Hearing My Unborn Baby's Voice

Six months into my pregnancy, I heard my baby's cry for help. 'Mommy, save me. Please, do the C-section early. I have a congenital breathing condition. If you don't get me out now, I'll suffocate.' I listened to my baby's desperate pleading, gritted my teeth, and agreed to an early cesarean. In the end, my daughter and I both died. Right before I went, I heard the doctor say, with real regret, that the baby had been perfectly healthy. There'd been nothing wrong with her at all. When I opened my eyes again, I was pregnant once more, and once again I heard my baby crying for help. Only this time, another voice answered—soft and sweet, like a much younger child. 'Mommy, don't believe that voice. They want you to deliver early so they can give my umbilical cord blood to his illegitimate son. That boy has a blood disease, and without cord blood this month, he'll die. That's the only reason that lowlife husband of yours is so desperate to rush you into labor.' Chapter 1 'If you go through with the early C-section, both of us—mother and daughter—will die!' the soft and sweet voice said. I sat in the wheelchair, and the words sent a jolt through my whole body. In my last life, the cry for help I'd heard had always, unmistakably, come from a boy. So why was there suddenly a girl's voice now—and where was it even coming from? Before I could puzzle it out, my husband, Jason Rexmonde, grabbed my wrist. "The doctor says the baby's already showing signs of respiratory distress. The surgical team's prepped and ready. We need to go, now!" 'His illegitimate son is dying, and he needs my cord blood to save him. Mommy, please don't say yes,' came the little girl's voice. I frowned. A second later, the baby nurse, Chloe Watts, chimed in urgently. "Ma'am, there's no more time. Any longer and the baby will die!" The little girls sounded again in my mind, 'It's their baby who'll die if you wait any longer. That's why she's so desperate. 'After you die, they'll switch the babies in secret and fake the DNA results to convince your parents that boy is their only grandchild. Your father will pour his fortune into raising him, and a kid who should've grown up in the slums will get to live like a prince instead. 'The boy's at Sterling Private Hospital right now. Go see for yourself if you don't believe me.' Jason really had come from nothing—if I hadn't taken a chance on him, he'd still be back in the slums. And it was Jason who'd found this baby nurse for me in the first place, swearing up and down she was the best in the business, someone who'd take the burden of postpartum care off my shoulders. "Find out whether there's a child with a blood disease at Sterling Private Hospital—one who needs cord blood." I turned to my assistant, Marcus Foster, and got the words out fast. The nurse and Jason both went pale the second they heard it. Jason grabbed my arm. "Miley, why are you suddenly asking about this? We can look into it after the baby's out. There's no rush." "What are you all standing around for? Get this wheelchair to the car!" Chloe snapped, then turned to bark an order at the bodyguard beside her. The bodyguard moved to grab me. Ever since I'd gotten pregnant, Jason had insisted I hand the household over to Chloe so I could rest. For the past six months, she'd run practically everything, until she'd started acting like she actually owned the place. "I'd like to see him try." I looked the bodyguard dead in the eye, my voice gone cold. "Don't forget who signs your paycheck every month." "Why bring money into this?" Jason's brow furrowed, his tone turning reproachful. "Chloe just took over the household. Undermine her like this in front of everyone, and who's going to respect her after? Be reasonable. Let's get you to the hospital." "I'll go to the hospital." Chloe's face lit up for half a second, then went rigid. "But first, I want an ultrasound. I need to know whether I'm carrying a boy or a girl." Crash. A cup shattered against the floor. Jason rushed over, looking baffled. "Didn't we already agree it doesn't matter, boy or girl? Let's just get the C-section done. We'll know the second the baby's out. Any more delay and something could happen to the baby." This baby was one Jason and I had wanted for three years. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, the whole household had tiptoed around me, terrified something might go wrong. But now, the anxious boy's voice rang out again in my mind, 'Mommy, I really can't breathe. Please, hurry and do the C-section. I want to meet you. I don't want to die.' But the soft, sweet girl's voice cut back in, 'Mommy, if you cut me out right now, it's either both of us die, or I come too early and don't survive being born—and you'll never be able to have another child after that. 'My rotten excuse of a father will blame you for waiting too long, pile on the guilt until you agree to adopt that other baby, and walk his illegitimate son through the front door like it's nothing—while you watch him and the nurse play house instead, until you finally jump off a building out of grief. 