Chapter 6 The Baby Is Gone

Zachary spotted Sophia, too.

Paula, nestled protectively in his arms, noticed his momentary distraction.

She tightened her grip around Zachary's well-defined waist, burying her face against his chest.

"Zachary, I'm so scared!"

Paula's voice carried an obvious tremor, clearly shaken by the chaotic scene around them.

Zachary was forced back to the present, quickly escorting her away from the ballroom.

Once they finally squeezed out of the venue and could breathe the fresh air outside, many people were clutching their chests, exclaiming how terrifying the whole experience had been.

Paula clung to Zachary, saying with a hint of satisfaction, "Zachary, we're so lucky. We almost got trapped in there."

But Zachary wasn't listening. His mind kept replaying the look in Sophia's eyes.

Her gaze had been filled with disappointment and coldness, completely different from the gentle, tender looks he remembered.

After a brief rest, Zachary released Paula and strode back toward the ballroom.

Paula quickly grabbed his arm again. "Zachary, are you insane? There's a fire inside! The kitchen could explode any minute, and with all these people, you'll get trampled going against the crowd!"

The more Paula spoke, the colder Zachary's heart became.

He pushed her away. "Wait here!"

Without another word, Zachary stepped back into the ballroom without hesitation.

Most people had already escaped, while others were still bottlenecked at the entrance. The more frantically they tried to get out, the more stuck they became.

Zachary barely managed to push his way in. White smoke from the kitchen had begun filling the ballroom, obscuring most of his vision.

He could only abandon all dignity and shout Sophia's name at the top of his lungs.

Along the way, he encountered several acquaintances, but Zachary had no time to waste on pleasantries.

Every second he delayed meant another second Sophia remained in danger.

At a time like this, that could be fatal.

"Sophia, where are you!" Lost in the white smoke, Zachary had become disoriented, feeling like he was going in circles.

"I'm here."

After searching for about three or four minutes, Zachary finally heard Sophia's voice.

It was weak, as if barely squeezed from her throat.

"Keep talking, I'm coming to find you!"

Following the faint voice, Zachary finally found Sophia kneeling on the ground.

Her forehead was damp with sweat, and her carefully styled hair now clung to her face, making her look utterly disheveled.

"Get up!" Zachary moved to pull Sophia to her feet, but she weakly pushed his hand away.

"At a time like this, you're still throwing a tantrum?" Zachary frowned, his voice urgent with worry.

Sophia shook her head gently. She didn't even have the strength to speak.

Sharp pain in her lower abdomen made her feel like she might pass out.

She'd almost managed to stand earlier, only to be knocked down again by the crowd rushing to escape.

Two consecutive impacts had twisted her ankle and left her abdomen throbbing with a dull ache, as if someone had punched her repeatedly.

Only then did Zachary realize something was wrong. He followed Sophia's gaze downward.

The pale purple gown was covered with footprints, and beneath Sophia, a small pool of bright red blood had formed.

Zachary's pupils dilated in shock.

Sophia was pregnant!

Realizing this, Zachary's anxiety spiked again.

But after a moment of panic, another thought crossed his mind.

The father of this child was unknown, and Sophia refused to tell him who it was.

Her current symptoms looked like a miscarriage.

If this child were lost in this accident, would Sophia still insist on leaving him?

Sophia went completely limp in his arms, rolling her eyes back before losing consciousness entirely.

After a brief moment of consideration, Zachary stood up.

...

The heavy smell of antiseptic told Sophia exactly where she was.

She struggled to open her eyes, greeted by nothing but stark white.

Her throat felt like it had been scraped raw with sandpaper; even the slightest attempt to make a sound sent sharp pain through her vocal cords.

Beside the hospital bed, a nurse was drawing medication into a syringe.

Sophia tried to push herself up against the bed.

The nurse quickly set down the syringe and hurried over to help Sophia sit up.

"What happened to me?" Her head still throbbed with pain. Sophia only remembered that the last person she'd seen before losing consciousness was Zachary.

The nurse brought her a cup of water, helping her take a sip. "You inhaled too much toxic smoke at the scene, and you were also caught in the stampede."

Sophia collected herself, instinctively placing a hand on her lower abdomen.

"What about my baby?"

She still remembered the sharp, dropping pain in her belly before she'd passed out.

That couldn't have been her imagination.

The nurse's expression became evasive. "The baby is gone. You need to stay positive—you're still young, and you'll have plenty of opportunities for children in the future."

The nurse's gentle consolation felt like reopening a wound that had just begun to scab over, exposing the raw, bleeding flesh beneath.

Sophia's eyes flickered.

"What injection were you about to give me?"

The nurse glanced back nervously, her voice trembling slightly. "Oh, that? That's preparation for the D&C procedure. Since you had an accidental miscarriage, some of the placental tissue wasn't expelled completely, so..."

"I was only a month along. Would there already be placental tissue?" Sophia asked with startling clarity.

The nurse's suspicious behavior was making her increasingly doubtful.

If the baby was already gone, why hadn't they performed the procedure while she was unconscious?

Wouldn't the hospital be concerned about complications during the waiting period?

The nurse was completely stumped by this question.

Sophia forced a smile.

"You're the professionals. Just follow your standard surgical protocol."

"My head hurts a bit. Could you please call a doctor to check what's wrong with me?"

This was a young nurse, and Sophia grasped her hand with what seemed like desperation. "I'm in so much pain right now, I can barely hold on."

To emphasize her point, Sophia deliberately coughed a few times, putting on a show of suffering.

The young nurse had never encountered this situation before and immediately panicked, rushing out to find the attending physician.

But when she returned, the patient who should have been resting peacefully in bed was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, Sophia was hiding in the hospital stairwell, wearing a face mask and gasping for air.

Her foot still sent shooting pains through her leg. Dragging her injured body, Sophia made her way step by step toward the hospital exit.

She refused to believe her child was gone just like that.

Even more, she didn't trust that nurse who couldn't even lie convincingly!

After finally escaping the hospital, Sophia hailed a taxi.

Leaning back against the seat and catching her breath, she said, "Evergreen Hospital!"

Even if the baby was gone, she had to confirm it herself.

Gently touching her belly, Sophia's gaze grew increasingly determined.