Although I was suffering from labor pains, my mother-in-law and my husband’s entire family closed the door and went on a trip… when they returned the next day and didn’t find me, they were distraught to see a sign that said: “house sold”.

A sharp click echoed through the foyer, followed by a second one as the deadbolt engaged. They had truly done it; they had locked me inside my own home, leaving me alone to face the perils of childbirth without a soul to help me.

The massive house fell into an eerie, suffocating silence, broken only by my ragged breathing as I stared at the opulent ceiling. Their cruelty was not just a locked door; it was a death sentence pronounced upon me and my unborn child.

In the midst of the agony, a bitter, resentful laugh bubbled up in my throat and echoed through the empty rooms. “Valerie, you have been so stupid to give everything to these parasites who just sucked you dry and discarded you like trash.”

The realization hit me harder than the contractions, but then I felt a gentle kick from inside my womb. My son was fighting for his right to live, and I realized I could not let him die because of my own foolishness.