'This is my second time being reborn into this. You're finally listening to me this time. Please, don't have the early C-section.' Listening to her, a flood of images surged through my mind, the memories of my last two lives pouring in all at once. The first time, I'd gone through with the early C-section. My daughter and I had both died, and the illegitimate son had taken her place, posing as my own flesh and blood. The second time, I'd heard that same voice again, but I'd held out for half a month before finally giving in. The baby died the moment she was born. After that, Jason never let up. "If you'd just had the C-section sooner, my daughter would still be alive. You're the one who killed her!" I'd just lost my daughter, and hearing him say that broke something in me. I pressed my hands over my head. "No—it wasn't me!" "It was you." He stared at me, ice-cold, and said it again, crueler each time. After that, we settled into a long, silent war. I drowned in guilt until I finally caved, agreed to adopt the other child, and signed the entire trust fund over to him. But as the boy grew older, no matter how well I treated him, he only grew more distant from me and closer to Chloe. When I tried to fire her, my mother-in-law, Denis Rexmonde, guilted me out of it. "He's used to having Chloe around. You already got your own child killed—are you going to do the same to this one? You're a curse on every child who comes near you!" Jason piled on too. "You're the one who agreed to adopt him in the first place. Now the boy's not close to you, and you can't see that it's your own fault, always moping around and making everyone miserable?" In the end, I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped. Watching it all flash through my mind, I felt as though I'd lived through every second of it myself. The sweet girl's voice continued, 'My rotten father made a deal with a doctor at that private hospital ahead of time. He's going to insist you get the C-section, and you're going to die right there on the operating table. 'Mommy, the second time, you didn't die because you dragged for half a month before getting the procedure. You didn't die, but I did.' Chapter 2 "What's wrong, honey? Does something hurt? We really don't have time for this. Let's just get going!" Jason started wheeling me toward the car. A second later, my assistant, who'd gone to check, came running back. "There really is a child at Sterling Hospital who needs cord blood." My heart lurched. "Take me to see him. I want a DNA test done between that child and Chloe." "Stop it!" Jason was equal parts panicked and furious. "Do you even understand what's at stake here? There's a living, breathing life inside you, and you're treating it like a game. Do you even deserve to be a mother?" "She's right—you can wait, but the baby inside you might not be able to!" Chloe stepped in to plead with me. I ran a hand over my stomach, brow furrowed, and a second later the boy's voice rose up in my head. 'Mommy, I can't breathe anymore. I might really die. Just say yes already. Let them cut me out!' I kept my hand on my stomach and made up my mind. "Before the surgery, I need to know the baby's gender." Chloe froze, eyes going wide. "Ma'am, nothing matters more than the baby's life. If something happens to this child, can you really live with that?" "You're the help. It's not your place to question my decisions." I looked at her, my gaze turning cold. "Besides, it's my child. If something happens to the baby, whose responsibility is that but mine?" At that, Jason grabbed my wrist, his tone turning pleading. "Chloe's going to be raising this baby for you—you should be grateful to her. Didn't I already tell you to treat her like family? Raising a child is exhausting work. You get to sit back while she does all the hard parts. The least you can do is appreciate it." "She does the hard parts?" I let out a humorless laugh. "Do I not pay her? She is getting money, that's an employment contract, not some moral debt I owe her!" Jason looked caught off guard by how sharp I'd become. Embarrassed at being called out, his patience thinned. "Miley, what exactly are you trying to do?" Bracing a hand on my belly, I settled into the wheelchair and looked at the bodyguard. "I'm not having the C-section at Sterling. Take me to my family's hospital, Sheldon Medical Center. I want to know the baby's gender." Jason caught up to me. "What century do you think we're in? Why does it matter so much to you whether it's a boy or a girl? Our baby's life is hanging by a thread, and you're worried about that right now?" Chloe grabbed my hand and held up her phone. A doctor's voice came through, insisting urgently that there was no time for tests—surgery had to happen immediately. "You can't do the test! You heard the doctor—are you really not going to listen to him?" She turned to the bodyguard. "Get her to Sterling for surgery, now!" Anxiety was written all over her face, a fine sheen of sweat beading on her forehead. The commotion drew the attention of the other patients around us. Heads turned, and the accusations started flying. "You're a woman yourself. Are you really going to abort a baby this far along just because it's a girl?" "Your husband's been running around all day bringing you soup and vitamins because you're pregnant, and this is how you repay a good man? Making a scene like this?" They wheeled me toward the basement, the chorus of judgment around me pounding in my skull until I thought my head might split open. 'Mommy, Daddy loves you so much. You should listen to her—have me, then take good care of him and his family. 'Chloe is so thoughtful too. Why won't you listen to her and just let them do the C-section already? 