Chapter 3 - The Buyer Arrives
The heavy oak door splintered down the middle as the sledgehammer struck it again.
Wood fragments flew across the nursery, narrowly missing my face as I shielded the baby.
David grabbed a heavy brass floor lamp, ripping its cord from the wall to use as a weapon.
"Stay behind me," David ordered, positioning himself between me and the breaking door.
The lock finally shattered completely, and the door swung open violently.
A tall man in a tailored black suit stepped over the broken wood, lowering his sledgehammer.
He had sharp, aristocratic features and eyes that were entirely devoid of human warmth.
"You took much longer than promised, Evelyn," the man said, glaring at the grandmother.
"I apologize, Mr. Vance," the grandmother replied, suddenly sounding incredibly subservient.
"My son and his sister decided to interfere with the extraction."
Vance shifted his cold gaze to me, his eyes locking onto the baby resting against my bruised collarbone.
"Hand over the child, and I will let the three of you walk out of this house alive," Vance commanded.
David swung the heavy brass lamp, striking the doorframe just inches from Vance's face to create a barrier.
"You are not touching my daughter!" David screamed, his knuckles turning white.
Vance sighed in pure annoyance, adjusting the cuffs of his expensive suit.
"She is not your daughter, David," Vance said smoothly.
"Sarah was a surrogate for my late wife's embryos, a fact your mother sold to me for ten million dollars."
The world seemed to stop spinning as Vance's words echoed in the ruined nursery.
I looked at the grandmother in absolute horror, realizing the true depths of her greed.
She had secretly sold her own daughter-in-law's womb to a billionaire lunatic.
"Sarah thinks she went to a fertility clinic for IVF," Vance continued, stepping into the room.
"But your mother ensured my genetic material was used instead."
David dropped the brass lamp, his entire reality shattering into a million irreparable pieces.
The aunt took advantage of David's shock and lunged at me with the medical syringe she had retrieved from the floor.
She drove the needle directly into my shoulder, pushing the plunger down before I could even scream.
A cold, burning sensation rushed through my veins.
My knees immediately buckled, and I collapsed against the side of the crib.
Vance stepped forward, reaching his large hands out to take the crying baby from my weakening grip.
"Thank you for keeping her warm," Vance whispered, prying my fingers away from the blanket.
May you like
Then, a deafening gunshot rang out from the hallway.
Vance let out a horrific scream as his kneecap exploded into a mist of red.
