My mother-in-law dragged me to court, claiming I was pretending to be pregnant so I could steal my late husband’s inheritance. Then, in the middle of the courtroom, she ᴋ!ᴄᴋᴇᴅ my stomach to “prove” I was lying. What she didn’t realize was that the judge watching everything… was my father.

My father leapt over the barrier without hesitation.

For a sixty-year-old man, the movement was astonishing.

He slammed into Charlotte, knocking her away from me.

Then he dropped to his knees beside me.

His hands trembled as he pressed his robe against the bleeding wound.

“Clara!” he shouted desperately. “Look at me! Stay with me!”

My vision blurred.

“Dad…?” I whispered weakly.

Tears streamed down his face.

“I’m here,” he said. “I’ve got you.”

Charlotte stared in disbelief.

“Wait… he’s your father?”

My father looked at her with pure hatred.

“I’m not acting as a judge right now,” he said coldly.

“I’m the grandfather of the child you just tried to kill.”

Chapter 5: Aftermath

“Arrest her!” my father shouted.

The bailiffs immediately handcuffed Charlotte.

Paramedics rushed in.

They lifted me onto a stretcher.

My father refused to leave my side.

He rode with me in the ambulance, holding my hand tightly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered through tears. “I should never have let you go.”

“I missed you,” I whispered.

Then suddenly the fetal monitor went silent.

The medic’s voice turned urgent.

“We’ve lost the heartbeat!”

Everything went dark.

Chapter 6: Six Months Later

Spring sunlight filled my father’s garden.