'Mommy, I don't want to get an ultrasound. All the doctors at Sheldon are corrupt—they've been lining their pockets for years, and they'll lie to you. Please, just listen to Daddy and get the C-section.' Chapter 3 I ignored the voices and got straight into the car. Jason and Chloe rode with me the whole way, both of them visibly tense, until we reached the hospital. The doctor checked my fetal heart rate as usual, then handed me my file. "The results will take a while. Why don't you wait outside?" Jason caught my hand gently. "Miley, the baby can't wait, even if you can. You're not going to abort her just because she's a girl, are you?" The question caught me off guard. "I never said I'd abort her for being a girl. I just want to know my baby's gender." The doctor glanced at my stomach, his tone edged with disapproval. "You're six months along. What good does knowing the gender do you now?" I stayed quiet. I knew exactly what he was thinking—that I was the kind of woman who'd abort a daughter this far along. "You're already six months pregnant, and you're in such a rush to find out the sex. If it turns out to be a girl, are you planning to terminate? That's against the law this late in a pregnancy!" I listened to the accusations piling up around me, took a deep breath, and didn't bother arguing. I walked out to the waiting room instead. Jason hovered beside me, sweating with anxiety, but no matter what he said, I wasn't agreeing to the C-section until I had my results. A second later, Chloe came rushing toward me, clutching a printout. "Ma'am, we need to transfer you for an emergency C-section right now! This just came off the fetal monitor. The heart rate's dropped to 90—it's crashing! One more minute of delay and the baby could die!" Jason shot to his feet the moment he heard it. "What are we waiting for? Tell the doctor to prep for surgery immediately!" I stared at the words printed on the sheet: immediate termination of pregnancy recommended. Denise showed up out of nowhere too, begging me to get the surgery done. My breathing grew ragged as I sat there, torn. That was when the girl's soft voice rose up again, 'Mommy, they're lying. That report is fake. It's her son who'll die if he doesn't get cord blood within the hour. She's trying to rush you into that operating room.' My hands curled into fists. The family members and nurses gathered around began muttering to each other. "Her heart rate's dropped that low, and she's still worried about the baby's sex? What kind of mother has a heart that cold?" "Is finding out the sex really more important than the baby's life? If something happens to that baby, she'll be crying her eyes out and it'll be too late." "I've never seen a pregnant woman this heartless—six months along and she's treating her own child's life like a joke." Seeing that I still wouldn't budge, Denise dropped to her knees right there in front of everyone. "Miley, I'm begging you—please, just get the surgery done. That baby's six months along. That's a living, breathing life we're talking about. "If I've ever done anything to upset you, hit me, yell at me, I don't care—just don't gamble with that child's life. I'm that baby's grandmother. I can't stand by and watch something happen to the baby. Please, I'm begging you." The voices around me grew louder, more accusing. I frowned. "Mom, that's not what I meant..." "Then what did you mean?" Jason turned to me, his eyes bloodshot. "Miley, my mother is almost seventy years old, and she just got down on her knees in front of everyone for you. All she wants is for you and the baby to come out of this safely. Are you really going to keep pushing her until she breaks?" Looking down at Denise, sobbing on the floor, I felt a chill spread through my hands and feet. The stares around me felt like they were closing in, ready to swallow me whole. Still talking, they wheeled me toward another private hospital instead. "Honey, if you really need to wait for the results, let's just transfer you now. That way, the second the results come in, we can go straight into surgery. No more wasted time." Worried something might actually happen to the baby, I agreed. But the moment we reached the hospital, they had me strapped to the operating table, and a doctor beside me was already holding up a prepared syringe of anesthetic. That was when the girl's voice came back, this time cracking with tears. 'Mommy, that's not anesthetic in that syringe—it's a lethal dose of potassium chloride! One shot and I'll be dead within minutes. They were never planning to let me live. All they want is my cord blood.' I broke free of their grip and snatched the syringe out of the doctor's hand. "What is this? And why does this label look like it's been peeled off and replaced?" Chloe froze. Jason rushed forward. "Miley, can you please stop this? Every syringe in this hospital is strictly regulated. Are you really going to cancel the surgery over a label?" His voice gentled as he looked at me. "Don't be scared. I already arranged for the family to be present during the delivery. I'll be right here with you the whole time." He reached to push me back down onto the bed. I wrenched free and looked around at all of them, my voice ice-cold. "I'm the beneficiary of the Sheldon Medical Trust. Any medical procedure performed on me requires my own signed consent. If any of you try to force treatment on me, I have every right to call the police right now." Jason's face went stark white. "Miley, we've been married for years, and this is you throwing your money and status in my face? I'm this baby's biological father. I have every right to decide whether she gets a C-section too. Just listen to me for once, honey." With that, everyone closed in and started pulling at me. I fought with everything I had, but it wasn't enough against all of them. Just as they were about to drag me into the operating room, a voice rang out from the stairwell. "Stop!" My assistant, Marcus, came rushing in, a folder clutched in his hand. "Ms. Sheldon, we have the results! The baby in your belly is a girl!"