Chapter 227 Get Rid of the Father, Keep the Child

Chapter 227 Get Rid of the Father, Keep the Child

Claire clutched her stomach, staring in shock at the man before her. But Ethan's face remained cold, showing not a trace of regret for what he'd just done.

"You really think I'd acknowledge the child in your belly?"

Ethan looked down at her from above. "There are plenty of women willing to bear my children. You're not worthy."

Harold chimed in with cold mockery, "A bastard's child? I won't let it taint the Murphy bloodline."

Claire looked at him helplessly. "That's not what you said before. You clearly—"

"I said if you helped get the evidence and sent Leon to prison, I'd accept the child. But now? Your evidence is useless to me," Harold said coldly.

Accept the child in her belly?

Only then did it dawn on Claire. "So from the very beginning, you never intended to let me marry into the family?"

Harold let out a derisive snort, tilting his head back with undisguised contempt. He said nothing, but his meaning was crystal clear.

Claire sat on the carpet, hands clenched tight, her entire body feeling as though it had plunged into an icy cellar. Her heart ached so badly she could barely breathe.

She'd thought she still had a chance.

Turned out, they'd only been using her.

Claire looked at Ethan with unwillingness. "This is your child. Are you really going to be this heartless?"

Ethan's leg injury hadn't fully healed yet. He settled back into his wheelchair, looking down at her from his elevated position. "From the moment I first laid eyes on you, I've been disgusted by you."

His voice was soft, but the words pierced Claire to her core.

Ethan continued, "Have you forgotten all the things you did to bully Joanna? You may have forgotten, but I haven't. I got together with you to get revenge on her behalf."

"In my eyes, you're nothing. What makes you think I'd care about a tiny embryo in your belly?"

Ethan's words crashed down on Claire like a mountain, so heavy she couldn't lift her head.

After the intense wave of grief passed, Claire began to question how she'd ever fallen for such a cold-blooded, selfish man as Ethan.

Claire was now certain that even if she'd helped them send Leon to prison, they never planned to accept her child.

It had all been lies.

And now, they were just using a convenient excuse to mask their hypocrisy.

Just like before, when Ethan had broken up with her because of Joanna but refused to admit it, instead pushing all the blame onto her.

Father and son—both equally hypocritical.

"You're no better yourself!"

Claire lifted her head and roared at Ethan, "If you truly loved Joanna, you shouldn't have believed me in the first place! You should've gone straight to her and asked! But you didn't!"

"It's because you didn't trust her enough. You thought you couldn't measure up to Justin, so you got insecure, cowardly, and could only take it out on Joanna by using me."

Claire's voice grew louder, "Joanna must have been blind to ever be with you!"

"Shut up!"

Ethan grabbed the cup beside him and hurled it at Claire.

Claire raised her hands to shield her face. The cup struck her arm squarely.

A sharp pain shot through her bone.

If she hadn't blocked it, the cup would have hit her face.

Justin's men had at least shown consideration for her pregnancy and hadn't hurt her—they'd even sent someone to take her home.

But Ethan, the biological father of her child, had attacked her.

Claire's heart turned even colder.

"Get out!" Ethan bellowed.

Claire no longer felt heartbroken. She only felt it was laughable.

She pushed herself up from the floor with both hands, standing to look down at Ethan. She let out a cold laugh. "Ethan, do you really think I loved you?"

Claire spoke in a tone of utter indifference, "I only wanted to take you from Joanna because she was always circling around you. That's all."

She sneered mockingly, "You were just a trophy in my competition with Joanna."

She paused, then laughed coldly again, her tone dripping with disdain, "Now, I realize you're nothing special. You're not worth it."

"Don't think you're the one rejecting me. Right now, I'm rejecting you. Even if you came crawling back, I wouldn't spare you another glance."

With that, Claire turned and walked out.

A dull, stabbing pain radiated from her lower abdomen. Her steps faltered.

She took a deep breath, enduring the pain as she continued forward.

But by the time she reached the doorway, she couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to her knees.

A Murphy family servant had followed Claire out. Seeing her condition, the servant rushed forward to check on her.

Spotting Claire clutching her stomach with blood beneath her, the servant panicked and ran back inside, shouting as she went, "Mr. Harold Murphy! Mrs. Carol Murphy! Ms. Sterling looks like she's miscarrying—there's a lot of blood!"

But less than a minute later, the servant emerged again.

She looked at Claire with a trace of pity. "Ms. Sterling, Mr. Ethan Murphy says it's just as well. The driver will take you to the hospital for an abortion."

Claire had already given up hope on Ethan, but once again, the Murphys' cold-bloodedness struck her like a blow.

"I don't need it!"

She forced the words through gritted teeth.

Then, biting down hard against the pain, Claire pulled out her phone and called a ride.

Fortunately, the car arrived quickly.

Seeing Claire's poor condition, the driver rushed her to the nearest hospital as fast as possible.

An hour later, Claire was wheeled into a hospital room by a nurse.

"Good thing you got here in time. The baby's safe. Where's the father?"

"He's dead."

Claire's face was full of sorrow, her entire being lifeless and drained.

The nurse assumed her husband had just passed away. "Then... do you want to keep this child?"

Claire didn't answer.

The nurse continued, "Think it over carefully. If you decide not to keep it, you'll need to have the procedure done soon."

With that, the nurse left, instructing Claire to stay in bed for now.

Claire lay motionless on the hospital bed until darkness fell outside. Only then did she finally move.

She called Ethan.

"The baby's gone. Because you pushed me, you killed your own child with your own hands."

Claire finished speaking, then waited for a moment.

She didn't wait for Ethan to respond. All she heard was the sound of him hanging up.

Claire set down her phone, lowered her head, and gently placed her hand on her belly. Slowly, a smile curved her lips.

There was no hatred in her eyes. Only relief.

Whether the child's father acknowledged it or not, this was her child. And she acknowledged it.

She'd seen through it all now.

Whether it was Leon or Ethan—men, hardly any of them were worth a damn.

She'd treat it as keeping the child while discarding the father. She'd give birth to a child that belonged to her alone.

Joanna had been unconscious for a full month. The doctors said her condition was improving.

Cathy had been incredibly busy this past month, so her visits to see Joanna had been fewer.

Once she learned Joanna's condition was getting better, she immediately shared the news with Diana and Kevin.

The group agreed to visit Joanna together. Diana brought Brandon along at the last minute.

The four of them arrived at the hospital and were walking inside when Diana fixed her gaze on a woman's back up ahead. "Is that Lillian?"

Cathy followed Diana's line of sight and realized it really was her.

Cathy's expression turned cold.

Justin and Joanna were sharing a room, yet he still dared to associate with Lillian? What did he take Joanna for?

"No way. Wherever Joanna is, she can't be allowed near!"

Joanna was at a critical stage of recovery. Cathy refused to let shady people anywhere near her.

Seeing Cathy about to charge forward, Kevin grabbed her arm. "Wait."

"Why?"

"You can stop her once, but can you stop her every time? Let's see what Justin's attitude is first."