression complex—shock, guilt, a flicker of pity.

Finally, gritting his teeth, he snatched a pen from a nurse and scrawled a bold, flamboyant signature on the surgical consent form.

"Will."

He had forged it.

"Prep for surgery!" Stephen barked at the waiting doctors.

As they wheeled me into the operating room, I caught one last look at Stephen.

He stood there, pale, looking like a man who had just spent every ounce of courage he possessed.

Whatever he had done before, in that moment, he saved my life.

The surgery succeeded. I survived.

When I woke from the anesthesia, I was already in a VIP room.

Probably Stephen's arrangement, out of guilt.

Ariana and Timothy had waited outside, leaving only after the doctors confirmed I was out of danger.

Before going, they sent me the recorded video and audio files, saying I might need them later.

Looking at the evidence on my phone, my heart churned with conflicted emotions.

Before I could even ask to see Joseph, an uninvited guest pushed the door open.

It was my mother-in-law, Will's mother, Violet.

She carried a thermal lunchbox, her face fixed in a plastic smile. "Paige, you're awake! Oh, you gave me such a fright! And Will—how could he play such a cruel joke! He explained everything to me. He was giving Ruth emergency treatment; the signal was terrible. He couldn't hear you clearly, thought you were just throwing another tantrum. Don't blame him, dear. He does care for you."

I stared at her coldly, saying nothing.

Even now, she was making excuses for him.

This family was rotten to the core.

Seeing my silence, Violet showed no embarrassment. She opened the lunchbox herself. The rich aroma of her special chicken soup instantly filled the room.

"Here, Paige, I made you this soup. The best thing for recovery. You just gave birth, lost so much blood. Drink it while it's hot."

She ladled out a bowl and brought it solicitously to my lips.

In the past, I would have been moved to tears with gratitude.

Now, it just made me sick.

**Mom! Don't drink it! There's saffron in the soup! It'll cause a hemorrhage! This bad grandma wants to kill us!**

Joseph's terrified scream echoed in my mind.

Every hair on my body stood on end.

Saffron. A bolt of pure terror shot through me. Every new mother knew it could trigger dangerous hemorrhaging.

She was truly this evil!

Looking at Violet's kindly, gentle face, I felt a chill crawl down my spine.

To clear the way for her precious son, to let him fly off happily with Ruth, she was willing to personally kill the daughter-in-law who had just given her a grandson!

"Why aren't you drinking, Paige? Is it not to your taste?" Violet pressed, her tone urgent.

My hand shot up, swatting the bowl from her grasp!

*Crash!*

Scalding soup splashed all over her. The porcelain bowl shattered on the floor.

"What are you doing!" she shrieked, the mask of kindness ripped away, revealing a vicious snarl. "Paige! Don't you dare disrespect me! Do you still think you're part of this family? A jealous, venomous woman like you isn't fit to step through our door!"

"Who's the venomous one here—me or you?" I pushed myself up, my gaze icy as I stared her down. "You know exactly what's in that soup. Even a snake protects its young. Your family has less heart than a viper!"

"You... How dare you spout such nonsense!" Violet's eyes darted away, guilt written all over her face.

Just then, the door swung open.

Will and Ruth walked in, one after the other.

Will looked like he hadn't slept all night, dark circles under his eyes, his face haggard with exhaustion. But the look he gave me was still frosty.

Ruth, dressed in a pristine white hospital gown, leaned weakly against Will. Her face was pale, a picture of fragile beauty, as if a gentle breeze might topple her.

What a devoted pair they made.

"Mom, what's going on?" Will asked, frowning.

Violet immediately latched onto him, playing the victim first. "Will! Look what your precious wife has done now! I brought her soup out of the goodness of my heart, and she threw it at me—burned me! She even accused me of poisoning it! We can't keep a woman like this in the family! You must divorce her!"

Will's eyes fell on me, devoid of any warmth.

"Haven't you caused enough trouble already, Paige?"

I looked at him and suddenly laughed.

"Will. Are you disappointed I didn't die today?"

My words seemed to choke him. His face darkened further. "You're being irrational."

Behind him, Ruth spoke up in a soft, frail voice. "Paige... don't blame Will. It's all my fault... all because of my illness... The doctor said my condition is most vulnerable to intense emotional stress, especially... especially seeing scenes of other people's happy families..."

She covered her chest, her eyes welling up with tears.

**Mom, she's lying! She's smiling inside! She's thinking, 'That fool Paige still buys the sick act. Once I take her son and kick her out, the title of Mrs. Will will be mine!'**

Joseph's furious voice rang in my head.

Watching Ruth's masterful performance, my heart turned to ice.

So, it was all a carefully orchestrated lie.