Page 154 of The Moral Dilemma

While little Malia gets her first meal, Nikki cleans my wound and replaces the stained bandage with a new one. I’m close to my breaking point pain-wise, and I can’t even disguise my winces, or muffle my low whimpers of pain.

All throughout, he’s shaking his head as he looks at me, giving me one of thoseI can’t believe youglances. Still, I’m happy with my choice. I would never betray Noelle’s confidence just to make myself more comfortable.

Soon, though, we need to cut everything short as we hear cars pulling up at the hacienda. Nikki glances outside from behind the curtain.

“They’re being greeted like royalty. They must be important,” Nikki suggests.

I purse my lips. Why would Sergio schedule an event today—especiallytoday? Whatever his plan is, it can’t be a good one, and I’m scared that he means to harm either Noelle or her baby.

We’d both expected from the beginning that he would try to use her baby against her, and for that very reason, I’d tried to rack my brain for a solution. Luckily, I’d overheard some women the night before about the troublesome birth of a villager, and the fact that the mother didn’t think the child would survive.

So I’d impulsively proposed a bargain. Should the baby die, I would buy his body off of the family. They must think I’m doing some sort of witchcraft with it, but since the money had been more than they’d get in a year, they hadn’t been able to refuse.

Still, we might be able to save baby Malia. But what about Noelle?

“What if we take her with us too? We can all escape,” I suggest, feeling uneasy about the entire situation. “Or I can stay behind and take care of her.”

We take little Malia from Noelle. Nikki changes the babies, placing the dead one in the cradle while taking the little girl in his arms.

“No. You’re coming with me,” Nikki immediately replied. “But we can’t risk taking her now, Luce. You’re injured. She’s injured.Andwe have a baby with us. We won’t be able to carry her out without being discovered. We’ll get caught.”

I purse my lips.

I don’t like having to leave Noelle behind.

“We’ll be quick, I promise. We’ll go to Monterrey and I’ll come back for her. It will be a few hours maximum.”

I gaze up at him, unsure what to do. What he’s saying makes sense, but I don’t feel right leaving while she’s still here. Yet at the same time, if Noelle were awake, she’d tell me to save the baby first and come back for her later.

I sigh in confusion, my brain and my heart in total opposition. Yet a few moments of consideration later and I ultimately admit that Nikki is right.

But just as we both get ready to leave, someone bangs on the door.

My eyes widen in alarm, and I shoo Nikki into the bathroom with the baby, praying to God that she’s not going to cry and give us away.

“El Señor wants to see the baby,” one of the maids says, giving me a pointed look.

I would have wondered how he knew Noelle had already given birth, but I guess people must have heard the baby’s cries.

“Does he now,” I mumble dryly.

“If you don’t take the baby to him, he will come here himself,” she continues, turning to look at Noelle’s form in the bed. The threat is implicit—should Sergio come here himself, he might hurt Noelle.

“I will go there right away.” I nod, going to the cradle and picking up the dead baby. I bite down against the pain in my arm as I plaster a fake smile onto my face. “Please lead the way.”

I turn ever so slightly, giving Nikki a signal to lay low as I exit the room.

The maid leads me out of the house and toward the temple. A sliver of fear shoots through me as I imagine what I’ll find inside there. I’d already once witnessed the debauchery in which Sergio engaged in, and it had been enough for a lifetime.

I tighten my hold over the dead baby as I focus on not passing out from the pain. The more I move, the more I feel as if my arm is about to fall off.

Don’t show weakness!

God, how I wish I could do that. But I fear I’m too far gone to be able to pretend I’m not in perpetual pain.

The doors to the temple open and I’m led to the main room—the same one I’d seen before. And just like that time years ago, Sergio is in the middle of the room, surrounded by a dozen other men.

I gulp down against the intense feeling of discomfort I’m feeling as I step forward. My head is bent down as I reach his side, not wanting to meet his gaze and incur his wrath for my insolence.

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