Chapter 4

Emilio left Williams’s office with a darkened face. The weight of what he carried pressed heavily on his chest. What he feared was not only the parents’ reaction, but the possibility of failing to his promise. What if they refused to forgive? What if they chose to make this mistake public? It was, after all, a big deal.

Two possibilities ran through his mind. Either begin a new procedure with the couple, thereby aborting the pregnancy already underway in the other woman’s womb, or attempt to convince the woman to carry the child to term and later hand it over to the rightful parents. But this was almost impossible. Everything depended on how both parties would react.

Emilio scratched his head as he walked toward the meeting room.

Inside, the couple was already visibly impatient.

“Excuse me, doctor,” the husband said sharply. “What is going on? We came for a procedure, and instead we’ve been locked in this room with no explanation. Is something wrong?”

Emilio drew a long breath. Through the glass wall, he caught sight of Malaya, watching him with concern. Then he turned back to the couple and began.

“Mr. and Mrs. Mayeurs… I am very sorry to inform you…”

As he explained, the couple’s faces darkened.

“What? How is this possible?”

No words could capture the depth of their anger and disappointment. They had suffered for months, enduring countless procedures to finally glimpse a chance at hope—only to be told now that their embryo was growing inside a stranger’s womb. While the husband’s fury spilled out, his wife sank into silent retreat. Their raised voices carried down the hall, and several staff members exchanged worried looks. Everyone could sense that devastating news had just been delivered.

Not far from the meeting hall, in her office, Dr. Williams could hear the uproar. She forced herself to remain calm, though her mind was reeling. Emilio was not careless. He was brilliant, meticulous, the last person she expected to make such an error. How could this have happened?

Her doubts pressed hard against her temples, but the pills she had taken earlier dulled her thoughts, making clarity harder to grasp.

But one thought broke through: the hospital’s reputation.

What will I tell my mother if this turns ugly?

Her mother, who had fought body and soul all her life to build this hospital from nothing, could not intervene again. She had intervened once before, when Williams was a teenager. Now, as an adult, she would not allow it to happen again. She refused to repeat the cycle. Trembling, panicking, her mind slipped back into the old dreams.

She was young again, sitting outside the principal’s office, weak and hollow, watching through the glass as her mother argued inside.

“Madam,” her mother said firmly, “I fought so hard to give my daughter a good education, and you are telling me there is no way she can be protected in your school?”

“That is not what we are saying, madam,” the principal replied carefully. “We are working to resolve the matter. Please, be patient.”

“Be patient? Are you serious?” her mother snapped, slamming a hand on the desk. “My daughter has been coming home with bruises for a month now, and you’ve done nothing. Should I wait until she dies before you act? Just tell me the truth—it’s because they are rich kids, isn’t it?”

The air turned violent, words clashing like weapons. Then came silence.

“Come on, my daughter,” her mother said at last, voice trembling. “We have nothing more to do here.”

Williams scratched her head frantically in her office, reliving that moment—the glance she exchanged with the girl who had marked her life, the quiet realization that she was leaving for good.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Williams.” Emilio entered, his expression calmer now.

Williams jolted back to the present and adjusted her posture. “So?” she asked, her voice clipped with impatience.

“They agreed to an amicable settlement,” he said, relief softening his face.

“Really?” Williams rose to her feet as if she had just been released from prison.

“But we are not out of danger yet,” Emilio added. His eyes betrayed his worry. “I still need to contact the young woman involved.”

A silence fell between them. Then, more softly, he said, “I’ve also reported the incident to the legal department. I am truly sorry, Williams.”

She could not answer. All her focus was on holding herself together, hiding the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm her. She picked up her bag, brushed past Emilio, and left for home without another word.

But as she left, Emilio remained in her office. Something was wrong. He had noticed her strange behavior for weeks: the fatigue, the trembling hands, the symptoms that changed so often he could not pin down a diagnosis. He worried deeply for her, but Williams never spoke of herself, and certainly never of her health. Though he tried, she never let him close enough to ask.

Driven by concern, he moved to her desk, opening a cupboard, searching for a clue. Perhaps he could learn something more about his cold, mysterious friend.

But before he could find anything, a voice interrupted.

“Dr. Emilio.”

He spun around. Malaya stood in the doorway, eyebrows arched.

“What are you doing here?”

“I should be asking you that.” Malaya smiled faintly. “I’m the secretary, and this is my boss’s office.”

“Oh—right.” He adjusted his posture quickly. “Well, the case is settled. I just needed to reach for some documents… but I’ll see to it tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Malaya said, her eyes steady as she watched him leave.

She didn’t believe a single word.

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