After His Brainwash, I Fought for My Family

Chapter 3

Early the next morning, that short-lived warmth was shattered by a sharp knock knock knock on the door.

It wasn't some heavy-handed expert team here to drag someone away waiting on the other side. It was Director Adams from the security group corporation, with Veronica trailing right behind him.

"Mrs. Walker, sorry to intrude." Director Adams's face was grim, a document clutched in his hand. "Your sudden appearance yesterday caused Captain Walker's heart rate and other vitals to fluctuate wildly and dangerously. What's more, we got a call this morning from Captain Walker's mother, your mother-in-law, back in her hometown. She sent over a video and a signed statement."

My stomach dropped like a stone. A sickening sense of foreboding washed over me.

Veronica pushed her glasses up her nose and spoke in a cold, by-the-book tone. "Your mother-in-law stated clearly in the video that you took an 11,800-dollar compensation for families of missing personnel the very first month Captain Walker went missing, and were planning to marry Mr. Lawson next door. The child in your belly has no clear paternity."

"Bullshit! I never took that allowance, and I would never remarry!" I was shaking with rage, every muscle in my body tensed up.

"The group will look into the truth of the matter, but for now, to calm him down, Captain Walker needs to go to the intervention room for a routine checkup." Director Adams sighed.

Zack couldn't follow the complicated, tense negotiation, but he could sense the threat in the air instinctively. He planted his tall, broad frame right in front of me, staring daggers at Veronica.

"Captain Walker." Director Adams put a firm hand on his shoulder, his voice sharp. "Follow orders. It's just a checkup!"

The word "orders" seared into him like a hot branding iron. His whole body went rigid. He glanced back at me, eyes swimming with unease, before he was led away.

I couldn't sit still for even a second. I hurried after them, my pregnant belly sticking out, all the way to the memory rehabilitation department.

Through the small glass window on the assessment room door, I saw something that made my blood run cold with rage.

There wasn't a single high-tech medical device in the room. All Veronica had done was set a tablet down in front of Zack looping my mother-in-law's shrill, venomous voice on repeat. "Son, don't let that slut fool you! She took the death benefit from your line of duty and got an abortion ages ago! Now she's waddling back here pregnant with some other man's bastard, just because she found out you're alive and wants to stick you with the kid!"

Zack stared fixedly at the screen. His already jumbled memories completely unraveled into chaos. He clutched his head in agony, huge beads of cold sweat rolling down his face.

"Captain Walker, take deep breaths." Veronica's soft voice dripped with venom, like a viper flicking its forked tongue. "That's your own mother. She would never lie to you. The woman standing in front of you isn't the wife you remember. Forget her, don't let her provoke you..."

I couldn't hold back a second longer. I reared back and kicked the assessment room door flying open. "Dr. Cale, are you out of your damn mind? You call treating him with this out-of-context garbage?" I stormed in with blazing red eyes, snatched the tablet off the table, and hurled it as hard as I could at the floor. The screen instantly shattered into a thousand jagged shards, spiderwebbing across the floor on impact.

"You are completely out of line!" She shot to her feet immediately, putting on a holier-than-thou front as she planted herself directly in front of Zack. "This is legitimate evidence provided by his family. For Captain Walker's safety, I already called in special security without Director Adams' knowledge. If you can't prove the child's paternity, you will sign this Non-Contact Agreement right now and leave the rehab center!"

Medical staff and security guards from outside poured in at the commotion, staring at me with clear suspicion, murmuring and pointing among themselves. After all, a "firsthand confirmation" from his own mother carried way too much weight.

I didn't pay any of them a single glance. My gaze was locked hard on Zack, still sitting in his chair. The second he saw me, the agony in his eyes deepened to a raw, searing pain. His mother's lies, Veronica's insidious little suggestions, and the real, living me standing right in front of him, all three were tearing his already frayed nerves to shreds.

He stumbled off the chair, wracked with pain, his entire forehead slick with cold sweat. His whole body shaking, he reached out desperately for me, but the more flustered he got, the more the words got stuck in his throat.

He fought with every ounce of strength he had, and only a few broken syllables managed to squeeze out. "No... not... Selena... don't..."

"You heard that, right?" Veronica cut him off immediately, her voice sharp and triumphant as she stared me down like she'd already won. "Even Captain Walker's subconscious is saying you're 'not' his wife, and telling you 'don't' push him any further!"

The quiet whispers around us swelled into a loud, buzzing sound. Surrounded by a room full of judgmental, doubting stares, that deliberately twisted, half-formed line from Zack landed like a fatal blow to the chest.

"Fine. Great." I let out a bitter, hollow laugh, all the crushing hurt in my chest curdling into cold, total defeat.

I snatched the Non-Contact Agreement off the table, crumpled it into a tight ball, and threw it as hard as I could right at Veronica's face.

But the very next second, a sharp, searing cramp tore through my lower abdomen completely out of nowhere. All the color drained from my face in an instant. My legs turned to jelly, and I went limp, toppling straight toward the hard, unforgiving floor.

Right then, my unborn son's panicked, desperate sobs exploded in my head. "Mommy! There's blood! I don't feel good… It hurts so bad, Mommy save me…" he wailed. "Dummy daddy! If you don't speak up right now, mom and I are really gonna die!"

A streak of bright, blinding, searing red seeped slowly out from under my skirt, staining the floor beneath me. My consciousness started to fade fast…

"Selena!" That roar ripped through all the pretense and mental fog clouding Zack's mind. It wasn't the broken, breathy croak he'd been making, or the jumbled mumbles he could barely get out anymore.

Right before I hit the ground, a pair of broad, strong arms caught me tight and pulled me firm against his chest. I felt warm, heavy tears splatter against my face, thud, thud, one after another.

The last thing I registered before everything went dark was a hoarse, yelling voice. "Doctor! Where's a doctor! Hurry up and save my wife!"