His Contract, My Womb

Chapter 3: A Shadow Calls

I can't stop staring at her face.

Emma Torres. Twenty-two when she died. Car accident on the highway. Late at night. Rain.

I zoom in on the photo until it's blurry. Dark hair. Small frame. Eyes like mine.

We could be sisters.

I'm sitting in my car outside the doctor's office, and I'm having trouble breathing.

He didn't pick me randomly.

He picked me because I look like her.

The girl he loved. The girl who died.

I'm not having his baby. I'm replacing his ghost.

My phone rings. Unknown number. I know it's him before I even answer.

"Hello?"

"Did Dr Lindholm explain the procedure?" His voice is cold. Business.

"Yeah."

"Good. Your results should be back in three days. I'll have my assistant contact you with the next steps."

He's about to hang up. I don't let him.

"Who's Emma?"

Silence. Long and heavy.

"Excuse me?"

"Emma Torres. I googled you. I saw the article. She looks just like me."

More silence. I can hear him breathing.

"That's none of your concern," he finally says.

"You hired me because I look like your dead girlfriend. That's pretty concerning."

"You signed a contract, Miss Chen. Your job is to carry my child. Nothing more."

"Is that why you picked me? Because I remind you of her?"

"This conversation is over."

"I want the truth."

"The truth?" His voice drops. Gets dangerous. "The truth is, you needed money, and I'm giving it to you. The rest doesn't matter."

"It matters to me."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have signed the contract."

He hangs up.

I sit there holding my phone. Shaking all over.

I should walk away. Give back the money. Tell him to find someone else.

However, I have already spent $8,000. And Mom's treatment starts again tomorrow.

I'm trapped.

---

I don't sleep that night.

I keep thinking about Emma. About how she died. About how Dominic looked in that photo at her funeral.

Empty. Like someone carved out his insides.

My phone buzzes at three a.m. A text from an unknown number. Different from before.

*Stop digging. It won't change anything.*

I sit up in bed. Everything goes cold.

*Who is this?*

No response.

I call the number. It goes straight to voicemail. No greeting. Just a beep.

"I don't know who you are," I say. "But I deserve to know the truth. If Dominic wants me to have his baby, I need to know why he really chose me."

I hang up.

Someone's watching me. Someone knows I've been looking into Emma.

I lock my apartment door. Check the windows. Turn on all the lights.

I don't sleep the rest of the night.

---

Mom's treatment is scheduled to start the next morning.

I sit with her while they hook up the IV. The chemicals drip into her arm. Poison meant to kill the cancer. Poison that makes her sick.

She holds my hand the whole time.

"Tell me about your new job," she says.

I freeze. "What?"

"Your administrative job. Downtown. What's it like?"

Another lie. I need another lie.

"It's... It's fine. Boring, mostly. Answering phones. Filing paperwork."

"Do you like your boss?"

I think about Dominic's cold grey eyes. His emotionless voice. The way he looks at me like I'm nothing.

"No," I say honestly. "I don't."

She squeezes my hand. "You don't have to stay there if you're unhappy."

"I need the money, Mom."

"Not if it costs you your peace."

I look at her. She's so thin now. Her cheekbones stick out. Her eyes look too big for her face.

"You're more important," I say quietly.

She opens her mouth to argue, but then the nausea hits. I grab the basin just in time.

I hold her hair back while she's sick. Rub circles on her back. Whisper that it's okay.

But she's not okay.

And neither am I.

---

Three days later, the results come back.

Dr Lindholm calls me herself.

"Everything looks perfect, Miss Chen. You're an ideal candidate. We can schedule the embryo transfer for next week."

My stomach drops. "Next week?"

"Yes. We'll need you to start hormone injections tomorrow to prepare your body. I'll have the pharmacy send everything to your address."

"What if... what if I change my mind?"

She pauses. "Excuse me?"

"What if I don't want to do this anymore?"

"Miss Chen, you signed a contract. If you breach it, you'll owe Mr Hale damages. Significant damages."

"How much?"

"I believe it's detailed in Section Seven. Something in the range of fifty thousand dollars."

Fifty thousand. I don't have fifty thousand. I barely have twelve thousand left.

"I see."

"Is there a problem?"

"No. No problem."

"Good. I'll see you next week. Tuesday at nine a.m. Don't eat or drink anything after midnight the night before."

