Chapter 184

Chapter 184

The "Sent successfully" notification on her phone screen was like a lone beacon in the darkness, instantly rekindling Emily's nearly extinguished hope.

But that light lasted less than ten seconds before being mercilessly snuffed out by sudden, heavy footsteps approaching from outside.

Emily didn't even have time to hide her phone before the ward door was violently kicked open!

Gilbert had returned, his face darker and more menacing than before, like a gathering storm.

Behind him followed two male doctors in white coats with masks, and a nurse pushing a gurney. 

Their eyes were cold, their movements mechanical—clearly Gilbert's pre-arranged team ready to do his dirty work.

"Still haven't made up your mind after all this time? Looks like you're hell-bent on making this difficult for yourself," Gilbert's voice was ice-cold, leaving no room for negotiation. He waved his hand dismissively. "Take her to the operating room!"

The two male doctors immediately stepped forward, reaching for Emily.

"Back off!" Emily screamed. Using every ounce of strength, she rolled off the hospital bed and staggered to the window.

She yanked the IV needle from the back of her hand, blood immediately seeping out, but she couldn't care less.

With her back pressed against the cold glass window, her right hand gripped the window frame tightly while her left, though wrapped in bandages, positioned itself as if ready to climb outside.

Her eyes wild with the desperation of a cornered animal, she shouted, "One more step and I'll jump! This is the 22nd floor! If I die, you get nothing!"

Her words exploded through the room like a bomb.

The doctors and nurse froze at the death threat, instinctively hesitating as they looked toward Gilbert for direction.

Gilbert stared at Emily hanging by the window, her face pale yet fierce with desperation. Far from showing any panic, his lips curled into an amused, mocking smile.

He casually walked forward two steps, stopping several feet from Emily, and methodically adjusted his cuffs as if enjoying a particularly entertaining show.

"You'll jump?" His tone was light, carrying a bone-chilling certainty. "From the 22nd floor, you'd definitely die—and not prettily. You'd be splattered all over the pavement. Emily, I don't think you've got the guts."

He raised his wrist, glancing at his expensive watch, his gaze locking onto Emily like a predator as he began counting down. "I'll give you one minute to think about it. If you don't jump within sixty seconds, I'll have to personally 'invite' you down.

Then the surgery proceeds as planned, but what you lose might be more than just the baby you're carrying."

The sheer cruelty and disregard for life in his words made Emily's blood run cold.

He didn't care at all whether she lived or died. All he cared about was control and satisfying Katya's twisted demands!

If she died, he might find it inconvenient, but he certainly wouldn't lose sleep over it.

"59, 58, 57..." The cold countdown echoed like a death knell, each number striking Emily's heart.

The wind howled through the window, whipping her hair wildly as the dizzying height of the 22nd floor loomed below.

Her survival instinct and protective instinct for her unborn child waged war inside her. Jump, and she'd be free, but her baby...

Don't jump, and in Gilbert's hands, her child would certainly be lost, and she herself might be drugged into becoming a mindless puppet.

Time ticked away second by second, despair rising like an icy tide, gradually drowning her.

Gilbert's cold smile grew more pronounced as he seemed to anticipate Emily's mental breakdown and eventual surrender.

"30, 29..."

Just as Emily was about to break, her teeth nearly cracking from clenching, her fingers pale from gripping the window frame, her mind torn in conflict.

"Daddy! No!" A shrill, tearful child's voice suddenly pierced the air from the doorway!

Katya burst in like a small tornado. She must have run from somewhere else, her little face streaked with tears and panic.

She threw herself at Gilbert's legs, clutching them desperately while looking up at him, crying out, "Daddy! Don't make Mommy jump! I don't want Mommy to die. I want Mommy alive, alive to be with me ."

"I want this mommy! She has to stay alive!" Katya's cries were hysterical, filled with a childish yet extremely powerful possessiveness.

She didn't care whether Emily was willing, or if the methods were cruel—she just wanted Emily "alive" as her "mommy."

Gilbert clearly hadn't expected Katya to suddenly barge in and wreck his plan.

He looked down at the sobbing, snotty-faced Katya, his brow deeply furrowed, something complicated flickering in his eyes.

He could be ruthless toward Emily, but for Katya, whom he had personally twisted into his own image, he had an almost obsessive soft spot.

The countdown stopped.

The atmosphere in the ward became incredibly bizarre.

On one side was Emily, hanging precariously by the window, threatening suicide; on the other was the cold, controlling Gilbert; and between them was Katya, crying her eyes out, fixated on having a "living mommy."

Gilbert's hesitation gave Emily a moment to breathe.

She stared at him intently, her mind racing, scrambling for what to do next.

She knew Katya's intervention was just buying time. Once Gilbert calmed Katya down, or if he lost patience, she'd be right back in danger.

Suddenly, Emily caught something flashing in her peripheral vision. Looking down, she saw countless vehicles surrounding the hospital.

Emily froze for a second, then immediately got it.

She leaned her body slightly back toward the room, absolutely determined not to slip and fall now.

Sure enough, the next second confirmed her suspicion.

With a deafening crash and flying splinters, the sturdy hospital room door was forcibly smashed open from the outside!

The heavy door collapsed inward like it had been hit by a battering ram, raising a cloud of dust!

In the doorway stood Michael's tall figure, backlit by the hallway light, radiating an almost tangible cold fury and terrifying rage.

His suit jacket was dusty, and there was even a small cut at his temple, clearly showing his journey here hadn't been a walk in the park.

Behind him were several hard-faced bodyguards with razor-sharp focus, instantly blocking the doorway and neutralizing the two guards outside.

In that moment, the room fell dead silent, and even Gilbert's expression turned grim.

How the hell did he get here so fast?!

"Emily!" Michael's gaze immediately locked onto Emily hanging precariously by the window.

"Michael..." she breathed.