Chapter 7 She Left

Sophia struggled to sit up, but the past few days had already drained her body beyond its limits. She watched as Ian carried Evelyn down the corridor, his anxious figure disappearing at the far end. As the distance grew, her consciousness slipped away. When she woke again, her head was wrapped in layers of gauze. She lay motionless on the hospital bed, pale and fragile, as though the slightest touch might break her. Suddenly, the door was kicked open with brutal force. Ian stormed in like an enraged beast. He lunged forward, yanked the blanket aside, and began tearing at her clothes without restraint, completely ignoring the injuries on her head and hands. Sophia screamed in shock and fought desperately, her voice breaking as she shouted, "Ian, what are you doing? This is a hospital. Get off of me!" She couldn't break free. A large hand pinned her to the bed, veins bulging as his grip tightened mercilessly. "You killed Evelyn's baby, so I'm going to let you experience what it feels like to lose your own. Didn't you want a baby? Fine. I'll give you one right now!" He pressed her down violently, one hand clamped around her throat, completely indifferent to the way her body shook in terror. What had once been moments of intimacy that filled her with sweetness became, in that instant, her worst nightmare. Soon, the pristine white sheets were soaked through with bright red blood. Shock flickered across Ian's eyes. He hurriedly pulled away, disgust crossing his expression, as though he were looking at something filthy. He stared coldly at Sophia lying there, her body covered in wounds. "Sophia, I never imagined you'd sink this low," he said with open contempt. "You even went as far as repairing your hymen just to please me. Let me be clear. No matter what you do, all it does is disgust me." Whatever love he once had for her was long gone. Soon after, his phone rang. "Mr. Sheffield, you need to come quickly. Ms. Henderson was too overwhelmed and fainted." Concern flooded Ian's eyes instantly. He didn't spare Sophia a single glance. Turning sharply, he rushed out of the room. What Ian didn't know was that Sophia wasn't bleeding because of a torn hymen. She was hemorrhaging. Sophia lay on the bed, barely conscious, her limbs heavy, her face as white as paper. She didn't even have the strength to cry for help. It felt as though her organs had been crushed. When the doctor found her during rounds, the bed was already drenched in blood, the floor beneath her stained a shocking red. The air in the room was thick with the metallic scent of blood. Sophia was rushed into emergency surgery. Only then did they discover the truth. She'd been pregnant, nearly three months along, but she didn't even know. "In some cases, when a fetus senses that the mother is unwilling to keep it, the body can trigger a protective response that masks the pregnancy," the doctor explained with a sigh. Sophia touched her abdomen absent-mindedly. Two months earlier, she'd smelled a perfume on Ian that hadn't belonged to him. It was a faint, feminine scent. He'd hid it well, but she'd still noticed. That night, she had quietly abandoned her decision not to get pregnant. Just as she was lost in thought, her phone rang. It was Theodore. "Everything's been arranged. Rosalie's already been moved somewhere safe. You can leave whenever you're ready." "I'm ready now," Sophia replied without hesitation, her tone determined. From that moment on, they would go their separate ways. Sophia got into the car Theodore had arranged and headed straight for the airport. Before boarding, she threw away everything that tied her to Ian. Even the wedding ring she'd once cherished was dropped into a trash can without a second thought. At the same time, Gabriel rushed into the hospital room and whispered urgently in Ian's ear, "Mr. Sheffield, the IT department just reported that Mrs. Sheffield contacted Theodore Hayes five days ago. They spoke again just now." The warmth in Ian's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by iciness. "Why is she contacting Theodore?" he demanded. A sense of dread surged through him. All of a sudden, he seemed as if he'd thought of something and strode out of the room. Just as he'd expected, Sophia's hospital room was empty. "Where did she go?" His voice was low and oppressive as he interrogated the nurse cleaning the room, his expression darkening. "She was discharged a few hours ago. A Bentley with a Hillridge plate picked her up. Are you her family?" Alarm bells went off in Ian's head. That car belonged to Theodore. They were sworn enemies, and everyone in Hillridge knew it. Sophia would never have gone with him. For some reason, panic crept in. He kept calling Sophia, only to be met with the same cold automated voice. "The number you have dialed is not in service…" Ian exploded with rage. "Find her! Find Sophia immediately!" A sense of insecurity and loss of control spread through his body. Gabriel moved quickly. His voice trembled as he reported, "Mr. Sheffield, we found her. Mrs. Sheffield's last known location was the airport. Her information has been wiped. Someone clearly covered her tracks." "Keep looking," Ian snapped. "I want her found, dead or alive!"