Page 62 of Beautiful Agony

She won't meet my eyes. Her usual warm bedside manner is replaced by darting glances at the door. The way she keeps wringing her hands reminds me of someone else who was terrified.

Taliya.

In Megan's interview.

My stomach churns, and not from morning sickness. Dr. Chen has always been so composed during our previous visits. The way she's acting now...something isn't right.

"Just a few more adjustments," she mutters, but she hasn't actually done anything with the equipment for the past minute.

Dr. Chen's face crumples and tears start streaming down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Stravinsky. I'm so, so sorry."

"What's wrong?" My heart pounds as I try to sit up on the exam table. "Dr. Chen, you're scaring me."

"I don't want to do this." Her words come out in a choked whisper. "But I have no choice?—"

Before I can process what's happening, she lunges forward with something glinting in her hand.

A scalpel.

Aimed straight at my belly.

Pure instinct takes over. I grab her hands, but the blade slices deep into my palm. Hot pain lances through my hand as blood wells up, making my grip slippery. But I don't let go.

"Please," she sobs, trying to wrench free. "I have to?—"

"VADIM!" I scream, using every ounce of strength to keep the scalpel from plunging into my stomach. Blood drips down my arm as Dr. Chen and I grapple. The cut burns, but all I can think about is protecting our baby. "VADIM!"

My arms shake with the effort of holding her back. Dr. Chen may be smaller than me, but desperation gives her strength. The scalpel inches closer to my belly despite my blood-slicked grip.

"I'm sorry," she keeps crying. “Please forgive me.”

The door crashes open as Vadim bursts in, and rips Dr. Chen away from me with such force that I hear something crack.

My hands are slick with blood, throbbing in time with my racing heartbeat. But I barely register the pain as my trembling fingers fly to my stomach.

Thank god!

The blade didn't reach my belly. Our baby is safe.

Dr. Chen crumples to the floor, sobbing hysterically. "I didn't want to—they made me do it! Please, I had no choice!"

Vadim towers over her, his face twisted in cold fury. "Who made you?" His voice carries the deadly edge I've only heard a few times before.

"They took her." Dr. Chen's words dissolve into broken wails. "They took my daughter last week. My Bianca..."

The raw anguish in her voice strikes something deep inside me. Despite my bleeding hands, despite what she just tried to do, I find myself stumbling forward to grab Vadim's arm before he can move closer to her.

"Who?" My voice shakes as I pull him back. "Dr. Chen, who took Bianca?"

Dr. Chen's body shakes with each sob as she tells us what happened. "I was working late at the clinic. When I got home..." Her voice breaks. "There were men everywhere. They had guns pointed at my husband, at Bianca..."

My heart twists painfully despite the throbbing in my hand. I've seen that same desperate terror before.

"And there was a single woman among them." Dr. Chen's words come faster now, tumbling over each other. "She kept stroking Bianca's hair, telling me what pretty eyes she has."

Dr. Chen's fingers claw at her own arms, leaving angry red marks. "She told me what I had to do…” Fresh tears stream down her face. "A child for a child, she said.”

Vadim's entire body has gone rigid beside me. I know that coiled tension—he's fighting the urge to unleash violence. But Dr. Chen is just another victim here.

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