She hangs up.

I sit on my couch staring at nothing.

Next week they're gonna put his baby inside me.

A baby I'm gonna carry for nine months and then hand over like it never mattered.

My phone rings again. The hospital.

"Miss Chen, there's been a complication with your mother's treatment."

Everything goes quiet. "What kind of complication?"

"She had an allergic reaction to one of the medications. We've stabilised her, but we need to adjust her treatment plan. The new medication is more expensive. We'll need an additional four thousand dollars before we can proceed."

Four thousand dollars.

"When do you need it?"

"By Friday."

Two days.

"Okay. I'll get it to you."

I hang up.

Then I text Dominic.

*I need an advance on my next payment.*

Three dots appear immediately.

*No.*

*My mom needs more treatment. I need four thousand dollars.*

*The contract specifies a payment schedule. No advances.*

*Please. She's dying.*

The dots appear. Disappear. Appear again.

*The embryo transfer is on Tuesday. If you complete it successfully, I'll wire you $5,000 as a bonus.*

A bonus. Like I'm an employee hitting a sales target.

*That's three days too late.*

*Then I suggest you find another solution.*

I want to scream at him that he's a heartless bastard.

But I don't.

Because he's right. I signed the contract. I took his money.

And now I owe him a baby.

---

Tuesday morning comes too fast.

I arrive at Dr Lindholm's office at 8:45. I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon. My stomach i,s empty and my head feels light.

The receptionist takes me back immediately.

Dr Lindholm is waiting. And so is someone else.

Dominic.

He's sitting in a chair by the window. Perfect suit. Cold eyes. He doesn't stand when I walk in.

"Miss Chen," he says.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's my child. I have a right to be present."

I look at Dr Lindholm. She nods.

I don't have a choice. I never have a choice anymore.

"Fine."

Dr Lindholm has me change into a gown and lie on the exam table. She explains the procedure. They'll use a catheter to transfer the embryo directly into my uterus. I'll need to lie still for thirty minutes after.

Dominic watches everything. Doesn't say a word.

I hate him for being here. For seeing me like this. Vulnerable and scared and half-naked under a paper gown.

"Ready?" Dr Lindholm asks.

No. I'm not ready. I'll never be ready.

"Yeah."

The procedure doesn't hurt exactly. Just feels wrong. Invasive. Like my body knows something foreign is being put inside it.

Dominic stands up. Moves closer. Watches the monitor.

"There," Dr Lindholm says softly. "The embryo is in place."

And just like that, it's done.

I'm pregnant. Maybe. Probably.

With Dominic Hale's baby.

Dr Lindholm removes the equipment and covers me with a blanket.

"Lie still for thirty minutes. Then you can go home. No strenuous activity for forty-eight hours."

She leaves. And I'm alone with him.

Dominic stands by the exam table. Looking down at me.

"Thank you," he says quietly.

It's the first time he's sounded almost human.

"I didn't do it for you," I say.

"I know."

He reaches out. For a second, I think he's gonna touch me. But he stops. His hand hovers over my stomach.

Then he pulls back.

"The five thousand will be in your account tomorrow."

He turns to leave.

"Why do I look like her?" I ask.

He stops. His back is to me.

"Why do I look exactly like Emma Torres?"

His shoulders tense. "You don't."

"I saw the photos. We could be twins."

"You're imagining things."

"I'm not. And you know I'm not. That's why you chose me."

He turns around slowly. His face is blank. But his eyes... his eyes look scared.

"Drop it, Maya."

"Not until you tell me the truth."

"The truth won't change anything."

"It'll change everything for me."

He stares at me for a long moment. Like he's deciding something.

Then he walks to the door. Stops with his hand on the handle.

"Emma was adopted," he says quietly. "She spent years looking for her birth mother. She found her right before she died."

The room spins.

"Her birth mother's name was Linda. Linda Chen."

I can't breathe.

Can't think.

Can't process what he just said.

"You're her half-sister, Maya. That's why you look like her. That's why I chose you."

He walks out.

And I'm left lying there.

Emma Torres was my sister.

My half-sister.

Mom had another daughter. Gave her up. Never told me.

And now I'm carrying a baby for the man who loved her.

The man who's using me to replace her.

I'm not just a surrogate.

I'm a ghost made flesh.