The Seed Of My Husband’s Betrayal

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Taylor was barely leaving out any form of breath; her eyes were drowsing, struggling to keep energy and stay awake.

“Stay with us, Taylor, stay, please!” A man’s voice urged as he wheeled the stretcher faster than any medical team present.

Taylor recognized the male voice. Tears slipped past the turmoil beneath her vision as the chaos inside of her eroded maliciously. She wasn’t sure how her life hung in the balance, but the miracle kept her will unshakable.

She had to survive. To rise from the ashes of her defeat.

Darkness beckoned at a chilly proximity; Taylor’s eyes soon yielded, and her system gave in to the grievous wave. She was gone.

“Clear!” The hustle for Taylor’s return began earnestly.

“Raise to 300!”

“Clear!” The defibrillator paddles lowered once again directly onto Taylor’s chest to deliver a static current needed to pump her heart back into rhythm.

Movements seeped back into the stilled machine, alongside an erratic beeping sound that brought back the lost hope.

……………………………

It’s been several hours since the surgery was carried out successfully, and Taylor’s condition has been saved and stabilised.

Keegan Locke, Taylor’s childhood friend, the man who had brought her in and never left her side after she got transferred to a ward, sat inside the grave silence, staring.

An unreadable look expressed through his sharp, defined features, yet subtle emotions fractured beneath his cold gaze. He didn't like what became of her ending—why? He predicted it. He warned her.

He hated that he was right. He hated that he nearly lost her and would’ve lost her if he hadn’t arrived just in time.

Taylor’s voice broke into the hushed space in an active groan, stirring her back into consciousness.

Her eyes blinked open, settling straight on Keegan’s figure.

“Keegan.” Her voice strained. She blinked her eyes shut, giving in to the tears knocking as several thoughts began to pull in.

The betrayal, the heartbreak, her dance with death, and the harsh reality of it all.

“I contacted your father,” he relayed, his tone detached as each word spewed forth. “Your days of rebellion are over.”

Taylor sobbed uncontrollably.

The memories mocked her hard, the smiles they all shared, the forever promises— everything rushed back to persecute.

Whispers of the warnings she had received about them, details she observed but failed to give second thoughts.

She once observed the look in Shawna’s eyes every time she witnessed Matthew and herself being romantic. The frown was never elusive; it was always glaring, and she’d deemed it as nothing more than playful jealousy.

She loved them both too much to recognize the signs. That was her mistake. And now the truth wasn’t just laughing at her; it was stabbing her over and over again.

“My baby!” She whispered in a soft cry as her palm found its way to her belly to rub cautiously.

“Could not be saved. I’m sorry.”

A dull ache flushed back into Taylor’s system as fresh tears descended.

“No, no, no, no!” She wept like a cloudy sky.

One single flaw, and she lost everything.

‘They took everything from me. They took everything!’ Taylor sighed out loud.

The battle wasn’t over as long as they failed to take away her last breath. The universe must’ve wanted a fair chance for her.

“Keegan, take me far away from here,” Taylor demanded in a frail tone.

She had just woken up from a solemn surgery and didn’t even take much breath before plunging into the agonizing turmoil surrounding her.

They’ve won the first round, but they haven’t won the entire battle.

“Call Father and let him know that I’m coming back home with you.” Something burned behind the steady calmness on her face.

Taylor left her home to live an independent life without any props or influence from her father, George West, Eldoria’s wealthiest tycoon.

He never intended to let her go, but when she proposed the deal that he could meddle if she was ever unable to cater for herself at one point during the course of her decision.

That calmed the old man down; he let her go.

Taylor lived an ordinary life like she wanted and eventually made a name for herself. She built her legacy from scratch to forge the fortunes attached to her name.

All of which have now been wrongfully taken away from her, courtesy of her blind trust.

“Took you long enough,” Keegan mouthed a cold response, then stood up.

“Wait.” Taylor stopped his attempt to walk off.

“I’ll leave with you, but there’s something I need you to do for me.” Her steady gaze matched his before she went in depth with her request.

……………………….

Over fifteen hours had passed since Taylor’s dead body mysteriously disappeared.

What was once a set of jubilation had rapidly plummeted into a state of panic and utter anxiousness for both Matthew and Shawna.

“Mark told me he shot her three times, and from the picture he sent to me as evidence…

“There’s no way she could’ve survived. Even if she did, she wouldn’t make it to the hospital for help before she’d collapse. There’s so much blood,” Matthew tried to reason under the compressive distress.

“But what if somebody finds her dead body and turns it over to the cops? Her death would be investigated, and this might end badly for us.” Shawna blew out nervous breaths one after the other, holding her head between both palms like it was the major thing preventing her from insanity.

“We’d deal with that if it ever comes to that,” Matthew assured.

“I’ve got a friend high in the police force. He could simply rule her death a tragic case of homicide and keep us out of any incriminating investigations. We’ve gotten away with this baby, I promise you.”

Matthew’s phone buzzed, and he took the call without checking out who the caller was. He’s been expecting a call, any call, for so long now.

“Hello?”

“We just got news; a dead body found on the street has been delivered to the cops. The body was later identified as Taylor Rhodes, your wife.”

Matthew let out a sigh of relief.